Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
2024
Department
Environmental and Natural Resource Economics
Abstract
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) have been found to cause increases in healthcare visits for a variety of illnesses to humans if exposure and contact is sufficient. We use a more comprehensive dataset than previously implemented in prior literature to better isolate visits by healthcare facility type and proximity to bloom. Using a difference-in-differences model, our results suggest HABs cause an increase of 23.67 healthcare admissions per zip code per month across four HAB-related diagnoses. This impact is a 3,000% increase over baseline non-bloom times and an increase in monthly healthcare costs of about $250,000 for the entire impacted area. Our data include inpatient non-emergency and outpatient healthcare visits, which account for over 60% of all HAB-related healthcare visits, meaning that prior literature that has not measured those facilities has greatly underestimated HAB health impacts.
Publication Title, e.g., Journal
Harmful Algae
Volume
132
Citation/Publisher Attribution
Bechard, A., & Lang, C. (2024). The human health effects of harmful algal blooms in Florida: The importance of high resolution data. Harmful Algae, 132, 102584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2024.102584 Available at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hal.2024.102584
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