Disasters result in disrupting the lives and livelihoods of people as they are forcibly displaced, their built environment destroyed, and their social networks upended. We study the impact of disasters on morbidity, mortality, health service delivery, employment and education. We combine primary data collected from large population-based surveys, published data, as well as novel data streams including human mobility data and remote-sensing.
Studies
Hum Sab Ek Hai
Hum Sab Ek Hai is a research and advocacy project that highlights the voices and experiences of women in India’s informal sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Hum Sab Ek Hai (We Are One) is the rallying cry of the Self Employed Women’s Association (SEWA) in India, which consists of unions and cooperatives organized around a variety of trades in the country.
Wildfires in California
In addition to recent work related to wildfires in California, we will undertake a household based survey in California in January 2023 to identify information gaps that if addressed would that mitigate healthcare disruption and food insecurity.
Hurricane Maria
The 3000+ household-based survey established that nearly 4000 people had died in the weeks in Puerto Rico, following Hurricane Maria, and not 59 as reported by the US government. The official death toll was revised.
Gujarat Excess Mortality Estimates
This study, using data directly from the first point of official death registration data recording, provides incontrovertible evidence of the high excess mortality attributed to COVID-19 in Gujarat, India from March 2020 to April 2021.
Floods in Kerala, India
The 4000+ household-bases survey established the key drivers and characteristics of evacuation following monsoon related floods and landslides in Kerala in 2018.
Syrian Civil War
We analyze over one million patient visits to the underground hospitals supported by the Syrian American Medical Society, to establish the epidemiology of presenting complaints and availability of health services through the progression of the war.
Rohingya Refugee Crisis
We surveyed 1000 households to establish the impact of “formal” refugee status on education, jobs, identity and a sense of belonging among the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
SEWA
We are using a mixed-methods to study how women’s cooperatives and trade unions helped mediate the impact of the Indian state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of women working in the unorganized labor market in India.
