Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-94fs2 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-17T17:22:42.338Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Work-Related Unintentional Injuries Associated With Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2016

Elizabeth G. Marshall ,
Shou-En Lu ,
Zhengyang Shi ,
Joel Swerdel ,
Marija Borjan  and
Margaret E. Lumia
Elizabeth G. Marshall*
Affiliation:
Departments of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey
Shou-En Lu
Affiliation:
Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey
Zhengyang Shi
Affiliation:
Biostatistics, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey
Joel Swerdel
Affiliation:
Departments of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, Piscataway, New Jersey
Marija Borjan
Affiliation:
Occupational Health Surveillance Unit, New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, New Jersey.
Margaret E. Lumia
Affiliation:
Occupational Health Surveillance Unit, New Jersey Department of Health, Trenton, New Jersey.
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Elizabeth G. Marshall, PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Rutgers School of Public Health, 683 Hoes Lane West, Piscataway, NJ 08854 (e-mail: marshaeli@sph.rutgers.edu).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective

We aimed to evaluate the occurrence of work-related injuries after Hurricane Sandy potentially related to response and recovery.

Methods

Emergency and hospital discharges (patients aged 18-65 years) with a diagnosis of unintentional injury were obtained from the New Jersey Department of Health. Work-related injuries were identified as those with a workers’ compensation payer or other work-related codes. Counties were categorized as high-, medium-, or low-impact areas. Poisson regression analysis was used to compare the rate of work-related injury the year following Sandy landfall with the 3 previous years.

Results

Total work-related injuries declined the week immediately after Sandy (rate ratio [RR]: 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.69-1.05) and no overall increase was found in the year after Hurricane Sandy. However, high-impact counties showed an elevated risk of work-related injuries in the first and third quarters after Hurricane Sandy among men, especially for blacks and Hispanics. The greatest excesses occurred in the third quarter after the storm, May to July, for falls (RR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.08-1.57), cut/pierce injuries (RR: 1.24; 95% CI: 1.09-1.40), struck-by injuries (RR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.02-1.34), and overexertion (RR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.10-1.44).

Conclusions

Hospital data suggested an increase in injuries associated with rebuilding and recovery rather than with initial response. Future efforts aimed at prevention should evaluate the mechanisms and circumstances of injury in more detail. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:394–404)

Keywords

hurricanewounds and injuriesoccupational health
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 10 , Special Issue 3: Superstorm Sandy , June 2016 , pp. 394 - 404
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Manuel, J. The long road to recovery: environmental health impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Environ Health Perspect. 2013;121(5):a152-a159. http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.121-a152.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2. Economics and Statistics Administration. Economic Impacts of Hurricane Sandy. Washington, DC: US Department of Commerce; 2013. http://www.esa.doc.gov/sites/default/files/sandyfinal101713.pdf. Accessed March 23, 2016.Google Scholar
3. Schulte, PA, Chun, H. Climate change and occupational safety and health: establishing a preliminary framework. J Occup Environ Hyg. 2009;6(9):542-554. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15459620903066008.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. Goldman, L, Coussens, C. Environmental Public Health Impacts of Disasters: Hurricane Katrina, Workshop Summary. Washington, DC: National Academies Press; 2007.Google Scholar
5. Tak, S, Bernard, BP, Driscoll, RJ, et al. Floodwater exposure and the related health symptoms among firefighters in New Orleans, Louisiana 2005. Am J Ind Med. 2007;50(5):377-382. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.20459.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Brackbill, RM, Caramanica, K, Maliniak, M, et al. Nonfatal injuries 1 week after hurricane sandy--New York city metropolitan area, October 2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014;63(42):950-954.Google ScholarPubMed
7. Consensus Recommendations for Injury Surveillance in State Health Departments. Report from the Injury Surveillance Workgroup (ISW5). Atlanta, GA: State and Territorial Injury Prevention Directors Association; 2007. https://ibis.health.state.nm.us/docs/Query/STIPDAConcensusRecommendations.pdf.. Accessed March 23, 2016.Google Scholar
8. New Jersey Department of Health. NJDDCS Version 2 Data Dictionary and Data Extract File Layout Version 14.2. In: NJDDCS V2 Data Dictionary. http://www.nj.gov/health/healthcarequality/ub/before08/NJDDCS_data_dictionary_v14.2.pdf. Published April 1, 2014. Accessed March 23, 2016.Google Scholar
9. Davis, LK, Hunt, PR, Hackman, HH, et al. Use of statewide electronic emergency department data for occupational injury surveillance: a feasibility study in Massachusetts. Am J Ind Med. 2012;55(4):344-352. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.21035.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10. Barell, V, Aharonson-Daniel, L, et al. An introduction to the Barell body region by nature of injury diagnosis matrix. Inj Prev. 2002;8(2):91-96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ip.8.2.91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
11. Hoopes Halpin, S. The Impact of Superstorm Sandy on New Jersey Towns and Households. http://njdatabank.newark.rutgers.edu/sites/default/files/files/RutgersSandyImpact-FINAL-25Oct13.pdf. Published 2013. Accessed March 23, 2016.Google Scholar
12. Dong, XS, Wang, X, Largay, JA, et al. Fatal falls in the U.S. residential construction industry. Am J Ind Med. 2014;57(9):992-1000. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22341.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Ochsner, M, Marshall, EG, Martino, C, et al. Beyond the classroom: a case study of immigrant safety liaisons in residential construction. New Solut. 2012;22(3):365-386. http://dx.doi.org/10.2190/NS.22.3.h.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. Julius, AK, Kane, B, Bulzacchelli, MT, et al. Compliance with the ANSI Z133.1-2006 safety standard among arborists in New England. J Safety Res. 2014;51:65-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2014.09.010.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15. OSHA. Adding Inequality to Injury: The Costs of Failing to Protect Workers on the Job. Washington, DC: Occupational Safety and Health Administration, US Department of Labor; 2015.Google Scholar
16. Friedman, L, Krupczak, C, Brandt-Rauf, S, et al. Occupational amputations in Illinois 2000-2007: BLS vs. data linkage of trauma registry, hospital discharge, workers compensation databases and OSHA citations. Injury. 2013;44(5):667-673. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.injury.2012.01.007.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. Centers for Disease C. Prevention. Proportion of workers who were work-injured and payment by workers’ compensation systems-10 states, 2007. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2010;59(29):897-900.Google Scholar
18. Sears, JM, Bowman, SM, Hogg-Johnson, S, et al. Linkage and concordance of Trauma Registry and hospital discharge records: lessons for occupational injury surveillance and research. J Occup Environ Med. 2014;56(8):878-885. http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/JOM.0000000000000198.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19. Davis, LK, Grattan, KM, Tak, S, et al. Use of multiple data sources for surveillance of work-related amputations in Massachusetts, comparison with official estimates and implications for national surveillance. Am J Ind Med. 2014;57(10):1120-1132. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ajim.22327.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20. Fletcher, LE, Pham, P, Stover, E, et al. Rebuilding After Katrina: A Population-Based Study of Labor and Human Rights in New Orleans. International Human Rights Law Clinic, University of California, Berkley; Human Rights Center, University of California, Berkley; and Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer, Tulane University; June 2006.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Marshall supplementary material

Supplementary Table

Download Marshall supplementary material(File)
File 16 KB