Who's at Risk in a Changing Climate? Mapping Electricity-Dependent Patient Populations in a Coastal City.
2021
BACKGROUND Climate change is causing increasingly frequent extreme weather events. This pilot study demonstrates a GIS-based approach for assessing risk to electricity-dependent patients of a coastal academic medical center during future hurricanes. Methods: A single-center retrospective chart review was conducted and the spatial distribution of patients with prescriptions for nebulized medications was mapped. Census blocks at risk of flooding in future hurricanes were identified; summary statistics describing proportion of patients at risk are reported. Results: Out of a local population of 2,101 patients with prescriptions for nebulized medications in the preceding year, 521 (24.8%) were found to live in a hurricane flood zone. Conclusions: Healthcare systems can assess risk to climate-vulnerable patient populations using publicly available data in combination with hospital medical records. The approach described here could be applied to a variety of environmental hazards and can inform institutional and individual disaster preparedness efforts.
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