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Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) One Year Following the Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Alabama and Mississippi, 2011

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 September 2012

Danielle Buttke ,
Sara Vagi ,
Amy Schnall ,
Tesfaye Bayleyegn ,
Melissa Morrison ,
Mardi Allen  and
Amy Wolkin
Danielle Buttke*
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
Sara Vagi
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
Amy Schnall
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
Tesfaye Bayleyegn
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
Melissa Morrison
Affiliation:
Career Epidemiology Field Officer (CEFO) Program, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Assigned to the Alabama State Department of Health, Montgomery, Alabama USA
Mardi Allen
Affiliation:
Mississippi Department of Mental Health, Jackson, Mississippi USA
Amy Wolkin
Affiliation:
National Center for Environmental Health, Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Chamblee, Georgia USA
*
Correspondence: Danielle Buttke, DVM, PhD, MPH National Center for Environmental Health Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 4770 Buford Highway NE MS/ F57 Chamblee, GA 30341 USA E-mail db334@cornell.edu
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Abstract

Background

On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling unit exploded off the coast of Louisiana, resulting in 11 deaths and the largest marine petroleum release in history. Previous oil spill disasters have been associated with negative mental health outcomes in affected communities. In response to requests from Mississippi and Alabama, potential mental health issues resulting from this event were identified by implementing a novel use of a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) in the months immediately following the Gulf Coast oil spill.

Purpose

This assessment was repeated one year later to determine long-term mental health needs and changes.

Methods

A two-stage sampling method was used to select households, and a questionnaire including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) questions was administered. Weighted cluster analysis was conducted, and BRFSS questions were compared to the most recent BRFSS reports and the 2010 results.

Results

In 2011, 8.8%-15.1% of individuals reported depressive symptoms compared to 15.4%–24.5% of individuals in 2010, with 13.2%-20.3% reporting symptoms consistent with an anxiety disorder compared to 21.4%-31.5% of individuals in 2010. Respondents reporting decreased income following the oil spill were more likely to report mental health symptoms compared to respondents reporting no change in income.

Conclusions

Overall, mental health symptoms were higher in the three assessment areas compared to BRFSS reports, but lower than 2010 surveys. These results suggest that mental health services are still needed, particularly in households experiencing decreased income since the oil spill.

ButtkeD, VagiS, SchnallA, BayleyegnT, MorrisonM, AllenM, WolkinA. Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) One Year Following the Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Alabama and Mississippi, 2011. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(6):1-7.

Keywords

CASPERdisasterhealth servicesmental healthoil spillpetroleumpollution
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 27 , Issue 6 , December 2012 , pp. 496 - 502
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2012

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References

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Supplementary material: File

Buttke Supplementary Material

Appendix

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