NWFSRDC News and Highlights Corner: Research on Climate-Driven Disasters and Deaths
Posted: 4/25/2025 ()
We are excited to announce that the National Center for Health Statistics has approved a groundbreaking research project at the Northwest Federal Statistical Research Data Center (NWFSRDC), titled “Climate-Driven Disasters and Deaths.” This project, led by CSDE Affiliate Joan Casey (Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences), aims to explore the profound impacts of climate change-exacerbated natural disasters on vulnerable populations. The research team includes experts from various institutions: CSDE Trainee Lauren Blair Wilner and Elizabeth Blake from the University of Washington School of Public Health, Matthew Kiang from Stanford University School of Medicine, and Kara Rudolph and Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou from Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
The study will focus on two specific vulnerable groups: people who use drugs and older adults. These populations often require consistent access to medical treatments and prescriptions, which can be severely disrupted by major climate disasters such as heatwaves, tropical cyclones, floods, and wildfires. The project seeks to answer critical questions about the extent to which climate hazards increase the risk of fatalities, identify who is most affected, and understand the mediating pathways that could be targeted for intervention. By leveraging high-resolution climate hazard datasets and integrating them with restricted county-level daily cause-specific mortality data from the National Vital Statistics System (available through the NWFSRDC), the research aims to provide actionable insights to enhance emergency planning, healthcare system responses, and resiliency strategies in the face of a changing climate.
Please visit our website to learn more about the wide-ranging data available through the NWFSRDC, the process to access these data, and how to contact us.