Community health assessment report, Dec 2001

NYC 9/11 Public Portal Document

INTRODUCTION:

In the aftermath of the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center (WTC), the bureau of Community HealthWorks, New York City Department of Health (NYCDOH), in collaboration with the National Center for Environmental Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), designed and conducted an assessment of health related needs in lower Manhattan. The primary purpose of this community needs assessment project was to identify current unmet needs regarding the physical and mental health of residents living in the immediate area surrounding the WTC. The project was designed to gather information to help us determine how to best respond to the needs of the community.

This report summarizes the key findings from this project and outlines a number of recommended next steps to respond to these findings.

METHODS:

The NYCDOH worked with the CDC and the NYC Department of City Planning to identify the residential areas in lower Manhattan most directly affected by the WTC attack. Lower Manhattan was roughly defined as the area south of Reade Street, more specifically identified by census tracts grouped into 5 areas, with a total residential population of approximately 25,000. Three of the five areas were selected to conduct a door-to-door survey: Battery Park City (population of approximately 8,000), Southbridge Towers (population of approximately 2,000) and Independence Plaza (population of approximately 2,300) (see MAP 1). These three areas were well-defined, compact neighborhoods comprising almost 50% of the current residential population of lower Manhattan. A representative random sample of apartments was selected in each of these areas. The two remaining neighborhoods in lower Manhattan (the areas just north of the WTC up to Reade Street and south of the WTC down to Battery Place, and roughly the Financial District, east of the WTC) were determined to be less amenable to door-to-door surveying, given the more sporadic dispersal of household units. As an alternative, these two areas were assessed through a series of focus groups, which will be summarized in a subsequent report.

A survey questionnaire was developed through the collaboration of the NYCDOH, the NYC Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcohol Services (NYCDMH) and the CDC. The questionnaire was designed to obtain information concerning 1) household characteristics, 2) exposure to the WTC attack, 3) service availability, 4) physical and mental health status, and 5) unmet needs. The instrument included a validated 17-item screening for symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) (Blanchard EB, et al.. Psychometric properties of the PTSD checklist. Behav Res Ther 1996:34:669-73).

Survey teams, composed of CDC and NYCDOH staff members, visited selected apartment units multiple times over a two- to three-day period until a resident was contacted or the unit was determined to be either unavailable or unoccupied. The survey was administered to one randomly selected adult household member present at

Community Needs Assessment 4

NYC-WTC_000150497