Disaster-Related Injuries and Illnesses Treated by American Red Cross Disaster Health Services During Hurricanes Gustav and Ike

Objectives:Hurricane Harvey left a path of destruction in its wake, resulting in over 100 deaths and damaging critical infrastructure. During a disaster, public health surveillance is necessary to track emerging illnesses and injuries, identify at-risk populations, and assess the effectiveness of response efforts. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and American Red Cross collaborate on shelter surveillance to monitor the health of the sheltered population and help guide response efforts.Methods:We analyzed data collected from 24 Red Cross shelters between August 25, 2017, and September 14, 2017. We described the aggregate morbidity data collected during Harvey compared with previous hurricanes (Gustav, Ike, and Sandy).Results:Over one-third (38%) of reasons for visit were for health care maintenance; 33% for acute illnesses, which includes respiratory conditions, gastrointestinal symptoms, and pain; 19% for exacerbation of chronic disease; 7% for mental health; and 4% for injury. The Red Cross treated 41% of clients within the shelters; however, reporting of disposition was often missed. These results are comparable to previous hurricanes.Conclusion:The capacity of Red Cross shelter staff to address the acute health needs of shelter residents is a critical resource for local public health agencies overwhelmed by the disaster. However, there remains room for improvement because reporting remained inconsistent.

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disaster-Related Shelter Surveillance During the Hurricane Harvey Response – Texas 2017

Schnall

Hanchey

Nakata³

et al. 2019

“…This study's findings are similar to those of other studies on the mechanisms of injury and their distribution by sex and age. However, differences in location, 13,14 design, 2 timing of data collection after the disaster, and data collection tools 10,14,15 make comparisons challenging. The most frequent mechanisms of injury (falls, slips, and trips) seen in the months following Hurricane Maria were also the most frequently reported after hurricanes Gustav, Ike, and Sandy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Injury-Related Emergency Department Visits After Hurricane Maria in a Southern Puerto Rico Hospital

Frasqueri-Quintana

Garcia

Adams

et al. 2019

Objective:The aim of this study was to describe individuals seeking care for injury at a major emergency department (ED) in southern Puerto Rico in the months after Hurricane Maria on September 20, 2017.Methods:After informed consent, we used a modified version of the Natural Disaster Morbidity Surveillance Form to determine why patients were visiting the ED during October 16, 2017–March 28, 2018. We analyzed visits where injury was reported as the primary reason for visit and whether it was hurricane-related.Results:Among 5 116 patients, 573 (11%) reported injury as the primary reason for a visit. Of these, 10% were hurricane-related visits. The most common types of injuries were abrasions, lacerations, and cuts (43% of all injury visits and 50% of hurricane-related visits). The most common mechanisms of injury were falls, slips, trips (268, 47%), and being hit by/or against an object (88, 15%). Most injury visits occurred during the first 3 months after the hurricane.Conclusions:Surveillance after Hurricane Maria identified injury as the reason for a visit for about 1 in 10 patients visiting the ED, providing evidence on the patterns of injuries in the months following a hurricane. Public health and emergency providers can use this information to anticipate health care needs after a disaster.

“…Shelter staff provides important services (eg, blood pressure checks, blood sugar checks, medication refills) for those displaced during disasters, especially for vulnerable populations such as the elderly and those with chronic illnesses. 6 With Hurricanes Irma and Maria causing a massive disruption in health management and continuity of care with the closure of clinics, limited functionality of hospitals, massive power outages, the burden of chronic illnesses, and routine care was partially placed on shelter volunteers. Additionally, documenting health care management visits provided important information to shelter volunteer staff by capturing the current and changing health status of the sheltered population.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similar to previous disasters, exacerbation of chronic disease was a top reason for visits. [5][6] Among the 241 visits related to exacerbation of chronic illness, over half were related to diabetes. This was especially concerning because the territory had difficulty obtaining insulin after the hurricanes due to airport and port closures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disaster-Related Surveillance Among US Virgin Islands (USVI) Shelters During the Hurricanes Irma and Maria Response

Schnall

Roth

Ekpo

et al. 2019

ObjectivesTwo Category 5 storms, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, hit the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) within 13 days of each other in September 2017. These storms caused catastrophic damage across the territory, including widespread loss of power, destruction of homes, and devastation of critical infrastructure. During large scale disasters such as Hurricanes Irma and Maria, public health surveillance is an important tool to track emerging illnesses and injuries, identify at-risk populations, and assess the effectiveness of response efforts. The USVI Department of Health (DoH) partnered with shelter staff volunteers to monitor the health of the sheltered population and help guide response efforts.MethodsShelter volunteers collect data on the American Red Cross Aggregate Morbidity Report form that tallies the number of client visits at a shelter’s health services every 24 hours. Morbidity data were collected at all 5 shelters on St. Thomas and St. Croix between September and October 2017. This article describes the health surveillance data collected in response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria.ResultsFollowing Hurricanes Irma and Maria, 1130 health-related client visits were reported, accounting for 1655 reasons for the visits (each client may have more than 1 reason for a single visit). Only 1 shelter reported data daily. Over half of visits (51.2%) were for health care management; 17.7% for acute illnesses, which include respiratory conditions, gastrointestinal symptoms, and pain; 14.6% for exacerbation of chronic disease; 9.8% for mental health; and 6.7% for injury. Shelter volunteers treated many clients within the shelters; however, reporting of the disposition (eg, referred to physician, pharmacist) was often missed (78.1%).ConclusionShelter surveillance is an efficient means of quickly identifying and characterizing health issues and concerns in sheltered populations following disasters, allowing for the development of evidence-based strategies to address identified needs. When incorporated into broader surveillance strategies using multiple data sources, shelter data can enable disaster epidemiologists to paint a more comprehensive picture of community health, thereby planning and responding to health issues both within and outside of shelters. The findings from this report illustrated that managing chronic conditions presented a more notable resource demand than acute injuries and illnesses. Although there remains room for improvement because reporting was inconsistent throughout the response, the capacity of shelter staff to address the health needs of shelter residents and the ability to monitor the health needs in the sheltered population were critical resources for the USVI DoH overwhelmed by the disaster. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:38-43)