Public health reports
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Public health reports · Jul 2017
Risk of Fall-Related Injury due to Adverse Weather Events, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2006-2011.
Following a surge in fall-related visits to local hospital emergency departments (EDs) after a severe ice storm, the Philadelphia Department of Public Health examined the association between inclement winter weather events and fall-related ED visits during a 5-year period. ⋯ The association between the number of fall-related ED visits and weather-related fall injuries, age, and timing suggests that many events occurred en route to work in the morning. Promoting work closures or delaying openings after severe winter weather would allow time for better snow or ice removal, and including "fall risk" in winter weather advisories might effectively warn morning commuters. Both strategies could help reduce the number of weather-related fall injuries.
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Public health reports · May 2017
Estimating Demand for and Supply of Pediatric Preventive Dental Care for Children and Identifying Dental Care Shortage Areas, Georgia, 2015.
Demand for dental care is expected to outpace supply through 2025. The objectives of this study were to determine the extent of pediatric dental care shortages in Georgia and to develop a general method for estimation that can be applied to other states. ⋯ Age- and service-specific information on dental care shortage areas could result in more efficient provider staffing and geographic targeting.
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Public health reports · May 2017
Evaluation of Diagnostic Codes in Morbidity and Mortality Data Sources for Heat-Related Illness Surveillance.
The primary objective of this study was to identify patients with heat-related illness (HRI) using codes for heat-related injury diagnosis and external cause of injury in 3 administrative data sets: emergency department (ED) visit records, hospital discharge records, and death certificates. ⋯ Using multiple data sources and all diagnosis fields may improve the sensitivity of HRI surveillance. Future studies should evaluate the impact of converting ICD-9-CM to ICD-10-CM codes on HRI surveillance of ED visits and hospitalizations.