Environmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico

Background: Hurricanes are the immediate ways that people experience climate impacts in the Caribbean. These events affect socio-ecological systems and lead to major disruptions in the healthcare system, having effects on health outcomes. In September 2017, Puerto Rico (PR) and the United States Vir...

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Autores principales:	Pablo A. Méndez-Lázaro, Yanina M. Bernhardt, William A. Calo, Andrea M. Pacheco Díaz, Sandra I. García-Camacho, Mirza Rivera-Lugo, Edna Acosta-Pérez, Naydi Pérez, Ana P. Ortiz-Martínez
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	extreme weather events cancer patients gynecological cancer vulnerable populations environmental stressors Puerto Rico Medicine R
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/3369de2e2fd1416a9d22fe182b7cdfa7
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:3369de2e2fd1416a9d22fe182b7cdfa72021-11-11T16:20:22ZEnvironmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico10.3390/ijerph1821111831660-46011661-7827https://doaj.org/article/3369de2e2fd1416a9d22fe182b7cdfa72021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/21/11183https://doaj.org/toc/1661-7827https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601Background: Hurricanes are the immediate ways that people experience climate impacts in the Caribbean. These events affect socio-ecological systems and lead to major disruptions in the healthcare system, having effects on health outcomes. In September 2017, Puerto Rico (PR) and the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) experienced one of the most catastrophic hurricane seasons in recent history (Hurricane Irma was a Category 5 and Hurricane María was a Category 4 when they hit PR). Objective: This study examines environmental stressors experienced by women with gynecologic (GYN) cancers from PR and USVI who received oncologic cancer care in PR, in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study design was used to obtain rich information for understanding the context, barriers, knowledge, perspectives, risks, vulnerabilities, and attitudes associated to these hurricanes. We performed focus groups among GYN cancer patients (<i>n</i> = 24) and key-informant interviews (<i>n</i> = 21) among health-care providers and administrators. Interviews were conducted from December 2018–April 2019. Results: Environmental health stressors such as lack of water, heat and uncomfortable temperatures, air pollution (air quality), noise pollution, mosquitos, and rats ranked in the top concerns among cancer patients and key-informants. Conclusions: These findings are relevant to cancer patients, decision-makers, and health providers facing extreme events and disasters in the Caribbean. Identifying environmental secondary stressors and the most relevant cascading effects is useful for decision-makers so that they may address and mitigate the effects of hurricanes on public health and cancer care.Pablo A. Méndez-LázaroYanina M. BernhardtWilliam A. CaloAndrea M. Pacheco DíazSandra I. García-CamachoMirza Rivera-LugoEdna Acosta-PérezNaydi PérezAna P. Ortiz-MartínezMDPI AGarticleextreme weather eventscancer patientsgynecological cancervulnerable populationsenvironmental stressorsPuerto RicoMedicineRENInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 18, Iss 11183, p 11183 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	extreme weather events cancer patients gynecological cancer vulnerable populations environmental stressors Puerto Rico Medicine R
spellingShingle	extreme weather events cancer patients gynecological cancer vulnerable populations environmental stressors Puerto Rico Medicine R Pablo A. Méndez-Lázaro Yanina M. Bernhardt William A. Calo Andrea M. Pacheco Díaz Sandra I. García-Camacho Mirza Rivera-Lugo Edna Acosta-Pérez Naydi Pérez Ana P. Ortiz-Martínez Environmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico
description	Background: Hurricanes are the immediate ways that people experience climate impacts in the Caribbean. These events affect socio-ecological systems and lead to major disruptions in the healthcare system, having effects on health outcomes. In September 2017, Puerto Rico (PR) and the United States Virgin Islands (USVI) experienced one of the most catastrophic hurricane seasons in recent history (Hurricane Irma was a Category 5 and Hurricane María was a Category 4 when they hit PR). Objective: This study examines environmental stressors experienced by women with gynecologic (GYN) cancers from PR and USVI who received oncologic cancer care in PR, in the aftermath of the hurricanes. Methods: A descriptive qualitative study design was used to obtain rich information for understanding the context, barriers, knowledge, perspectives, risks, vulnerabilities, and attitudes associated to these hurricanes. We performed focus groups among GYN cancer patients (<i>n</i> = 24) and key-informant interviews (<i>n</i> = 21) among health-care providers and administrators. Interviews were conducted from December 2018–April 2019. Results: Environmental health stressors such as lack of water, heat and uncomfortable temperatures, air pollution (air quality), noise pollution, mosquitos, and rats ranked in the top concerns among cancer patients and key-informants. Conclusions: These findings are relevant to cancer patients, decision-makers, and health providers facing extreme events and disasters in the Caribbean. Identifying environmental secondary stressors and the most relevant cascading effects is useful for decision-makers so that they may address and mitigate the effects of hurricanes on public health and cancer care.
format	article
author	Pablo A. Méndez-Lázaro Yanina M. Bernhardt William A. Calo Andrea M. Pacheco Díaz Sandra I. García-Camacho Mirza Rivera-Lugo Edna Acosta-Pérez Naydi Pérez Ana P. Ortiz-Martínez
author_facet	Pablo A. Méndez-Lázaro Yanina M. Bernhardt William A. Calo Andrea M. Pacheco Díaz Sandra I. García-Camacho Mirza Rivera-Lugo Edna Acosta-Pérez Naydi Pérez Ana P. Ortiz-Martínez
author_sort	Pablo A. Méndez-Lázaro
title	Environmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico
title_short	Environmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico
title_full	Environmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico
title_fullStr	Environmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico
title_full_unstemmed	Environmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico
title_sort	environmental stressors suffered by women with gynecological cancers in the aftermath of hurricanes irma and maría in puerto rico
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/3369de2e2fd1416a9d22fe182b7cdfa7
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Environmental Stressors Suffered by Women with Gynecological Cancers in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico

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