Research


Individual and Family Resiliency after Environmental Disasters: Bouncing Back

The Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill contributed to a lot of stress for Gulf Coast residents. Many people were understandably sad, worried, tired, and angry during and immediately following the spill.  However, they did their best to protect their coastal environment; preserve the fish, shellfish, and tourism industries; and provide for their families during this challenging time. This research examines the psychological recovery of Gulf Coast residents and families after the oil spill. Specifically, we are interested in learning about the sources of distress for local residents in the months and years after the spill as well as how people are coping. Since everyone copes differently, we are also interested in learning more about the kinds of things that people do that help the recovery process or allow them to bounce back more quickly. Findings will be used to better inform local government agencies and service providers of ongoing community needs and to develop more effective intervention programs for future victims of environmental disaster.

Research methods for this study include:

  • Inviting a random sample of 300 residents and families in Franklin County, FL and Baldwin County, AL to participate in the study.
  • Examining participants with clinical and psychological measure of stress, anxiety, depression, coping, and problem solving once a year for 4 years.
  • Providing summary data of our findings to the participants each year.
  • Working with community representatives and partners to determine how the results could be used to help Gulf Coast residents in our study communities.

 

Community Resiliency

Research on community resiliency is focused on three areas including assessing social vulnerability and community resilience, determining the role social networks plays in resiliency and lastly, determining the level of satisfaction with litigation.

The first area of study, assessing social vulnerability and community resiliency, will utilize focus groups and key informant interviews to assess the community’s capacity for disaster response. Secondly, a social network analysis will help in answering the question ‘are networked communities more resilient to disaster’? Third, research on the level of satisfaction with litigation will be done in conjunction with UF Law School’s Center for Governmental Responsibility to propose legal alternatives.

 

Seafood Safety

The main goal of our research on seafood is to address public health concerns regarding seafood safety in Gulf of Mexico coastal communities. This research will involve community participation and feedback, and based on analytical results from seafood sampling, promote clean seafood as part of a balanced diet. Specifically, the research will:

  • Determine PAH profiles in edible portions of Gulf coast seafood contributed by local fishers
  • Implement seafood consumption surveys
  • Develop risk analyses based on community-specific contamination and consumption data
  • Analyze geospatial relationships between tracked DWHOS and other sources
  • Conduct risk communication and community outreach

It is our hope that the outcomes of our research will include addressing major scientific gaps in current risk assessment for Gulf seafood by providing credible data on seafood consumption by Gulf community seafood consumers. In addition, we hope to address additional concerns about safety of seafood outside normal commercial channels.

 

Community Outreach

Often communities struck with disasters have a high level of uncertainty, loss of trust, concern and community disarray. This lack of unity and uncertainty can lead to a misunderstanding how to access needed services, seek out and evaluate credible information and learn coping skills designed to mitigate losses.

The goal of our research is to identify resources and then match those critical resources with needs of individuals, families, communities, and small businesses along the western Florida Panhandle and the Alabama coastline areas.

In addition, we plan to synthesize the research findings of the other research projects in the consortium. With these findings, we hope to develop an outreach model that allows us to distribute the key findings through open public channels of communication that foster two-way dialogue and consensus building.

Lastly, we hope to use the outreach framework model as a social learning platform designed to mitigate losses and increase resiliency to other disasters, both natural and human initiated.