A spatial analysis of power-dependent medical equipment and extreme weather risk in the southeastern United States

Abstract

Extreme weather events endanger critical health infrastructure, and many individuals rely on infrastructure to meet their basic needs, such as in-home heating, water, and electric-powered medical devices. The purpose of this study is to identify spatially explicit at-risk populations for power outages due to these extreme weather events. To accomplish this, we used the HHS emPOWER Emergency Planning Dataset, which was created to help public health authorities plan for and address the needs of communities. Using Geographic Information Systems (GIS), we overlay emPOWER data with the frequency of disaster declarations for extreme weather events, including wildfires, hurricanes, tornadoes, and ice storms. Through our analysis, we identified vulnerable areas for high rates of disasters and electricity-dependent durable medical equipment (DME) to be located in communities along the coast. We also found a higher concentration of DME in rural areas compared to urban areas. In addition, we found least privileged economic locations are disproportionately vulnerable to power outages in the southeastern United States due to their high concentration of DME individuals. Results will inform public health officials where to target interventions to ensure continuity of care for vulnerable populations during power outages at the community level.