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Emergency Department Burden of Mental Health and Substance Misuse After Hurricane Helene: Insights From Rural Appalachia.

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Title: Emergency Department Burden of Mental Health and Substance Misuse After Hurricane Helene: Insights From Rural Appalachia.
Authors: Sugg, Margaret M., Ryan, Sophia C., Preaux, Annie, Quattro, Christine, Alexander-Eitzman, Ben, Thompson, Martie P., Hege, Adam, Runkle, Jennifer D.
Source: American Journal of Public Health. Jun2026, Vol. 116 Issue 6, p806-809. 4p.
Subjects: Substance abuse, Cross-sectional method, Public health surveillance, Medical care use, Mental health services, Research funding, Rural health, At-risk people, Mental illness, Emergency room visits, Hospital emergency services, Anxiety, Affective disorders, Schizophrenia, Descriptive statistics, Convalescence, Health equity, Confidence intervals, Comparative studies, Medicaid, Data analysis software, Natural disasters
Geographic Terms: North Carolina
Abstract: Objectives. To quantify temporal changes in mental health and substance use emergency department utilization following Hurricane Helene (September 2024) in Western North Carolina and identify disparities across vulnerable populations. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using emergency department surveillance data from Western North Carolina counties. We calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by comparing 3 recovery periods (immediate, early, short-term) with their corresponding calendar dates in 2023. Results. Alcohol-related visits increased across all periods (immediate: IRR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.14, 1.60; early: IRR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.31, 1.65; short-term: IRR = 1.36; 95% CI = 1.21, 1.52). Anxiety disorders increased across all periods, mood disorders increased during early recovery, schizophrenia visits increased during short-term recovery (IRR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.40), and opioid-related visits showed marginally significant increases during short-term recovery (IRR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.00, 1.45). Counties with higher elderly populations showed amplified alcohol and anxiety effects; counties with higher uninsured or covered by Medicaid rates showed lower utilization. Conclusions. Hurricane Helene was associated with sustained increases in alcohol- and anxiety-related emergency department visits. Disparities across age and insurance status highlight differential vulnerability and access patterns requiring targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of American Journal of Public Health is the property of American Public Health Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Emergency Department Burden of Mental Health and Substance Misuse After Hurricane Helene: Insights From Rural Appalachia.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22American+Journal+of+Public+Health%22">American Journal of Public Health</searchLink>. Jun2026, Vol. 116 Issue 6, p806-809. 4p.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Substance+abuse%22">Substance abuse</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Cross-sectional+method%22">Cross-sectional method</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Public+health+surveillance%22">Public health surveillance</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medical+care+use%22">Medical care use</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+health+services%22">Mental health services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Rural+health%22">Rural health</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22At-risk+people%22">At-risk people</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Mental+illness%22">Mental illness</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emergency+room+visits%22">Emergency room visits</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hospital+emergency+services%22">Hospital emergency services</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Anxiety%22">Anxiety</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Affective+disorders%22">Affective disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Schizophrenia%22">Schizophrenia</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Descriptive+statistics%22">Descriptive statistics</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Convalescence%22">Convalescence</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Health+equity%22">Health equity</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Confidence+intervals%22">Confidence intervals</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Comparative+studies%22">Comparative studies</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Medicaid%22">Medicaid</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Data+analysis+software%22">Data analysis software</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Natural+disasters%22">Natural disasters</searchLink>
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  Label: Geographic Terms
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22North+Carolina%22">North Carolina</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Objectives. To quantify temporal changes in mental health and substance use emergency department utilization following Hurricane Helene (September 2024) in Western North Carolina and identify disparities across vulnerable populations. Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis using emergency department surveillance data from Western North Carolina counties. We calculated incidence rate ratios (IRRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by comparing 3 recovery periods (immediate, early, short-term) with their corresponding calendar dates in 2023. Results. Alcohol-related visits increased across all periods (immediate: IRR = 1.35; 95% CI = 1.14, 1.60; early: IRR = 1.47; 95% CI = 1.31, 1.65; short-term: IRR = 1.36; 95% CI = 1.21, 1.52). Anxiety disorders increased across all periods, mood disorders increased during early recovery, schizophrenia visits increased during short-term recovery (IRR = 1.19; 95% CI = 1.02, 1.40), and opioid-related visits showed marginally significant increases during short-term recovery (IRR = 1.21; 95% CI = 1.00, 1.45). Counties with higher elderly populations showed amplified alcohol and anxiety effects; counties with higher uninsured or covered by Medicaid rates showed lower utilization. Conclusions. Hurricane Helene was associated with sustained increases in alcohol- and anxiety-related emergency department visits. Disparities across age and insurance status highlight differential vulnerability and access patterns requiring targeted interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of American Journal of Public Health is the property of American Public Health Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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RecordInfo BibRecord:
  BibEntity:
    Identifiers:
      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.2105/AJPH.2026.308456
    Languages:
      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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        PageCount: 4
        StartPage: 806
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Substance abuse
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Cross-sectional method
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Public health surveillance
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      – SubjectFull: Medical care use
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      – SubjectFull: Mental health services
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      – SubjectFull: Research funding
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      – SubjectFull: Rural health
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      – SubjectFull: At-risk people
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      – SubjectFull: Mental illness
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Emergency room visits
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hospital emergency services
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Anxiety
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Affective disorders
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      – SubjectFull: Schizophrenia
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      – SubjectFull: Descriptive statistics
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      – SubjectFull: Convalescence
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      – SubjectFull: Health equity
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      – SubjectFull: Confidence intervals
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      – SubjectFull: Comparative studies
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      – SubjectFull: Medicaid
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      – SubjectFull: Data analysis software
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      – SubjectFull: Natural disasters
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      – SubjectFull: North Carolina
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    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Emergency Department Burden of Mental Health and Substance Misuse After Hurricane Helene: Insights From Rural Appalachia.
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              Text: Jun2026
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