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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: [email protected]).
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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 

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