Health-related Quality of Life and everyday functioning in the
flood-affected population in Germany - a case study of the 2021 Floods
in West Germany
Abstract
Floods lead to adverse impacts not only in financial terms but also on
the health of the exposed population. We report the health-related
Quality of Life (QoL) and functioning in the population affected by the
2021 flooding in Germany using an empirical survey dataset collected in
November and December 2022. Health-related QoL and functioning of
flood-affected population is represented by two scores - 1. The EuroQoL
5D Visual Analog Scale (EQ-5D VAS) and 2. the score of the 12-Item WHO
Disability Assessment Schedule (WHODAS) 2.0, respectively. By applying
an incremental linear regression model and an ensemble of Machine
Learning (ML) models, we infer that health-related QoL and functioning
are strongly negatively related to the psychological burden from those
being affected by the flood event. This includes how often they think
about the traumatic event. Home owners were found to have worse QoL and
functioning than tenants. Household income and ability to
repair/reconstruct flood damages – in specific, insurance benefits,
private donation and satisfactory claims compensation are associated
with high QoL and functioning in flood-affected populations. These
findings highlight the importance of strengthening the mental health of
flood affected populations in order to help reduce the psychological
burden of the flood event. Additionally, the study emphasizes the strong
positive association between physical/financial recovery and QoL and
functioning of flood-affected populations.