Citation

Howland RE, Li W, Madsen AM, Wong H, Das T, Betancourt FM, Nicaj L, Stayton C, Matte T, Begier EM. Am. J. Public Health 2015; 105(11): e63-e72.

Affiliation

Renata E. Howland, Wenhui Li, Ann M. Madsen, Howard Wong, Tara Das, Flor M. Betancourt, and Elizabeth M. Begier are with the Bureau of Vital Statistics, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, New York, NY. Leze Nicaj is with the Office of Chief Medical Examiner, New York. Catherine Stayton is with the Bureau of Environmental Disease Prevention, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Thomas Matte is with the Bureau of Environmental Surveillance & Policy, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2015.302784

PMID

26378834

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the use of New York City's (NYC's) electronic death registration system (EDRS) to conduct mortality surveillance during and after Hurricane Sandy.

METHODS: We used Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for surveillance system evaluation to gather evidence on usefulness, flexibility, stability, timeliness, and quality. We assessed system components, interviewed NYC Health Department staff, and analyzed 2010 to 2012 death records.

RESULTS: Despite widespread disruptions, NYC's EDRS was stable and collected timely mortality data that were adapted to provide storm surveillance with minimal additional resources. Direct-injury fatalities and trends in excess all-cause mortality were rapidly identified, providing useful information for response; however, the time and burden of establishing reports, adapting the system, and identifying indirect deaths limited surveillance.

CONCLUSIONS: The NYC Health Department successfully adapted its EDRS for near real-time disaster-related mortality surveillance. Retrospective assessment of deaths, advanced methods for case identification and analysis, standardized reports, and system enhancements will further improve surveillance. Local, state, and federal partners would benefit from partnering with vital records to develop EDRSs for surveillance and to promote ongoing evaluation. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print September 17, 2015: e1-e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2015.302784).

Language: en