Methodological Limitations in Disaster Epidemiology: Insights From Research on Families With Children Following the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill
Date
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
Disasters, as the extreme convergence of hazards and social systems, have implications for population health and well-being, with acute and long-term mental and physical health impacts. Disaster epidemiology aims to quantify these health effects using observational methods, and as the field continues to expand, a deeper understanding of intrinsic biases and their potential impacts on research findings across hazard types is needed. This research assesses the drivers and potential implications of three commonly cited methodological limitations in disaster epidemiology by analyzing survey data from two studies on families with children after the 2010 British Petroleum Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Gulf Coast Population Impact study (2012) and the Resilient Children, Youth, and Communities study (2014-2018). Specifically, this research describes the challenges in classifying disaster exposure, assessing recall error, and understanding attrition in disaster studies. This dissertation enhances understanding of these three pervasive limitations and their implications for epidemiologic research and study reliability.