Details:

Alternative Title:
Prev Chronic Dis
Publisher's site:
http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd13.160107
Personal Author:
Moise, Imelda K. ; Ruiz, Marilyn O.
Moise, Imelda K. ; Ruiz, Marilyn O. Less -
Description:
Introduction

Identifying at-risk groups is a challenge in post-disaster psychosocial response. Geospatial techniques can support the design and deployment of targeted and tailored interventions. This study compared spatial patterns in the distribution of hospitalizations for substance abuse disorders and associated area-level predictors before and after Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Methods

We used hospital data from the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals for 2004 (pre-Katrina) and 2008 (post-Katrina). Data were assessed by using descriptive statistics, multivariable Poisson regression, and geospatial analysis. We assessed hospitalizations by US Census block group in relation to the presence of blighted properties (ie, buildings declared an imminent health threat, in danger of collapse, or a public nuisance), race of residents (white or nonwhite), presence of nondisplaced residents (measured by the number of households receiving mail in 2008), and depth of water levels.

Results

The hospitalization rate for substance abuse disorders was 7.13 per 1,000 population for 2004 and 9.65 per 1,000 for 2008. The concentration of hospitalizations shifted geographically from block groups exposed to floods (levee breaches) in 2004 to the center of the city in 2008. Post Katrina, predictors for hospitalizations were presence of blighted properties, nonwhite populations, and presence of nondisplaced residents. Distance from flooded areas (high water depth) and levee breaches was negatively associated with hospitalizations. Men were more likely than women to be hospitalized during both periods (78%, 2004; 63%, 2008), and the percentage of the hospitalized white population increased from 2004 (28.8%) to 2008 (44.9%).

Conclusion

Geographic patterns of hospitalizations for substance abuse disorders shifted in post-Katrina New Orleans from flood-exposed areas to less exposed areas in the center of the city; however, poverty was a main predictor for hospitalizations during both periods. Approaches used in this study are generalizable to other disaster areas and to other psychological vulnerabilities (eg, anxiety).


Subject:
[+]
Adult Cyclonic Storms/history Demography Disasters/history Female History, 21st Century Hospitalization Humans Male Multivariate Analysis Population Groups Regression Analysis Retrospective Studies Risk Factors Spatial Analysis Substance-Related Disorders Young Adult
Source:
Prev Chronic Dis. 13.
Pubmed ID:
27736053
Pubmed Central ID:
PMC5063608
Document Type:
Journal Article
Name as Subject:
Hurricane Katrina, 2005 ; Hurricane Katrina, 2005
Hurricane Katrina, 2005 ; Hurricane Katrina, 2005 Less -
Genre:
Historical Article
Place as Subject:
New Orleans, LA
Collection(s):
Preventing Chronic Disease
Main Document Checksum:
[+]
urn:sha256:9d900f53bc7f015b7af15afe08f4e4378eb8c742f848ff30501658f38765d34e
Download URL:
https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/42871/cdc_42871_DS1.pdf
File Type:

Supporting Files

• 	PCD-13-E145.nxml	bin
  	PCD-13-E145s01.gif	gif
  	PCD-13-E145s01.jpg	jpeg
  	PCD-13-E145s02.gif	gif
  	PCD-13-E145s02.jpg	jpeg

More +