Health Impact of Hurricanes Irma and Maria on St Thomas and St John, US Virgin Islands, 2017–2018

Details

• Personal Author:
  Balakrishnan MP ; Chami M ; Chowdhury MAB ; Cohen SA ; Drabin M ; Fiore AJ ; Grattan LM ; Morris JG Jr. ; Roberts KA ; Scieszka L ; Toben AC ; Tyndall JA ; Wheatley B ; Wheatley C
• Description:
  Objectives. To assess the health impact of Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria on St Thomas, US Virgin Islands. Methods. We collected data from interviews conducted 6 and 9 months after the hurricanes, a review of 597 randomly selected emergency department (ED) encounters, and administrative records from 10 716 ED visits 3 months before, between, and 3 months after the hurricanes. Results. Informants described damaged hospital infrastructure, including flooding, structural damage, and lost staff. The greatest public health impact was on the elderly and persons with chronic diseases. In the setting of loss of the electronic medical record system, ED chart reviews were limited by problems with missing data. ED administrative data demonstrated that posthurricane patients, compared with prehurricane patients, were older and had less severe complaints. There was a significant increase in patients being seen for diabetes-related and respiratory complaints, especially asthma. Suboptimal recordkeeping for medical evacuees limited the ability to assess outcomes for patients with severe illnesses. Conclusions. Hurricanes Irma and Maria caused major disruptions to health care on St Thomas. Emphasis should be given to building a resilient health care system that will optimally respond to future hurricanes. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cyclonic Storms Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Disaster Recovery Electronic Health Records Health Care Hurricanes Natural Disasters
• ISSN:
  0090-0036
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Florida ; Maryland ; OSHA Region 3 ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  109
• Issue:
  12
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070681
• Citation:
  Am J Public Health 2019 Dec; 109(12):1725-1732
• Contact Point Address:
  John Glenn Morris Jr, MD, MPH&TM, Emerging Pathogens Institute, 2055 Mowrey Rd, Rm 159 PO Box 100009, Gainesville, FL 32610-0009
• Email:
  jgmorris@epi.ufl.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2020
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  University of Florida, Gainesville
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20160930
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Public Health
• End Date:
  20270929
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:632b155a932ebb1befc830b5636f3deeee4e91d6aa42801dd18649536a816136d31f0eb132df74f4a929ef076f0224a7bf802ab6322922cffa4ca995baac3add
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/208857/cdc_208857_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 788.75 KB ]