Hurricane Sandy (New Jersey): Mortality Rates in the Following Month and Quarter

Kim, Soyeon; Kulkarni, Prathit A.; Rajan, Mangala; Thomas, Pauline; Tsai, Stella; Tan, Christina; Davidow, Amy L.

doi:10.2105/ajph.2017.303826

Cited by 26 publications

(41 citation statements)

References 2 publications

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“…This expectation of having timely and accurate hurricane-related death counts immediately following a catastrophic disaster represents a failure among scientists and communicators to convey the inherent superiority of excess mortality estimation over "body counts" in complex disaster scenarios where surveillance systems and death certification processes are disrupted (Checchi & Roberts, 2008). Currently, there is little to guide communicators in making this distinction apparent to public audiences; while there is scientific literature related to mortality surveillance (Choudhary, 2012;Farag et al, 2013;Kim et al, 2017;Rocha et al, 2017;Seil et al, 2016) and documenting cause of death (Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters [CRED], 2016;Lakkireddy et al, 2004;Phillips et al, 2014;Wexelman et al, 2013), there is a paucity of studies exploring the specific concept of communicating disaster mortality to the public. There is no literature base that examines how death counts from a disaster should be communicated to the media, how to best explain information gaps that are common following disasters, how death counts may evolve post-disaster, or how to explain the science behind excess death estimates and what we can or cannot infer from these estimates.…”

Section: Communication Of Disaster Mortality To the Publicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality Reporting and Rumor Generation: An Assessment of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication following Hurricane María in Puerto Rico

Andrade

Barrett

Edberg

et al. 2020

JICRCR

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This study assessed the Government of Puerto Rico’s crisis and emergency risk communications following Hurricane María and the post-disaster information environment to identify factors that may have contributed to negative public perceptions of mortality reports. Data included Government of Puerto Rico press releases, press conference audio recordings and Facebook Live transmissions, digital media news and social media commentary, and interviews with Government of Puerto Rico personnel and community stakeholders. Study findings indicate that inadequate crisis communication planning and training, coupled with information gaps and inconsistencies, contributed to rumors around the issue of mortality. As a consequence, the Government of Puerto Rico lost the ability to effectively manage messaging, thus decreasing their credibility, perceived transparency, and public trust. Recommendations regarding future preparedness activities and research are offered.

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Section: Communication Of Disaster Mortality To the Publicmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mortality Reporting and Rumor Generation: An Assessment of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication following Hurricane María in Puerto Rico

Andrade

Barrett

Edberg

et al. 2020

JICRCR

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“…In New Jersey, Hurricane Sandy had a particularly deleterious effect on older people. Kim et al (2017) report that allcause mortality rates of people aged 76 and older increased 10% in the month following the hurricane, with mortality rates particularly high in communities severely affected by the storm. Assisted living facilities reported a surge in applications (Eltman, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Long-term effects of disaster on depressive symptoms: Type of exposure matters

Wilson‐Genderson

Heid

Pruchno

2018

Social Science & Medicine

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Rationale: Natural disasters have the potential to change the lives of older people, yet most studies rely on small convenience samples, few include assessments of people prior to the disaster, and only a handful examine the effects of different types of exposure. Objective: Our analyses add new knowledge to the literature by examining the ways in which four types of exposure (i.e., geographic, peri-traumatic stress, personal and property loss, and poststorm hardship) affect depressive symptoms experienced by older people over a five-year period. Method: We analyzed four waves of data from the ORANJ BOWL panel using multilevel mixed effects models. Results: We found that although each type of exposure had an independent effect on depressive symptoms, the effects of peri-traumatic stress were dominant. Conclusions: As nearly 20% of people in the United States will experience a natural disaster during the course of their lives, it is critical to understand how disaster exposure can influence mental health because each type of exposure demands a different response. Finding that an individual's emotional response during the disaster plays an important role in the development of depressive symptoms suggests that reduction of exposure to traumatic stress during a storm (i.e., evacuation from a storm area) is important for older people. Likewise, immediate interventions following a disaster that target people experiencing high levels of peri-traumatic distress may be particularly effective and that failing to attend to these people may miss a critical opportunity and result in years of suffering.

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“…The length of studies, including prospective follow-up and retrospective assessment, ranged from 1 month to 95 years. Most studies (n=36) focused on disasters that occurred in North America (12,(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)36,37,40,(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)49,50,52,53,(55)(56)(57)(58)(61)(62)(63)(65)(66)(67)(68)(69)(70)73,74), followed by Europe (n=13) (27)(28)(29)(30)(31)(32)(33)39,41,51,60,71,72). The remaining disasters occurred in Asia (n=7)…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The length of follow-up ranged from 1 month to 13 years. There were 23 studies that examined natural disasters (12,42–44,46,49,50,52–54,56–59,62,63,65,71–74), and 11 studies that examined human-made disasters (41,47,48,51,55,60,61,66–70). Of these studies, only one evaluated the impact of an infectious disease epidemic (64).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of these studies, only one evaluated the impact of an infectious disease epidemic (64). Most studies (12,41–44,46,48,50,52–54,56–64,66,69–74) considered the disaster as the main exposure of interest (n=27). The remaining 7 studies assessed disaster-related stress (51,55,65,67), including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychological strain, unemployment rates as a result of the disaster (49) and exposure to damaged or collapsed buildings during the World Trade Center disaster (68).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Impact of disasters, including pandemics, on cardiometabolic outcomes across the life-course: A systematic review

Rubeis

Lee

Anwer

et al. 2020

Preprint

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ObjectivesDisasters, such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, disrupt daily life, increase uncertainty and stress, and may increase long-term risk of adverse cardiometabolic outcomes, including heart disease, obesity and diabetes. The objective was to conduct a systematic review to determine the impact of disasters, including pandemics, on cardiometabolic outcomes across the life-course.DesignA systematic search was conducted in May 2020 using two electronic databases, EMBASE and Medline. All studies were screened in duplicate at title and abstract, and full-text level. Studies were eligible for inclusion if they assessed an association with population-level or community disaster and cardiometabolic outcomes. There were no restrictions on year of publication, country or population. Non-English and earthquake-related studies were excluded. Data were extracted on study characteristics, exposure (e.g., type of disaster, name of specific event, region, year), cardiometabolic outcomes, and measures of effect. Study quality was evaluated using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical appraisal tools.ResultsA total of 58 studies were included, with 24 studies reporting the effects of exposure to disaster during pregnancy/childhood and 34 studies reporting the effects of exposure during adulthood. Studies included exposure to natural (60%) and human-made (40%) disasters, with only 3 (5%) of these studies evaluating previous pandemics. Most studies were conducted in North America (62%). Most studies reported increased cardiometabolic risk, including increased cardiovascular disease incidence or mortality, diabetes, and obesity. Few studies investigated potential mechanisms or identified high risk subgroups.ConclusionsUnderstanding the long-term consequences of disasters on cardiometabolic outcomes across the life-course may inform public health strategies for the current COVID-19 pandemic. This review found strong evidence of an increased association between disaster exposure and cardiometabolic outcomes across the life-course, although more research is needed to better understand the mechanisms and preventative efforts.PROSPERO registrationCRD – 42020186074Strengths and limitations of this studyThis systematic review is one of the first to review the literature on disasters, including pandemics, and subsequent cardiometabolic outcomes throughout the life-course.A comprehensive search strategy was developed in consultation with Health Science Librarians at McMaster University, which resulted in 58 studies that were eligible for inclusion into the review.Due to the heterogeneity of the included studies, a meta-analysis was not conducted.This review contributes a synthesis of the literature on the impact of disasters and cardiometabolic outcomes, that can help to inform public health strategies for the current COVID-19 pandemic.

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Hurricane Sandy (New Jersey): Mortality Rates in the Following Month and Quarter

Abstract: Mortality increased, heterogeneous by cause, for both periods after Hurricane Sandy, particularly in communities more severely affected and in the elderly, who may benefit from supportive services.

Cited by 26 publications

References 2 publications

Mortality Reporting and Rumor Generation: An Assessment of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication following Hurricane María in Puerto Rico

Mortality Reporting and Rumor Generation: An Assessment of Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication following Hurricane María in Puerto Rico

Long-term effects of disaster on depressive symptoms: Type of exposure matters

Impact of disasters, including pandemics, on cardiometabolic outcomes across the life-course: A systematic review

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