Disseminate data on cognitive functioning to investigate long run effects of exposure to natural disasters

Univ Of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill NC

Investigators

Abstract

Summary/Abstract Natural disasters are increasing in frequency and intensity across the globe. Understanding the consequences of exposures to trauma associated with disasters for health and human development is limited by the dearth of data on well-being after such exposures. This project addresses the gap by disseminating innovative data on cognitive performance for a population-representative sample of children and adults, some of whom were directly exposed to the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami whereas others were not. Domain-specific cognitive skills that have a foundation in neuroscience were assessed using touch-screen tablets in an experimental pilot study conducted 13 years after the tsunami. Having established the validity and value for scientific research of these pilot data, our first aim is to place data on cognitive function in the public domain. To facilitate research by population scientists, we will construct measures that are used in the cognitive neuroscience literature and also provide the underlying raw data. Our second aim is to provide high quality documentation explaining the measures and their interpretation. This includes thorough descriptions of the tasks, how they are played, the construction and meaning of the measures we provide, and how they are interpreted in the cognitive neuroscience literature. Providing well-documented data in a ready-to-use format will minimize start-up costs for scientific research by investigators across multiple disciplines. The cognitive data provided by this project will include anonymized identifiers that enable household- and individual-specific linkage to the Study of the Tsunami Aftermath and Recovery (STAR), an on-going longitudinal individual and household survey conducted in Aceh, Indonesia. The STAR baseline, conducted 10 months before the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, is representative of the population living in coastal districts of Aceh, the area that was hit hardest by the tsunami. STAR is representative of tsunami survivors: we have completed 7 follow-ups, maintained extremely high follow-up rates, and interviewed over 98% of all baseline survivors at least once post-tsunami. The cognitive pilot covered a 25% random subsample of STAR respondents: assessments were completed by over 91% of the target respondents (baseline survivors and their children born after the tsunami). Linkage to STAR data by investigators will provide a plethora of detailed information on community and individual exposure to the tsunami, as well as respondent and household demographics, health, migration, work, schooling, marriage, fertility, and resource availability including income, expenditure, and wealth. Pilot data and documentation placed in the public domain by this project will substantially enrich the existing data infrastructure for scientific research on cognitive performance of adults and children in low resource settings and in the context of large-scale disasters.