Peer Reviewed Journal via three different mandatory reviewing processes, since 2006, and, from September 2020, a fourth mandatory peer-editing has been added.
Using three modeling techniques (GLR, GEP, and GM), the
effect of Hurricane Katrina on low birth weight and preterm
delivery babies for African American women is examined in
Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The study results indicate
that risk factors associated with low birth weight and preterm
delivery for American African women include unemployment
and percent of mothers between the ages of 15-19. Among
White women, ages 15-19, risk factors included poverty rate,
median household income, and total birth rate. The GMs
performed accurate predictions with increasing low birth weight
and preterm delivery trends for African American women in the
Gulf Coast states and other U.S. states, and decreasing low birth
weight and preterm delivery trends for their White counterparts
in the same state locations. Data presented between 2007-2010
show low birth weight and preterm delivery for White women
as a decreasing tendency while adverse birth outcomes for
African American women exhibited a monotonically increasing
trend. The empirical findings suggest that health disparities will
continue to exist in the foreseeable future, if no effective
intervention is taken. The models identify risk factors that
contribute to adverse birth outcomes and offer some insight into
strategies and programs to address and ameliorate these effects.
