Social Vulnerability

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Social Vulnerability

• Sandy A. Johnson, Ph.D.
• 2006 Summer Colloquium on Climate Health
• Boulder, CO

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Definitions

• Risk probability that a negative outcome will
  occur
• Risk factor increases probability of a negative
  outcome
• Vulnerability Ability to mitigate risk

In a time of drastic change it is the learners
who inherit the future. The learned usually find
themselves equipped to live in a world that no
longer exists.
- Eric Hoffer
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Vulnerability
Physical Environment
Socioeconomic
Agency
Political Environment
Sociocultural
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Vulnerability

• Climate Pattern
• Relationship of climate pattern to well-being
• Identification of vulnerable populations
• Building sustainable adaptation

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Effects of climatic events on malaria incidence
Source Sutherst 2004
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Increased Poverty
Decreased Productivity
Social welfare Healthcare
Health
Resources
Lost work Lost income Lost resources
Health care expenses Death rites
Increased poverty
Higher reproduction
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Vulnerability
Resources
Exposure
Risk
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Mitigating health impacts

• Scale
• Accurate identification of the vulnerable
• (Mis)match of priorities
• Communication
• Sustainable, culturally competent strategy
• Time perspective
• Change in vulnerability over time
• Ethical considerations

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Scale

• Population
• Neighborhood
• Household
• Individual

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Identify the vulnerable

• National Vulnerabilities
• Low income, especially rural
• Women
• Haitians

• Vulnerabilities in La Altagracia
• Sugarcane workers, but less so than construction
  workers
• Construction workers
• Permanent residents near construction/tourist
  facilities

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Priority Mismatch
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Communication

• Know the audience
• Frame the issue
• Cultural competency
• Semantic networks
• Priority match
• Appropriate messenger
• Build trust
• Positive communication

Source Moser 2006, Rogers 1962
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Sustainable, Culturally Competent Strategy
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Time Horizons
To a man, a butterfly has but a short life. To a
tree, a mans life is but the blink of an
eye. Taoist adage
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Vulnerability in Flux
Incidence
Time
Sources Aral 2002, Suthrest 2004
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Vulnerability in Flux
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Ethical Dimensions

• Who are the winners and who are the losers?
• Will desired outcomes be achieved? What are
  foreseeable consequences?
• Are we harming anyone?
• Are we reducing suffering?
• Who is driving the agenda?
• Is the solution equitable and just?

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Louisianas Katrina Mortality, July 20, 2006
Source State of Louisiana Dept. of Health and
Hospitals
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Age over 50 145 per 100,000
Female 47 Male 53 African American
53 Caucasian 39
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Source Times Picayune, Oct. 2006
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Tools

• Mixed methodologies
• Translational research
• Community-based Participatory Research /
  Participatory Action Research