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328783
Using Hospital Emergency Department Chief Complaint Data to Assess the Impact of Hurricane Sandy on Risk of Injury Subcategories by Age, Sex, and Time Period in Three Affected New York Counties


Monday, November 2, 2015

Ursula Lauper, MA, MPH, Bureau of Enviornmental and Occupational Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
Cristian Pantea, MS, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, New York State Department of Heatlh, Albany, NY
Jian-Hua Chen, MD, MSPH, Division of Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
hwa-Gan Chang, PhD, Statistical Unit, Division of Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
Shao Lin, PhD, Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, New York State Department of Health, Albany, NY
Background

While hurricanes cause drastic levels of destruction, little research has been done on how injury types differ by age and sex, or how the risk of injury type changes over time. The study aim was to evaluate the risk of injury type by demographics and the short- and long-term health effects in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in New York State. 

Methods

Using syndromic surveillance data, we compared the number of injury subcategory chief complaints in three affected counties with non-affected counties. We analyzed data for all injuries combined and by selected subcategories and time period (13-day, 3-month, and 1-year).  To control for seasonality, these periods were also compared to the average of the same date ranges for the previous five-year periods.

Results

During the initial 13-day period, greater risk for falls was associated with age over 60 (RR 1.90, 95%CI 1.69-2.13), and being female (RR 1.75, 95%CI 1.56-1.96), while greater risk for vehicular injury was associated with age under 20 (RR 1.55, 95%CI 1.20-2.00) and being male (RR 1.34, 95%CI 1.13-1.59).  Furthermore, while overall risk for falls (RR 1.30, 95%CI 1.27-1.33) and vehicular injury (RR 1.27, 95%CI 1.23-1.31) remained significantly elevated through the one-year period, the risk for environmental injury did not (RR 1.03, 95%CI 0.96-1.12).  Additional results will be reported.

 

Conclusions

We found different patterns in risk of injury category across age, sex, and short- and long-term effects.  Understanding how the risk of injury type can vary by demographics and over time can help disaster preparedness efforts.

Learning Areas:

Epidemiology

Learning Objectives:
List at least five injury categories impacted by major hurricanes. Assess the risk of injury-related emergency department visits after Hurricane Sandy by sex and age category. Compare the risk of injury-related emergency department visits at three time points after Hurricane Sandy.

Keyword(s): Disasters, Epidemiology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an epidemiologist in the Bureau of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology at the New York State Department of Health. Since March of 2014 I have been analyzing the health impacts of Hurricane Sandy using data from the state’s syndromic surveillance reporting system. I hold an MPH in biostatistics and an MA in medical anthropology. I have been conducting research in the areas of health, safety, human factors, and injury prevention for 20 years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 3302.0: Disaster Preparedness