Measuring and Comparing Hospital Accessibility for Palm Beach County’s Elderly and Nonelderly Populations During a Hurricane
| Autor: | Shivangi Prasad |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Gerontology medicine.medical_specialty Geographic information system Urban Population 010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences Geographic Mapping Poison control 01 natural sciences Suicide prevention Health Services Accessibility Occupational safety and health 03 medical and health sciences Injury prevention Health care medicine Humans Mortality Aged 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Aged 80 and over Analysis of Variance 030505 public health Cyclonic Storms business.industry Public health Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Human factors and ergonomics Censuses Middle Aged Geography Florida Public Health 0305 other medical science business |
| Zdroj: | Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 12:296-300 |
| ISSN: | 1938-744X 1935-7893 |
| DOI: | 10.1017/dmp.2017.89 |
| Popis: | ObjectivesTo determine whether, during a hurricane, geographic accessibility to hospitals with emergency care is compromised disproportionately for the elderly than for the nonelderly.MethodsThe locations of hospitals with emergency health care and a subset of those hospitals functional during a hurricane were compared with the distribution of the elderly population at the block group level in Palm Beach County, Florida. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) proximity analysis (minimum distance to closest hospital) and cumulative distribution functions were used to measure and compare hospital accessibility during normal and hurricane conditions for the elderly and nonelderly populations.ResultsAccessibility to closest functional hospital during a hurricane was compromised disproportionately for the elderly.ConclusionGeographic accessibility to emergency health care is compromised disproportionately for the elderly in Palm Beach County. Compounding the risk is the likelihood of the elderly experiencing a greater health care need during a hurricane. This poses a community public health crisis and calls for effective and collaborative planning between health professionals and disaster planners to address the health care needs of the elderly. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018; 12: 296–300) |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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