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Assessment of Behavioral Health Concerns in the Community Affected by the Flint Water Crisis — Michigan (USA) 2016

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 April 2018

Gamola Z. Fortenberry ,
Patricia Reynolds ,
Sherry L. Burrer ,
Vicki Johnson-Lawrence ,
Alice Wang ,
Amy Schnall ,
Price Pullins ,
Stephanie Kieszak ,
Tesfaye Bayleyegn  and
Amy Wolkin
Gamola Z. Fortenberry
Affiliation:
Epidemic Intelligence Service, Office of Public Health Scientific Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
Patricia Reynolds
Affiliation:
Genesee Health System, Flint, MichiganUSA
Sherry L. Burrer
Affiliation:
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
Vicki Johnson-Lawrence
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health and Health Sciences, University of Michigan–Flint, Flint, MichiganUSA
Alice Wang
Affiliation:
Epidemic Intelligence Service, Office of Public Health Scientific Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
Amy Schnall
Affiliation:
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
Price Pullins
Affiliation:
Office of Medical & Psychiatric Services, Michigan Department of Community Health, Lansing, MichiganUSA
Stephanie Kieszak
Affiliation:
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
Tesfaye Bayleyegn*
Affiliation:
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
Amy Wolkin
Affiliation:
Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects, National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GeorgiaUSA
*
Correspondence: Tesfaye Bayleyegn, MD Senior Service Fellow, Health Studies Branch Division of Environmental Hazards and Health Effects National Center for Environmental Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mailstop F-60, 4770 Buford Highway NE Chamblee, Georgia USA 30341 E-mail: bvy7@cdc.gov
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Abstract

Objectives

The Flint Community Resilience Group (Flint, Michigan USA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC; Atlanta, Georgia USA) assessed behavioral health concerns among community members to determine the impact of lead contamination of the Flint, Michigan water supply.

Methods

A Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) was conducted from May 17 through May 19, 2016 using a multi-stage cluster sampling design to select households and individuals to interview.

Results

One-half of households felt overlooked by decision makers. The majority of households self-reported that at least one member experienced more behavioral health concerns than usual. The prevalence of negative quality of life indicators and financial concerns in Flint was higher than previously reported in the Michigan 2012 and 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey.

Conclusions

The following can be considered to guide recovery efforts in Flint: identifying additional resources for behavioral health interventions and conducting follow-up behavioral health assessments to evaluate changes in behavioral health concerns over time; considering the impact of household economic factors when implementing behavioral health interventions; and ensuring community involvement and engagement in recovery efforts to ease community stress and anxiety.

FortenberryGZ, ReynoldsP, BurrerSL, Johnson-LawrenceV, WangA, SchnallA, PullinsP, KieszakS, BayleyegnT, WolkinA. Assessment of Behavioral Health Concerns in the Community Affected by the Flint Water Crisis — Michigan (USA) 2016. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(3):256–265.

Keywords

behavioral healthCASPERdisasterFlint water crisis
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 33 , Issue 3 , June 2018 , pp. 256 - 265
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2018 

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Footnotes

Conflicts of interest: none

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