Document Type
Report
Publication Date
10-2023
Abstract
Recent natural hazards and resulting disasters in Puerto Rico have drawn attention to the social vulnerability of children in the archipelago. We created the Child Vulnerability Index (CVI) to identify the scale and patterns of child vulnerability in the archipelago, and provide insights to mitigate the effects that hazardous events may cause. The index was created using 2017-2021 American Community Survey (ACS) data pertaining to three broad themes: Personal characteristics of children, Characteristics of households with children, and Overall household characteristics for all Municipios, Barrios, and Census Tracts in Puerto Rico. The CVI is a two-pronged tool consisting of an ESRI Enterprise dashboard and open source Python code that enables stakeholders to increase their understanding of the vulnerability of children in the archipelago and improve their resilience to hazardous events. Our analysis shows that the Municipio with the highest overall CVI in 2021 was Jayuya and the Barrio with the highest CVI in 2021 was Barrio Pueblo in Comerío. All Municipios except Culebra had at least one Barrio with CVI greater than 0.5, and 59 out of the 78 municipios in the archipelago had Barrios with CVIs in all quartiles. These results showcase the widespread and geographically uneven distribution of child vulnerability in Puerto Rico. We performed statistical hypothesis testing to examine statistical evidence for regional differences in relative child vulnerability at Municipio, Barrio, and Census Tract level. The results show that children living in the Municipios, Barrios, and Census Tracts in the Vega Baja Operational Zone of the Negociado para el Manejo de Emergencias y Administración de Desastres (NMEAD), collectively experience greater relative vulnerability than children living elsewhere. Researchers have noted several limitations to the use of Social Vulnerability Indexes (SVI) for disaster management and response. Notwithstanding these limitations, the development of the Child Vulnerability Index is a step towards understanding and quantifying the child vulnerability landscape in Puerto Rico.
Included in
Demography, Population, and Ecology Commons, Emergency and Disaster Management Commons, Health Policy Commons, Inequality and Stratification Commons, Medicine and Health Commons, Social Welfare Commons
