32
Views
0
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Research Article

The disparate impact of Hurricane Maria: the relationship between recovery of public services, traumatic stress and household income of healthcare and social service industry workers

, , , , &
Received 11 Sep 2023, Accepted 30 Apr 2024, Published online: 23 May 2024
 

ABSTRACT

The relationship between social vulnerability and disaster recovery has been well examined; however, less attention paid to how differences in vulnerability affect recovery for healthcare and social service industry employees. The widespread impact of Hurricane Maria on Puerto Rico, including failure of the entire electrical grid, presents a unique case study for examination of the relationship between income and disaster recovery of frontline workers. Using data collected from healthcare and social service industry employees 10 months post-Maria, we found a significant relationship between household income and recovery of public services. Households with lower incomes experienced nearly a full month longer wait for electricity restoration as compared to higher-income households, after controlling for home damage and demographic characteristics. Additionally, lower income households were more likely to report higher levels of PTSS. Our findings suggest a need for targeted workplace interventions during disaster response and recovery that take into account economic inequities.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation [grant number 75847]; and Americares Foundation.

Log in via your institution

Log in to Taylor & Francis Online

PDF download + Online access

  • 48 hours access to article PDF & online version
  • Article PDF can be downloaded
  • Article PDF can be printed
USD 61.00 Add to cart

Issue Purchase

  • 30 days online access to complete issue
  • Article PDFs can be downloaded
  • Article PDFs can be printed
USD 315.00 Add to cart

* Local tax will be added as applicable

Related Research

People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read.

Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine.

Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.
Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab.