Responses of a vulnerable Hispanic population in New Jersey to Hurricane Sandy: Access to care, medical needs, concerns, and ecological ratings

ABSTRACT

Recent increases in hurricanes led to a need to evaluate access to medical care, medical needs, and personal and community impact on vulnerable populations, particularly elderly, low income, and minority communities. This investigation examined (1) access to care, (2) interruptions in medical services, (3) personal impact from Hurricane Sandy, and (4) agreement with ecological statements related to storms, flooding, and damages in Hispanic/Latino patients receiving health care at Federally Qualified Health Centers in New Jersey. Only 10% of 335 Hispanic interviewees were US born. Self-identified personal impact was a better indicator of effects from Sandy, health center use, and medical issues, than community impact rating. Respondents who provided a high personal impact rating were more likely to have evacuated, had longer power outage, were more likely to need medical care, displayed more trouble getting to centers, and exhibited more medical interruptions during Sandy. A higher % respondents who evacuated, needed the center, had trouble getting there, and had more “medical need” than those who did not evacuate. The greatest impacts were on respondents who were told to evacuate before the storm, but did not (46% had “medical need”). The respondents had high agreement ratings for “storms are due to climate change,” followed by “frequent and stronger storms will come more often,” “flooding is due to sea level rise,” and “changing climate is due mainly to human activity and not natural causes”. These ratings may aid public policymakers and planners in developing resiliency strategies for vulnerable coastal communities.

Funding

This study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Preparedness and Response Research to Aid Recovery from Hurricane Sandy (CDC-RFA-13-001) grant to New Jersey Department of Health, which included collaboration with the New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, New Jersey Department of Human Services, and the Division of Life Sciences, Rutgers University, as well as the NIEHS Center (P30ES005022). The project and protocol were approved by the New Jersey Primary Care Association (NJPCA), the Directors of the participating Federally Qualified Health Centers, the Rutgers Institutional Review Board (Protocol E14-319, Notice of Exemption), and the New Jersey Department of Health. Thanks are extended to K. Grant-Davis (then CEO of New Jersey Primary Care Association), her Executive Board, and the Center Directors of the Federally Qualified Health Centers for allowing the interviewing of their patients, their staff for being so accommodating, Clarimel Cepeda, Marta Hernandez, Ahmend Nezar, Alan Perez, and Ana Quintero for aid in interviewing, and all those who patients who consented to be interviewed. This paper represents the views of the authors, and not the funding agencies or the NJPCA.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Preparedness and Response Research to Aid Recovery from Hurricane Sandy (CDC-RFA-13-001) grant to New Jersey Department of Health, which included collaboration with the New Jersey Medical School, Rutgers University, New Jersey Department of Human Services, and the Division of Life Sciences, Rutgers University, as well as the NIEHS Center (P30ES005022). The project and protocol were approved by the New Jersey Primary Care Association (NJPCA), the Directors of the participating Federally Qualified Health Centers, the Rutgers Institutional Review Board (Protocol E14-319, Notice of Exemption), and the New Jersey Department of Health. Thanks are extended to K. Grant-Davis (then CEO of New Jersey Primary Care Association), her Executive Board, and the Center Directors of the Federally Qualified Health Centers for allowing the interviewing of their patients, their staff for being so accommodating, Clarimel Cepeda, Marta Hernandez, Ahmend Nezar, Alan Perez, and Ana Quintero for aid in interviewing, and all those who patients who consented to be interviewed. This paper represents the views of the authors, and not the funding agencies or the NJPCA.