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Trends in 2-1-1 Calls During Public Health Emergencies, Overall and By Gender: Hurricane Irma and COVID-19 in Broward County, Florida

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 June 2023

Rachel K. Landis Open the ORCID record for Rachel K. Landis [Opens in a new window] ,
Shira H. Fischer Open the ORCID record for Shira H. Fischer [Opens in a new window] ,
Joie Acosta Open the ORCID record for Joie Acosta [Opens in a new window]  and
Laura J. Faherty
Rachel K. Landis*
Affiliation:
RAND Corporation, Arlington, Virginia, USA
Shira H. Fischer
Affiliation:
RAND Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Joie Acosta
Affiliation:
RAND Corporation, Arlington, Virginia, USA
Laura J. Faherty
Affiliation:
RAND Corporation, Boston, Massachusetts, USA Department of Pediatrics, Maine Medical Center, Portland, Maine, USA
*
Corresponding author: Rachel K. Landis; Email: rlandis@rand.org.
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Abstract

Trends in 2-1-1 calls reflect evolving community needs during public health emergencies (PHEs). The study examined how changes in 2-1-1 call volume after 2 PHEs (Hurricane Irma and the coronavirus disease 2019 [COVID-19] pandemic declaration) in Broward County, Florida, varied by PHE type and whether variations differed by gender and over time. Examining 2-1-1 calls during June to December 2016, June to December 2017, and March 2019 to April 2021, this study measured changes in call volume post-PHEs using interrupted time series analysis. Hurricane Irma and the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with increases in call volume (+81 calls/d and +84 calls/d, respectively). Stratified by gender, these PHEs were associated with larger absolute increases for women (+66 and +57 calls/d vs +15 and +27 calls/d for men) but larger percent increases above their baseline for men (+143% and +174% vs +119% and +138% for women). Calls by women remained elevated longer after Hurricane Irma (5 wk vs 1 wk), but the opposite pattern was observed after the pandemic declaration (8 vs 21 wk). PHEs reduce gender differences in help-seeking around health-related social needs. Findings demonstrate the utility of 2-1-1 call data for monitoring and responding to evolving community needs in the PHE context.

Keywords

2-1-1coronavirusCOVID-19pandemichurricanepopulation healthpopulation health surveillancepublic health emergencies
Type
Research Letters
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e412
Copyright
© RAND Corporation, 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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