Victoria Fan

Assistant Professor Victoria Fan, Associate Professor Timothy Halliday and Bradley Chen investigated infant and child mortality in after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. Their study “The impact of internal displacement on child mortality in post-earthquake Haiti: a difference-in-differences analysis” was published in the International Journal for Equity in Health.

The study found that births from camp households had higher infant mortality and child mortality than those not living in camps. These odds are higher despite better access to food, water, bed net use, mosquito spraying and vaccines among camp households. Efforts are needed to identify vulnerable populations to provide targeted assistance in post-disaster relief.

“The data indicates that those living in camps are getting several key health services, but the services may not be of adequate quality to reduce child mortality,” said Fan. “We also found that those who did not or could not move, either to camps or elsewhere, are quite vulnerable as well. These populations are the literally ‘left behind.’”

“In carrying out disaster relief, providing a lot of materials and supplies to camps is not sufficient,” said Chen. “Despite better access to food, water and vaccines, kids in camps are still having worse health than other migrant and displaced households. Those reasons need to be better understood.”

In a newly published World Health Organization report, “The Health Workforce in India,” co-author University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Assistant Professor Victoria Y. Fan has brought attention to the level of education and medical qualifications of physicians and other healthcare providers in India. Fan and co-author Oxford University Professor Sudhir Anand’s 104-page book includes a three-page summary of key findings.

“The monograph examines the distribution, patterns and inequalities of the health workforce in India by education, gender and urban-rural stratum,” says Fan. “The report also lists the districts that lack any qualified nurses and qualified dentists, which may be useful for policymakers who wish to address these significant disparities that affect access to healthcare services.”

News articles published in India on the study:

WHO report sounds alarm on ‘doctors’ in India, The Hindu, July 18, 2016
Under-educated doctors, rural-urban divide and a stark gender gap. WHO study's shocking data on Indian healthcare, India Today, July 18, 2016

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