July 12, 2022
Spotlight: Nicole Errett implements an equity-focused approach to disaster research
As the impacts of climate change, urbanization and globalization continue to manifest in every area of life, the increase in disasters around the world is a progressively important and relatively under researched effect of these challenges. Identifying and evaluating opportunities to reduce the health impacts of such disasters is the central focus for Dr. Nicole Errett (pictured), a researcher and assistant professor in the University of Washington School of Public Health. Errett leads a number of projects on disaster and climate change preparedness, with the goals of diminishing inequities in recovery efforts and supporting communities to build resilience in the aftermath of disasters.
Currently, Errett and Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences (DEOHS) PhD Student Amber Khan are leading a Population Health Initiative pilot grant-funded project, “Assessing National Public Housing Authority Disaster Preparedness, Response and Recovery of Place-based Subsidized Housing Units.” In partnership with the National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC), the team will be analyzing state disaster plans and interviewing public officials to understand how Public Housing Authorities, who run government subsidized affordable housing programs, are preparing for disaster. The long-term goal of the research is to make recommendations to improve preparedness of organizations responsible for affordable housing to reduce impacts to low-income residents following disasters.
“The findings of this project will provide an assessment of PHA engagement in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery activities,” explained Khan, a third year PhD student advised by Dr. Errett. “Partnering with the NLIHC to reach stakeholders, we will improve understanding around implementation of PHA disaster strategies, and advance current knowledge of housing gaps in state-level disaster planning decisions. This work will ultimately guide equitable policy decisions around disaster risk management strategies and improve the health and well-being of low-income renters in the long-term.”
Additionally, Errett and her team are leading the planning for the upcoming Disaster Research Response (DR2) Workshop, which is part of a larger DR2 program within the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) meant to support the development of plans, infrastructure and relationships necessary for time sensitive investigations in the aftermath of disasters.
“Disasters are increasing in magnitude, and we don’t know a lot about what happens to people after disasters and the short- and long-term health effects,” said Errett. “Research in the aftermath of a disaster can help us to learn about these impacts to inform preparedness, response and recovery efforts, but we need to go out and collect the data really quickly.”
Since 2019, Errett and her team have worked to bring together partners from NIEHS and multiple disciplines across UW, including built environments, engineering, public policy, medicine, nursing and public health, to identify interdisciplinary solutions to identified challenges in the disaster research space. They collaborate with government and community partners across the Pacific Northwest, in addition to international partners across the Pacific Rim experiencing similar disaster risks, to identify needs for, and develop plans and processes to, integrate research into response. The group aims to identify training needs to prepare students and current professionals to participate in disaster research. They are also working on improving processes for institutional review boards, whose goal is to promote ethical research that supports the rights and welfare of research participants, to review time sensitive disaster research.
The team has initiated multiple research projects at various stages of development, including a Seattle Assessment for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response, recently funded by UW’s EarthLab. Errett notes that the workshop is just the beginning. She describes her motivation for conducting community-centered, disaster research: “What it comes down to for me is the opportunity to contribute. There’s a very small community of disaster and health researchers across the country – and it’s growing, but it’s a space that has been traditionally underexplored and under researched,” said Errett. “As a researcher, [working on disasters] keeps me excited and motivated, because there’s always so much work to do, and there are such great consequences for real people who are experiencing disasters every day.”