Severe hurricanes strike portions of the United States nearly every year, affecting tens of thousands of people. In order to better identify health-related emergency response needs following a hurricane, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) conducted a series of analyses on postdisaster hospital utilization, including a recent study that described significant increases in emergency department (ED) utilization following a hurricane. Emergency response needs varied by clinical condition and patient age group.
As an extension of that study and information provided on the HCUP Fast Stats Hurricane Impact on Hospital Use topic, this Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) Statistical Brief presents a more detailed analysis focused on ED visits for injuries following a hurricane. Statistics are presented from the 2005– 2016 State Inpatient Databases (SID) and State Emergency Department Databases (SEDD) from 11 States affected by seven hurricanes (listed in the Data Source section at the end of this Statistical Brief).