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Four separate papers published in a unique Katrina issue of the Journal of Wellness Care for the Poor and Underserved, published nowadays, detail the dramatic prevalence of chronic illness among men and women most affected by the hurricanes of 2005.

One paper, by Dr. Tista Ghosh and colleagues, reports on the health desires of Hurricane Katrina evacuees who were sent to Denver. A startling proportion of the 106 households whose requirements were assessed were in need of prescription medication (60.2%). Secondly, non-Hispanic Black households had been a lot more most likely than non-Hispanic White households to require employment, housing, and dental services. Lastly, a huge subset of the sample reported symptoms indicative of altitude sickness along with the region-specific need for education on the effects of Denver’s mile-high altitude. A total of three,600 evacuees from the Gulf Coast had been sent to Denver.

A second paper, by Dr. Marilyn Ridenour and colleagues, reports on the wellness needs of evacuees from Hurricane Katrina who had been sent to West Virginia. A startling proportion with the evacuees reported chronic health conditions (46%), as well as the need for dental care (57%), eyeglasses (34%), dentures (28%), and medical services (25%). Twenty-five percent reported an acute illness.

A third paper reports on a mobile well being care unit in Gulf Coast Mississippi after Katrina: Information collected from all patient encounters from September 5-20, 2005 demonstrate that additionally to common respiratory illnesses, skin conditions, and minor injuries, a high proportion of visits were for vaccine administration and chronic medical issues which includes hypertension, diabetes, and asthma.

Finally, a paper from Tulane University reports that youngsters with chronic illness are at elevated risk for adverse outcomes following disasters than are young children with no such conditions. The study authors report on a post-Katrina study of 531 children and adolescents (79.8% younger than 13 years old), 50.5% male, 42.8% African American. Participants with pre-existing conditions (39.4% of the total sample) had been a lot more likely than those with out to be at clinic for a non-chronic well being condition as opposed to one more issue (43.five vs. 16.2%), to take asthma medication (37.four vs. 3.9%), to have asthma worsen (16.three vs. 1.9%), to miss a check out (49.2 vs. 39.8%), to run out of medications (33.9 vs. 7.9%), to live with flood damage (19.7 vs. 11.3%) or mold (23.6 vs. 15.8%), and to encounter disruption in care (58.4 vs. 38.3%) or negative psychological consequences (ranging from two.5% to 12.9%).

– New JHCPU submissions website
– Factline: Tracking Health in Underserved Communities

Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved