Increased risk of multiple pregnancy complications following large-scale power outages during Hurricane Sandy in New York State

AbstractOpioid overdose related deaths have increased dramatically in recent years. Combating the opioid epidemic requires better understanding of the epidemiology of opioid poisoning (OP). To discover trends and patterns of opioid poisoning and the demographic and regional disparities, we analyzed large scale patient visits data in New York State (NYS). Demographic, spatial, temporal and correlation analyses were performed for all OP patients extracted from the claims data in the New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) from 2010 to 2016, along with Decennial US Census and American Community Survey zip code level data. 58,481 patients with at least one OP diagnosis and a valid NYS zip code address were included. Main outcome and measures include OP patient counts and rates per 100,000 population, patient level factors (gender, age, race and ethnicity, residential zip code), and zip code level social demographic factors. The results showed that the OP rate increased by 364.6%, and by 741.5% for the age group > 65 years. There were wide disparities among groups by race and ethnicity on rates and age distributions of OP. Heroin and non-heroin based OP rates demonstrated distinct temporal trends as well as major geospatial variation. The findings highlighted strong demographic disparity of OP patients, evolving patterns and substantial geospatial variation.

Download Full-text

Experiences of HIV/STD Providers in New York State During Hurricane Sandy: Strengths, Challenges, and Recommendations

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2020.91 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-6

Author(s):

Kristen Vacca ◽

Asante Shipp-Hilts ◽

Stephanie Mack ◽

Yunshu Li ◽

Millicent Eidson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Key Words ◽

Natural Disaster ◽

Emergency Preparedness ◽

New York State ◽

Hurricane Sandy ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Federal State ◽

York State ◽

State And Local

ABSTRACT Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess strengths and challenges experienced by HIV/STD providers in providing care during the response to Hurricane Sandy (Sandy) in New York State, and their recommendations for future preparedness. Methods: A mixed methods approach, including a focus group (n = 3), interviews (n = 3), and survey (n = 31) of HIV/STD providers, was used. Key words identified by means of open coding methodology from collected data were organized into strengths, challenges, and recommendations and then grouped into federal and study-associated preparedness capabilities. Results: Key words were organized into 81 strengths (38.8%), 73 challenges (34.9%), and 55 recommendations (26.3%). Services most interrupted during Sandy were related to HIV/STD outreach and education. While providers reported challenges with external agency communication, the ability to still connect clients to needed resources was reported as a strength. Strengthening partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies was among the major recommendations made by these providers. Conclusions: This study presents unique information about challenges experienced by HIV/STD providers in providing services during a natural disaster and the use of national public health emergency preparedness capabilities to address and overcome those challenges. Lessons learned and recommendations regarding inter-agency communications emerged as an important priority during a natural disaster to minimize or reduce service interruption.

Download Full-text

New York State Public Health System Response to Hurricane Sandy: An Analysis of Emergency Reports

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2015.142 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 308-313 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Asante Shipp Hilts ◽

Stephanie Mack ◽

Millicent Eidson ◽

Trang Nguyen ◽

Guthrie S. Birkhead

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

New York ◽

Health System ◽

Key Words ◽

Public Health System ◽

New York State ◽

Hurricane Sandy ◽

System Response ◽

Emergency Operations ◽

York State

AbstractObjectiveAnalyzing Hurricane Sandy emergency reports to assess the New York State (NYS) public health system response will help inform and improve future disaster preparedness and response.MethodsQualitative analysis of NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) and Nassau and Suffolk County local health department (LHD) emergency reports was conducted. Three after-action reports and 48 situation reports were reviewed, grouped by key words and sorted into 16 Public Health Preparedness Capabilities. Within each capability, key words were labeled as strengths, challenges, or recommendations.ResultsThe NYSDOH capability most cited as a strength was successful emergency operations coordination, eg, interagency conference calls (27.4% of 1681 strengths). The most cited challenge was environmental health protection, eg, mold and oil spills (28% of 706 challenges). The LHD capability most cited both as a strength (46.7% of 30 strengths) and as a challenge (32.5% of 123 challenges) was emergency operations coordination. Strengths were exemplified by sharing local resources and challenges by insufficient memorandums of understanding for coordination.ConclusionsPost-disaster emergency reports should be systematically reviewed to highlight both successes and areas for improvement. Future studies should prioritize collecting feedback from a wider spectrum of public health and service provider staff for planning of preparedness and response activities. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;10:308–313)

Download Full-text

New York State Public Health System Response to Hurricane Sandy: Lessons From the Field

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2016.69 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 10 (3) ◽

pp. 443-453 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Asante Shipp Hilts ◽

Stephanie Mack ◽

Millicent Eidson ◽

Trang Nguyen ◽

Guthrie S. Birkhead

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

New York ◽

New York State ◽

Hurricane Sandy ◽

System Response ◽

Health Staff ◽

Health Departments ◽

Public Health Response ◽

Public Health Preparedness ◽

York State

AbstractObjectiveThe aim of this study was to conduct interviews with public health staff who responded to Hurricane Sandy and to analyze their feedback to assess response strengths and challenges and recommend improvements for future disaster preparedness and response.MethodsQualitative analysis was conducted of information from individual confidential interviews with 35 staff from 3 local health departments in New York State (NYS) impacted by Hurricane Sandy and the NYS Department of Health. Staff were asked about their experiences during Hurricane Sandy and their recommendations for improvements. Open coding was used to analyze interview transcripts for reoccurring themes, which were labeled as strengths, challenges, or recommendations and then categorized into public health preparedness capabilities.ResultsThe most commonly cited strengths, challenges, and recommendations related to the Hurricane Sandy public health response in NYS were within the emergency operations coordination preparedness capability, which includes the abilities of health department staff to partner among government agencies, coordinate with emergency operation centers, conduct routine conference calls with partners, and manage resources.ConclusionsHealth departments should ensure that emergency planning includes protocols to coordinate backup staffing, delineation of services that can be halted during disasters, clear guidelines to coordinate resources across agencies, and training for transitioning into unfamiliar disaster response roles. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:443–453)

Download Full-text

An Epidemiologic Survey of Injury in Golfers

Journal of Sport Rehabilitation ◽

10.1123/jsr.7.2.112 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 7 (2) ◽

pp. 112-121 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

John J. Nicholas ◽

Margaret Reidy ◽

Denise M. Oleske

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Carpal Tunnel ◽

New York State ◽

Golf Ball ◽

Significant Morbidity ◽

York State ◽

Epidemiologic Survey ◽

Increased Risk ◽

High Incidence ◽

Back Problems

In order to supplement the literature that describes individual injuries of the shoulder, carpal tunnel, and back in golfers, we administered a survey to demonstrate the incidence of golfers' injuries and describe the most frequent types. A questionnaire was administered to 1,790 members of the New York State Golf Association (amateur) under age 21. Three hundred sixty-eight players responded. Half of those responding had been struck by a golf ball at least on one occasion (47.6%), and 23% of the injuries were to the head or neck. Male golfers were 2.66 times more likely to be struck by a golf ball than females. Women and golfers with a higher handicap were at an increased risk for upper extremity problems, whereas younger and overweight golfers were more likely to have golf-related back problems. We concluded that golf is associated with a significant morbidity. Repetitious trunk and upper limb motions probably contribute to musculoskeletal disorders. However, an unexpectedly high incidence of trauma from projectile golf balls leads to the conclusion that no amount of stretching or muscular exercise is as important as increased alertness by golfers to decrease this hazard.

Download Full-text

Window of Opportunity for New Disease Surveillance: Developing Keyword Lists for Monitoring Mental Health and Injury Through Syndromic Surveillance

Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness ◽

10.1017/dmp.2016.99 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 173-178 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ursula Lauper ◽

Jian-Hua Chen ◽

Shao Lin

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Mental Health ◽

New York ◽

Syndromic Surveillance ◽

New York State ◽

Hurricane Sandy ◽

York State Department ◽

Free Text ◽

York State ◽

The Impact

AbstractStudies have documented the impact that hurricanes have on mental health and injury rates before, during, and after the event. Since timely tracking of these disease patterns is crucial to disaster planning, response, and recovery, syndromic surveillance keyword filters were developed by the New York State Department of Health to study the short- and long-term impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Emergency department syndromic surveillance is recognized as a valuable tool for informing public health activities during and immediately following a disaster. Data typically consist of daily visit reports from hospital emergency departments (EDs) of basic patient data and free-text chief complaints. To develop keyword lists, comparisons were made with existing CDC categories and then integrated with lists from the New York City and New Jersey health departments in a collaborative effort. Two comprehensive lists were developed, each containing multiple subcategories and over 100 keywords for both mental health and injury. The data classifiers using these keywords were used to assess impacts of Sandy on mental health and injuries in New York State. The lists will be validated by comparing the ED chief complaint keyword with the final ICD diagnosis code. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:173–178)

Download Full-text

Abstract WP185: The Risk of Pregnancy-associated Stroke Does not Increase With Age: an Analysis of Claims Data From New York State

Stroke ◽

10.1161/str.47.suppl_1.wp185 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 47 (suppl_1) ◽

Author(s):

Hajere J Gatollari ◽

Eliza C Miller ◽

Gloria Too ◽

Amelia K Boehme ◽

Anna Colello ◽

...

Keyword(s):

New York ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Older Women ◽

Post Partum ◽

New York State ◽

Vital Statistics ◽

York State Department ◽

Limited Information ◽

York State ◽

Increased Risk

Introduction: Stroke is a rare but feared complication of pregnancy and the postpartum period. Prior studies have found that older age is associated with increased risk of pregnancy-associated stroke (PAS). It is unclear to what extent pregnancy contributes to this increased risk of PAS. There is limited information on age-specific incidence ratios to assess whether the risk of PAS is comparable to stroke in similarly aged non-pregnant women. Hypothesis: Increased incidence of PAS in older women is attributable to the increasing risk of stroke with age. Methods: We used the 2008-2012 New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System (SPARCS) inpatient database to identify women aged 12-50 with ischemic (ICD-9 433, 434, 436), ICH (ICD-9 431), SAH (ICD-9 430), and non-specified PAS, including post-partum stroke (ICD-9 671.7, 674). Population data were obtained from NYS DOH Vital Statistics. Age-specific incidence ratios were calculated for strokes in pregnant or postpartum women compared to non-pregnant women. We used standard age groups considered by obstetricians to be at low, moderate, or high risk for pregnancy complications, including stroke. Results: Of 7099 stroke hospitalizations occurring in women, 386 were in pregnant women. The table shows the incidence of stroke in women stratified by pregnancy status and age group, and age-specific incidence risk ratios associated with pregnancy. Conclusions: Compared to non-pregnant women of the same age, pregnant women appeared to be at similarly increased risk of stroke at all ages, except for those over age 40. These results suggest that pregnancy itself does not further increase the risk of stroke in older women, though they could also reflect a tendency for healthier women to have pregnancies at later ages. More research is needed to investigate the characteristics that may put younger women at increased risk of stroke, compared to their non-pregnant contemporaries.

Download Full-text