U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Epidemic Intelligence Service, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 1600 Clifton Rd, Atlanta, GA, 30329, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2024 Nov 14;24(1):3176. doi: 10.1186/s12889-024-20394-z.
A petroleum leak into the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam water system on Oahu, Hawaii in November 2021 contaminated the drinking water of approximately 93,000 users, causing many to relocate for months. Perceptions of health and wellbeing were captured using the Centers for Disease Control/Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (CDC/ATSDR) Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) cross-sectional survey in collaboration with the Hawaii Department of Health (HDOH).
Responses from the ACE online survey of community members, businesses, schools, health care and veterinary care organizations during the contamination event, containing quantitative questions and qualitative information from an open text field, were analyzed. Separately, a qualitative key informant questionnaire was administered to community establishments. Thematic content analysis was used to analyze and identify prominent themes from the ACE open text field and the key informant responses that were triangulated by the quantitative data when the themes aligned.
Six major themes of disruption, communication, trust, stress, support, and ongoing needs were identified. Burdensome logistics from obtaining alternate water, negative financial impacts from relocation or losing business, distrust of information, perceived lack of support from response entities and uncertainty of long-term health impact caused significant disruption, stress and mental health. Individuals reported needing water, shelter, and mental health care while establishments wanted financial reimbursement and a resolution.
The findings show that environmental disasters have significant disruptive and mental health impacts from stress. Identified themes can inform and improve emergency response and communication strategies and increase trust with community members during and after large chemical exposure events.
2021 年 11 月，夏威夷瓦胡岛珍珠港-希卡姆联合基地的石油泄漏到供水系统中，污染了约 93000 名用户的饮用水，导致许多人搬迁数月。疾病控制与预防中心/毒物与疾病登记署（CDC/ATSDR）的化学品暴露评估（ACE）横断面调查与夏威夷卫生部（HDOH）合作，用于评估健康和福祉。
对污染事件期间社区成员、企业、学校、医疗保健和兽医保健组织进行 ACE 在线调查的答复进行了分析，答复包含定量问题和来自开放文本字段的定性信息。此外，还对社区机构进行了定性关键知情者问卷调查。使用主题内容分析来分析和确定 ACE 开放文本字段和关键知情者答复中的突出主题，这些主题与定量数据相吻合，当主题一致时，通过定量数据进行三角剖分。
确定了六个主要的干扰主题，包括沟通、信任、压力、支持和持续需求。获取替代用水的繁琐后勤工作、搬迁或失去业务的负面财务影响、对信息的不信任、对响应实体缺乏支持的感知以及对长期健康影响的不确定性，造成了重大干扰、压力和心理健康问题。个人报告需要水、住所和心理健康护理，而机构则希望获得经济赔偿和解决方案。
调查结果表明，环境灾害会造成严重的干扰和精神健康压力。确定的主题可以为大型化学暴露事件期间和之后的应急响应和沟通策略提供信息和改进，并增强与社区成员的信任。
