Mark J. VanLandingham
Thomas C. Keller Professor of Global Health Systems and Development, School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Tulane University
Chapter Member: New Orleans SSN
Areas of Expertise:
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About Mark
VanLandingham’s recent research focuses on rural-to-urban migration in Southeast Asia; the health of Vietnamese immigrants; and the social and health consequences of Hurricane Katrina for New Orleanians. He teaches or has recently taught Population Studies, Qualitative Analysis, Comparative Health Behavior, and the HIV Epidemic in Southeast Asia.
Contributions
How the Vietnamese of New Orleans Recovered from Hurricane Katrina
Basic Facts Brief,
In the News
Opinion: "These Statistics Show New Orleans' Murder Rate Has Improved over the Past Decade," Mark J. VanLandingham (with ), The Advocate, October 12, 2017.
Opinion: "These Statistics Show New Orleans' Murder Rate Has Improved over the Past Decade ," Mark J. VanLandingham (with ), The Advocate, October 12, 2017.
Research discussed by , in "Book Examines Vietnamese Community’s Successful Post-Katrina Recovery," Tulane University News, May 4, 2017.
Quoted by Keith Brannon in "Tulane University Awarded $6.7 Million to Study Long-Term Impact of Hurricane Katrina," Tulane University News, November 2, 2015.
Quoted by John Binder in "Then and Now: The Real Numbers on New Orleans Crime 10 Years after Hurricane Katrina," The Hayride, August 24, 2015.
Opinion: "Post-Katrina, Vietnamese Success," Mark J. VanLandingham, New York Times, August 14, 2015.
Opinion: "City’s Murder Rate Drops: A Mere Blip or the Start of a Long-Term Trend?," Mark J. VanLandingham, The Lens, January 22, 2014.
Guest on Viet-NOLA, July 19, 2013.
Guest on NPR’s All Things Considered, August 23, 2010.
Opinion: "‘Divided’ Images Can Warp City’s Recovery," Mark J. VanLandingham, The Times-Picayune, April 17, 2006.
Publications
"On the Hard and Soft Sciences in Public Health" Public Health Reports 129, no. 2 (2014).
Explores the widespread and uncritical use of the “hard versus soft science” metaphor within the field of public health. The use of the metaphor belies the fact that so-called “hard science” fields eventually follow methodological trails blazed much earlier by scientists in fields often denigrated as “soft.” The metaphor is an impediment to the interdisciplinary approaches that are increasingly required for the pursuit of good science.
"Mental Health Consequences of International Migration for Vietnamese Americans and the Mediating Effect of Social Networks: Results from a Natural Experiment Approach" (with ). Demography 49, no. 2 (2012): 393-424.
Investigates the long-term impact of international migration on Vietnamese mental health, and the potential mediating effects of social networks and physical health on these migration-related outcomes. The results reveal both mental health advantages and disadvantages among Vietnamese immigrants relative to the two studied groups (never-leavers and returnees) of Vietnamese nationals.
"Physical and Mental Health Consequences of Katrina on Vietnamese Immigrants in New Orleans: A Pre and Post-Disaster Assessment" (with ). Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health 14, no. 3 (2012): 386-394.
Assesses the health impacts of a natural disaster upon a major immigrant community by comparing pre- and post-event measures for identical individuals and found statistically significant declines in health status for seven of the eight standard SF-36 subscales and for both the physical and mental health component summaries at the first anniversary of the disaster; by the second anniversary, recovery of the health dimensions assessed by these measures was substantial and significant.
"A Second Disaster Tests Vietnamese American Resilience on the Gulf Coast" Social Science Research Council’s Items and Issues 6, no. 3 (2010).
Discusses the concept of “segmented assimilation” and the particularity of Vietnamese American resilience in the wake of devastating losses to the community post-Hurricane Katrina, and anticipates the impact of the BP oil spill on those same communities.
"Murder Rates in New Orleans, 2004-2006" American Journal of Public Health 97, no. 9 (2008): 1614-1616.
Discusses how to construct rates when the mid-year population fails to provide a good approximation of exposure. Shows that the murder rate increased substantially during the post-Katrina period compared with 2004.