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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

David M. Krol, MD, MPH, FAAP, The Children's Health Fund, 215 West 125th Street, Suite 301, New York, NY 10027, 212-535-9400, babydoctor@hotmail.com, Michael Redlener, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 145 West 96th St., Apt 14C, New York, NY 10025, and Alan Shapiro, MD, Community Pediatrics, Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 317 East 64th Street, New York, NY 10021.

Background: In response to Hurricane Katrina, mobile medical units from the Children's Health Fund national network were deployed to Gulf Coast Mississippi. Service locations included public housing, neighborhoods, shelters, motels, houses of worship, community centers, and work sites.

Methods: Medical charts of services provided from September 5-20, 2005 were reviewed. Date, location of service, age, chief complaint, and diagnosis data were entered in an Excel spreadsheet. Descriptive analysis of data was performed.

Results: 70% of patients seen were adults (>21yrs). A large percentage of patients requested and received vaccines (tetanus, Hepatitis A). Common diagnoses for children were dermatologic, asthma, trauma, atopic/allergic, and viral illnesses. Common diagnoses for adults were hypertension and diabetes. Oral health problems, new psychiatric diagnoses, and exacerbations of previously diagnosed psychiatric illness also presented.

Conclusions: Medical issues encountered were more typical of primary care and chronic illness management than of disaster medicine. Loss of infrastructure, including pharmacy and provider office closings, loss of personal and public transportation, loss or damage to medications and durable medical equipment, and loss or damage to medical records, contributed to serious access problems and interruption of care.

Implications: In developing medical responses to natural disasters it is important to be familiar with pre-disaster epidemiology of disease in populations who remain. In this case, a primarily adult, African-American, economically disadvantaged, medically underserved population presented with predictable medical needs. Response efforts must be conscious of the disproportionate effect that loss of infrastructure has on underserved populations' access to care for chronic and acute conditions.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to

• Describe health care needs that presented to mobile medical units deployed to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina.
• Apply the observations and experiences of mobile medical unit teams to inform and improve future medical responses to natural disasters.

Keywords: Disasters, Health Needs

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation