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DIRECT FROM ATSDR
Editor's Note: As part of our continued effort to highlight innovative approaches to improve the health and environment of communities, the Journal is pleased to publish a bimonthly column from the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). ATSDR serves the public by using the best science, taking responsive public health actions, and providing trusted health information to prevent harmful exposures and diseases related to toxic substances. The purpose of this column is to inform readers of ATSDR's activities and initiatives to better understand the relationship between exposure to hazardous substances in the environment, its impact on human health, and how to protect public health.
The conclusions of this column are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official position of ATSDR or CDC.
Introduction
Until recent decades, the focus of disaster management remained largely on attributes of the physical world, primarily risk assessments of the threat of natural and anthropogenic hazards to the built environment. The concept of social vulnerability within a disaster management context received increasing attention when researchers recognized that a more complete assessment of risk must also include the socioeconomic and demographic factors that affect community resilience (Flanagan, Gregory, Hallisey, Heitgerd, & Lewis, 2011; Juntunen, 2005).
All regions of the U.S. have experienced natural and human-caused disasters. The hazards that precipitate these disasters will continue to occur in the future. Hazards can be large scale, such as hurricanes and earthquakes, or they can be relatively localized in extent, such as tornadoes or chemical spills. Although hazard events might be relatively benign, they can culminate in disaster-severe injuries, emotional distress, loss of life, and property damage-to the extent of destroying entire communities. In both the short- and long-term future, disasters can have devastating health, social, and economic consequences for affected areas and their inhabitants.
Our work draws on research that examines vulnerability as a social condition or as a measure of the resilience of population groups when confronted by disaster (Cutter, Boruff, & Shirley, 2003). Social vulnerability is defined in terms of the characteristics of a person or community that affect their capacity to anticipate, confront, repair, and recover from the effects of a disaster....