Seeing is believing: Understanding the experiences and needs of marginalized communities living through successive disasters using photovoice

Laura de la Roche, Carlos G Fuentes, Ailiya Z Jafry and Omolola E Adepoju

PLOS ONE, 2025, vol. 20, issue 11, 1-20

Abstract: Introduction: Reports indicate increasing prevalence rates of successive natural disasters, and the negative impact on existing infrastructures are well documented. However, factors impacting outcomes on both communities and individuals remain unclear. For historically underserved communities, the effects of disasters are exacerbated by pre-existing barriers that make efforts to recovery difficult. Thus, understanding the nuance of their circumstances and experience is crucial to helping build resilience in these communities and inform preparedness and response efforts. Objective: Through this study, we sought to qualitatively understand the lived experience of historically underserved communities in the context of natural disasters to support the development and/or adoption of resources. Methods: Photovoice was used to guide semi-structured interviews with participants recruited from three communities (Kashmere Gardens, Greater Third Ward, Greater Fifth Ward) in Houston, TX. Reflexive thematic analysis was employed to generate themes accurately depicting participant experiences. Reflexivity, persistent observation, and triangulation were employed to increase trustworthiness in analysis. Results: Five key themes emerged from analysis: 1) Acute and long-term damage from natural disasters requires sustained recovery efforts; 2) Gaps and opportunities exist in city, state, and federal support mechanisms; 3) Strengthening and expanding support networks and community resources after extreme weather events is critical; 4) Need to address structural barriers to disaster preparedness and coping; and 5) Recognizing and mitigating the broad mental health impacts of natural disasters. Conclusion: The lived experiences of individuals from historically underserved communities in Houston highlight a complex interaction of psychosocial, structural, and cultural factors that influence both community resilience and vulnerability. Understanding this interplay is crucial to informing policy efforts that prioritize resilience building in these communities. Implications from these findings are discussed.

Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0337532 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 37532&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0337532

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0337532

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().