Health Conditions and Risk Factors of Sheltered Persons Displaced by Hurricane Katrina

AbstractIntroduction:During disasters, public health departments assume the role of maintaining the health of displaced persons. Displaced persons arrive with acute and chronic conditions as well as other risk factors. Descriptions of these conditions may aid future shelter planning efforts.Methods:Approximately 4,000 individuals from New Orleans, displaced by Hurricane Katrina, were sheltered in Austin, Texas. A stratified random sample of the population was selected using individual beds as the primary sampling unit. Adults were interviewed about their acute symptoms, chronic diseases, and other risk factors.Results:The results indicate a substantial proportion of adults arrived with some symptoms of acute illness (49.8%). A majority of the adults reported living with a chronic condition (59.0%), and the prevalence of some chronic conditions was higher than that of the general population. Also, several factors that could complicate service delivery were prevalent.Discussion:Acute illnesses present transmission risks within the shelter. Furthermore, chronic diseases must be managed and may complicate care of acute illnesses. Risks like activity limitation or substance abuse may complicate shelter operations. Defining the potential scope of the illness burden may be used to help public health departments better plan the services they must deliver to displaced populations.

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Treatment of Active Tuberculosis in Chicago, 2008-2011: The Role of Public Health Departments

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0164162 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. e0164162

Author(s):

Reid Fletcher ◽

Joshua D. Jones ◽

Neha S. Shah

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Active Tuberculosis ◽

Health Departments ◽

Public Health Departments

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Strengthening the role of US Public Health Departments in preventing violence: recommendations from an Expert Roundtable Meeting

Injury Prevention ◽

10.1136/ip.2010.029215.701 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 16 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. A197-A197

Author(s):

P. Smith ◽

L. Scarpetta ◽

A. Williams

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Departments ◽

Public Health Departments

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Reducing firearm injuries: the role of local public health departments

Public Health Reports ◽

10.1093/phr/114.6.533 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 114 (6) ◽

pp. 533-539 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

J. H. Price

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Health Departments ◽

Local Public Health ◽

Public Health Departments ◽

Firearm Injuries ◽

Local Public Health Departments

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A Panel Evaluation of the Changes in the General Public’s Social-Media-Following of United States’ Public Health Departments during COVID-19 Pandemic

Journal of Primary Care & Community Health ◽

10.1177/2150132721995450 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

pp. 215013272199545

Author(s):

Areej Khokhar ◽

Aaron Spaulding ◽

Zuhair Niazi ◽

Sikander Ailawadhi ◽

Rami Manochakian ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Social Media ◽

State Level ◽

The State ◽

Public Health Department ◽

Health Departments ◽

The Public ◽

Public Health Departments ◽

The Social ◽

The U.S

Importance: Social media is widely used by various segments of society. Its role as a tool of communication by the Public Health Departments in the U.S. remains unknown. Objective: To determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social media following of the Public Health Departments of the 50 States of the U.S. Design, Setting, and Participants: Data were collected by visiting the Public Health Department web page for each social media platform. State-level demographics were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention was utilized to collect information regarding the Governance of each State’s Public Health Department. Health rankings were collected from “America’s Health Rankings” 2019 Annual report from the United Health Foundation. The U.S. News and World Report Education Rankings were utilized to provide information regarding the public education of each State. Exposure: Data were pulled on 3 separate dates: first on March 5th (baseline and pre-national emergency declaration (NED) for COVID-19), March 18th (week following NED), and March 25th (2 weeks after NED). In addition, a variable identifying the total change across platforms was also created. All data were collected at the State level. Main Outcome: Overall, the social media following of the state Public Health Departments was very low. There was a significant increase in the public interest in following the Public Health Departments during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: With the declaration of National Emergency, there was a 150% increase in overall public following of the State Public Health Departments in the U.S. The increase was most noted in the Midwest and South regions of the U.S. The overall following in the pandemic “hotspots,” such as New York, California, and Florida, was significantly lower. Interesting correlations were noted between various demographic variables, health, and education ranking of the States and the social media following of their Health Departments. Conclusion and Relevance: Social media following of Public Health Departments across all States of the U.S. was very low. Though, the social media following significantly increased during the early course of the COVID-19 pandemic, but it still remains low. Significant opportunity exists for Public Health Departments to improve social media use to engage the public better.

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