Disparities in Utilization of the World Trade Center Health Program Among World Trade Center Rescue and Recovery Workers and Volunteers

Details

• Personal Author:
  Ayers CD ; Cone, James E. ; Kehm RD ; Li J
• Description:
  The 11 September 2001 World Trade Center (WTC) rescue and recovery workers (RRWs) included first responders (FDNY and NYPD), volunteers, and other workers. Volunteers were often more vulnerable than first responders to adverse health outcomes resulting from the exposure. It is not yet known whether there are differences in WTC Health Program (WTCHP) utilization by worker type. This is a cross-sectional study of 20,012 WTCHP-eligible RRWs to examine whether worker type was associated with WTCHP utilization based on self-reported data from four WTC Health Registry follow-up surveys (2006-2021), using multivariable log-binomial regression adjusted for sociodemographic factors and comorbidities. We also examined factors associated with WTCHP utilization by worker type. Overall, 9584 RRWs (47.9%) reported receiving WTCHP services, but only 22.5% of volunteers reported WTCHP utilization. After adjustment, first responders and other workers were, respectively, 2.73 (95% CI = 2.56, 2.92) and 1.69 (95% CI = 1.58, 1.80) times more likely to utilize WTCHP service than volunteers. Sociodemographic factors and comorbidities were consistently associated with WTCHP utilization across worker types, except for race/ethnicity. Among those eligible, the volunteer group reported the lowest utilization of WTCHP among worker types, suggesting that WTC volunteers should be a priority group for outreach regarding access and utilization of WTCHP. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Emergency Responders Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Promotion Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Disparities Cross Sectional Studies Disaster Disaster Recovery First Responders Health Programs Health Services Sociodemographic Factors Utilization Of Health Program World Trade Center World Trade Center (WTC) WTC WTC Health Program (WTCHP) WTC Rescue And Recovery Workers And Volunteers

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• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; New York City Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  22
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20070899
• Citation:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2025 Apr; 22(4):643
• Contact Point Address:
  Jiehui Li, World Trade Center Health Registry, Center for Population Health Data Science, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Long Island City, NY 11101, USA
• Email:
  jli3@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090430
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:bd2db95306780ce907f1a9d742a4888ce931b65ec72efdcd194baef0d83c3c0a40ed29526db7c4941d452a39db8ef6e01616868206233670de756d042a434b2b
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/209023/cdc_209023_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.40 MB ]