title: Features of child food insecurity after the 2010 Haiti earthquake: results from longitudinal random survey of households.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Recent commentary on the health consequences of natural disasters has suggested a dearth of research on understanding the antecedents prior to the disaster that are associated with health consequences after the disaster. Utilizing data from a two-wave panel survey of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, conducted just prior to and six weeks after the January 2010 earthquake, we test factors prior to the quake hypothesized to be associated with food insecurity after the quake.
  
  
  METHODS
  Using random Global Positioning System (GPS) sampling, we re-interviewed 93.1% (N = 1732) of the original 1,800 households interviewed in 2009. Respondents were queried with regard to mortalities, injuries, food security, housing, and other factors after the quake.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Child food insecurity was found to be common on all three indices of food security (17.2%-22.6%). Additionally, only 36.5% of school-aged children were attending school prior to the quake. Findings suggest that prior schooling was associated with a substantial reduction on food insecurity indices (OR 0.62-0.75). Findings further suggest that several household characteristics were associated with food insecurity for children. Prior chronic/acute illnesses, poor living conditions, remittances from abroad, primary respondent mental health, and histories of criminal and other human rights violations committed against family members prior to the quake were associated with food insecurity after the earthquake. Earned household income after the quake was only associated with one of the measures of food insecurity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Food insecurity for children was common after the quake. Those households vulnerable on multiple dimensions prior to the quake were also vulnerable to food insecurity after the quake. Remittances from abroad were leading protective factors for food security. Because Haiti is well known for the potentiality of both hurricanes and earthquakes, reconstruction and redevelopment should focus on ameliorating potential vulnerabilities to poor outcomes in these natural disasters.
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
authors.forename: Royce A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Hutson
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan, United States of America.
authors.forename: Eileen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Trzcinski
authors.affiliation: School of Social Work and Department of Political Science, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States of America.
authors.forename: Athena R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Kolbe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D003625:Data Collection; D055866:Earthquakes; D005260:Female; D005523:Food Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006205:Haiti / Q000453:epidemiology; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D062407:Meals; D013313:Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic / Q000453:epidemiology