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- Title
Evaluating the Use of an Electronic Death Registration System for Mortality Surveillance During and After Hurricane Sandy: New York City, 2012.
- Authors
Howland, Renata E.; Wenhui Li; Madsen, Ann M.; Wong, Howard; Das, Tara; Betancourt, Flor M.; Nicaj, Leze; Stayton, Catherine; Matte, Thomas; Begier, Elizabeth M.
- 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.
- Subjects
NEW York (N.Y.); UNITED States; NEW York (State); ELECTRONIC death certificates; MORTALITY; PROOF &; certification of death; HURRICANE Sandy, 2012; PUBLIC health surveillance; ELECTRONIC information resources; GUIDELINES; NEW York (N.Y.). Dept. of Health; NATURAL disasters &; society; CENTERS for Disease Control &; Prevention (U.S.); COMPUTERS; INFORMATION storage &; retrieval systems; INTERVIEWING; NATURAL disasters; RESEARCH funding; STATISTICS; TIME; DEATH certificates; DATA analysis; EVALUATION of human services programs; DATA analysis software; DESCRIPTIVE statistics
- Publication
American Journal of Public Health, 2015, Vol 105, Issue 11, pe55
- ISSN
0090-0036
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2105/AJPH.2015.302784