Disclosures: Peter C. Yeh, MD: Nothing to disclose

Objective: Housestaff fatigue, though extensively proven both to exist and be detrimental to care, has not been studied in disaster scenarios. We surveyed PM&R residents, who either reported to a hospital for duty (“ride-out”) or sheltered in place at home (“shelter”) during Hurricane Harvey, about fatigue and contributing factors. The responses can help guide training programs’ plans for weather emergency coverage.

Design: IRB approved retrospective cohort study using cross-sectional questionnaire.

Setting: Inpatient Rehabilitation Wards and the Community.

Participants: Twenty-four subjects assigned to the “ride-out” or “shelter” groups based on their responsibility during the weather emergency event.

Interventions: None, this was an observational study.

Main Outcome Measures: Both groups were assessed on the Samn-Perelli Fatigue Checklist (SPFC). Two questionnaires were created to identify unique contributing factors to fatigue for the “ride-out” or “shelter” groups, including but not limited to shift length, family concerns, resource availability, patient acuity, and level of supervision. Fisher exact test analysis was used. Some answers were purely narrative and descriptive.

Results: Higher SPFC physical fatigue scores were correlated with higher SPFC mental fatigue scores, and vice versa (P=.1429). Higher SPFC scores were also associated with respondents spending more than 50% of their time in the hospital giving face-to-face patient care (P= .1071). Response rates were inadequate to show statistically significant correlation between coverage conditions and respondent fatigue.

Conclusions: This pilot study, although not statistically significant, demonstrates important trends in housestaff fatigue during disaster scenarios. We believe these trends, and a general paucity of data on housestaff needs in disaster events, support further, broader studies. Disasters occur commonly enough to warrant planning, and our data suggest evidence-based deployment of residents can enhance patient care and reduce housestaff fatigue.

Level of Evidence: Level I

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PM&R Meeting Abstracts - https://pmrjabstracts.org/abstract/resident-fatigue-during-weather-disaster-coverage/