Journal Article Epublish
PubMed: 39802750 DOI: 10.1097/EE9.0000000000000359
A cross-sectional study characterizing the prevalence of utility service outages across demographic characteristics and health correlates in New York City.
Environ Epidemiol 9(1):e359
Authors: Vivian Do, Ariel Yuan, Kathryn Lane, Lauren Smalls Mantey, Eva Siegel, Carolyn Olson, Misbath Daouda, Joan A Casey, Diana Hernández
Affiliations
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York.
- Bureau of Environmental Surveillance and Policy, New York City Department of Mental Health & Hygiene, New York, New York.
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California.
- Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
- Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York.
- Center on Global Energy Policy, School of International and Public Affairs, Columbia University, New York, New York.
Abstract
Background
Utility services for electricity, gas, heat, and hot water are necessities for everyday activities (e.g., lighting, cooking, and thermal safety). Utility outages can threaten health; however, information is limited on the prevalence of electricity, gas, heat, and hot water outages in representative studies. We characterized infrastructure-related electricity, gas, heat, and hot water outages in New York City (NYC) and within subgroups.
Methods
Using a representative 2022 survey of NYC adults (18+), we assessed the prevalence for 6+ hour utility outages and compared across building, demographic, and health subgroups. Building characteristics included age, number of floors, rental type, and owner/rental status. Demographics included household poverty, neighborhood poverty, and race/ethnicity. For health, we focused on cognitive impairment, electricity-dependent medical equipment use, and mental health conditions.
Results
Outages impacted 20% of NYC residents. Heat outages were nearly 3× and 2× more common in mid-rise and high-rise buildings respectively, vs. low-rise buildings. Similarly, hot water outages were 5× and over 6× more prevalent in mid-rise and high-rise residences. Renters faced 2× more heat and hot water outages compared with owners. Compared with low-poverty households, high-poverty households faced 2× more hot water outages. Residents with mental health conditions experienced more electricity (11% vs. 5%), heat (15% vs. 7%), and hot water (16% vs. 8%) outages compared with those without.
Conclusions
NYC utility outage prevalence varied by type with heat and hot water being most common. Disparities across building, sociodemographic, and health characteristics were also larger and more frequent for heat and hot water outages.
MeSH
Cross-Sectional Studies, Prevalence, Poverty, Mental Health, Demography