Measuring the Impact of Disasters Using Publicly Available Data: Application to Hurricane Sandy (2012)

Details

• Personal Author:
  Baron, Sherry L. ; Kim H ; Liu B ; Mongin, Steven J. ; Schwartz RM ; Taioli E
• Description:
  The unexpected nature of disasters leaves little time or resources for organized health surveillance of the affected population, and even less for those who are unaffected. An ideal epidemiologic study would monitor both groups equally well, but would typically be decided against as infeasible or costly. Exposure and health outcome data at the level of the individual can be difficult to obtain. Despite these challenges, the health effects of a disaster can be approximated. Approaches include 1) the use of publicly available exposure data in geographic detail, 2) health outcomes data-collected before, during, and after the event, and 3) statistical modeling designed to compare the observed frequency of health outcomes with the counterfactual frequency hidden by the disaster itself. We applied these strategies to Hurricane Sandy, which struck the northeastern United States in October 2012. Hospital admissions data from the state of New York with information on primary payer as well as patient demographic characteristics were analyzed. To illustrate the method, we present multivariate logistic regression results for the first 2 months after the hurricane. Inferential implications of admissions data on nearly the entire target population in the wake of a disaster are discussed. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Cyclonic Storms Epidemiology Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Counterfactual Inference Disasters Disaster Sites Finite Population Health Effects Hurricanes Hurricane Sandy Medical Records Natural Disasters Public Data Statistical Analysis Surveillance

  More +
• ISSN:
  0002-9262
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Minnesota ; New York ; OSHA Region 2 ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  186
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064543
• Citation:
  Am J Epidemiol 2017 Dec; 186(11):1290-1299
• Contact Point Address:
  Steven J. Mongin, Division of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, 2221 University Avenue SE, Suite 200, Mail Code MMC2702A, Minneapolis, MN 55414-3075
• Email:
  sjmongin@umn.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2018
• Performing Organization:
  University of Minnesota Twin Cities
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Epidemiology
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f64b37296f922280cf918d5b1ade56f2ce0250b101786431e20ff6d288b95b014dd9d3e12c283f865cf5469050c43efddb07c49f747e8df4ae93321ed02c679e
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/222987/cdc_222987_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 3.23 MB ]