Citation

Bernard D, Konate S, Savoia E. Disaster Med. Public Health Prep. 2019; 13(3): 647-649.

Affiliation

2Department of Biostatistics,Emergency Preparedness,Research,Evaluation and Practice Program,Division of Policy Translation and Leadership Development,Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/dmp.2018.81

PMID

30189906

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe Northeastern United States experienced some of its coldest and snowiest conditions ever recorded during the winter of 2014-2015. The snowfall and extreme temperatures created significant challenges for local health departments attempting to continue critical services and respond to storm-related needs of the community. This report from the field aims to describe the impact of the severe weather on local health departments' operations, to examine the disruption to public health services, and to document public health support provided to vulnerable populations during the 2014-2015 winter season. Our findings show that the severe weather exposed major challenges in continuity of public health operations across health departments of various sizes and highlighted some key issues as well as effective strategies, such as collaborations with community-based organizations, to identify and address the needs of the most vulnerable during the winter storms. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;page 1 of 3).

Language: en

Keywords

public health; severe weather; vulnerable populations