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| Title: | Health Status among Emergency Department Patients Approximately One Year after Consecutive Disasters in New York City |
| Authors: | Fernandez, William G.
Galea, Sandro
Miller, Jeff
Ahern, Jennifer
Chiang, William
Kennedy, Elizabeth L.
Garritano, Joanna |
| Issue Date: | 2005 |
| Abstract: | Objectives: Emergency department (ED) patients with
disaster-related experiences may present with vague symptoms
not clearly linked to the event. In 2001, two disasters
in New York City, the World Trade Center disaster (WTCD)
and the subsequent American Airlines Flight 587 crash,
presented an opportunity to study long-term consequences
of cumulative disaster exposure (CDE) on health-related
quality of life (HRQOL) among ED patients. Methods: From
July 15 to October 30, 2002, a systematic sample of stable,
adult patients from two EDs in New York City were
enrolled. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire.
The Short Form 36 (SF-36) was used to assess
overall health status. Bivariate analyses were conducted to
identify individual correlates of worsening health status.
Multivariate regression was performed to identify the
association between various factors and overall health
status, while controlling for relevant sociodemographic
variables. Results: Four hundred seventy-one patients
(54.6% female) participated. The participation rate was
73.4%. One hundred sixty-one participants (36%) reported
direct, indirect, or occupational exposure to the WTCD;
55 (13.3%) had direct, indirect, or occupational exposure to
the plane crash; 33 (8.1%) had both exposures. In separate
multivariate models, CDE predicted lower SF-36 scores for
general health (p , 0.0096), mental health (p , 0.0033), and
bodily pain (p , 0.0046). Conclusions: In the year following
mass traumatic events, persons with CDE had lower overall
health status than those with one or no disaster exposure.
Clinicians should consider the impact that traumatic events
have on the overall health status of ED patients in the wake
of consecutive disasters. |
| Appears in Collections: | Public Health, School of (SPH)
Epidemiology, Department of (SPH)
Institute for Social Research (ISR)
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| Fernandez_Health Status Among Emerency Department Patients_2005.pdf | | 97Kb | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
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