Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Aug;11(4):460-466.
doi: 10.1017/dmp.2016.170. Epub 2016 Dec 29.

Evaluation of Real-Time Mortality Surveillance Based on Media Reports

Olaniyi O Olayinka  1 , Tesfaye M Bayleyegn  1 , Rebecca S Noe  1 , Lauren S Lewis  1 , Vincent Arrisi  2 , Amy F Wolkin  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of Real-Time Mortality Surveillance Based on Media Reports

Olaniyi O Olayinka et al. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2017 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: We evaluated the usefulness and accuracy of media-reported data for active disaster-related mortality surveillance.

Methods: From October 29 through November 5, 2012, epidemiologists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) tracked online media reports for Hurricane Sandy-related deaths by use of a keyword search. To evaluate the media-reported data, vital statistics records of Sandy-related deaths were compared to corresponding media-reported deaths and assessed for percentage match. Sensitivity, positive predictive value (PPV), and timeliness of the media reports for detecting Sandy-related deaths were calculated.

Results: Ninety-nine media-reported deaths were identified and compared with the 90 vital statistics death records sent to the CDC by New York City (NYC) and the 5 states that agreed to participate in this study. Seventy-five (76%) of the media reports matched with vital statistics records. Only NYC was able to actively track Sandy-related deaths during the event. Moderate sensitivity (83%) and PPV (83%) were calculated for the matching media-reported deaths for NYC.

Conclusions: During Hurricane Sandy, the media-reported information was moderately sensitive, and percentage match with vital statistics records was also moderate. The results indicate that online media-reported deaths can be useful as a supplemental source of information for situational awareness and immediate public health decision-making during the initial response stage of a disaster. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:460-466).

Keywords: disasters; hurricane; media; public health surveillance.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Path of Hurricane Sandy, Impact, and Hurricane-Related Deaths Reported by the Media, by County: October 29–November 5, 2012.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Attributes of Hurricane Sandy–Related Deaths Reported by Media: New York City and 5 Study US States (Connecticut, North Carolina, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia), October 29–November 5, 2012 (N = 99).
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Flowchart of Hurricane Sandy–Related Media-Reported Deaths Included in the Evaluation, United States, October 29–November 5, 2012.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Glossary of NHC terms. National Hurricane Center. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website. http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutgloss.shtml. Accessed July 9, 2014.
    1. Goldman A, Eggen B, Golding B, et al. The health impacts of windstorms: a systematic literature review. Public Health. 2014;128(1):3–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.puhe.2013.09.022. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Emanuel K. Increasing destructiveness of tropical cyclones over the past 30 years. Nature. 2005;436(7051):686–688. http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/nature03906. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Webster PJ, Holland GJ, Curry JA, et al. Changes in tropical cyclone number, duration, and intensity in a warming environment. Science. 2005;309(5742):1844–1846. http://dx.doi.org/10.1126/science.1116448. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Reducing Disaster Risk: A Challenge for Development. United Nations Development Programme, Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery. http://www.preventionweb.net/files/1096_rdrenglish.pdf. Published 2004. Accessed September 17, 2015.

MeSH terms