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Estimating the Incidence of Heat-Related Deaths Among Immigrants in Pima County, Arizona

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Abstract

Widespread media reports have described an increase in heat-related deaths among illegal immigrant border crossers in Southern Arizona in recent years. We conducted a retrospective case series review of heat-related deaths reported by a large border county medical examiner office in an attempt to estimate the occurrence and distribution of these deaths for the years 1998–2003. United States Border Patrol apprehension data were also collected and used in the analysis to estimate the size of the population of border crossers. An increase in the total heat-related deaths has occurred since 1999 in Pima County Arizona and has continued to date. Precise estimates of rates are not possible but appear to have increased as well. Implications for understanding the complexity of researching this public health issue including the definition of cases and population at risk are discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Samuel M. Keim, Mary Z. Mays, Bruce Parks, Erik Pytlak, Robin M. Harris & Michael A. Kent

  2. Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Arizona

    Mary Z. Mays

  3. Office of the Medical Examiner, Pima County, AZ

    Bruce Parks

  4. National Weather Service, National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration, Tucson, AZ

    Erik Pytlak

  5. Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Arizona

    Robin M. Harris

  6. Anne Arundel Medical Center, Annapolis, MD

    Michael A. Kent

  7. Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona Health Sciences Center, Tucson, PO Box 245057, AZ, 85724-5057, USA

    Samuel M. Keim

Authors
  1. Samuel M. Keim
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  2. Mary Z. Mays
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  3. Bruce Parks
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  4. Erik Pytlak
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  5. Robin M. Harris
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  6. Michael A. Kent
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Correspondence to Samuel M. Keim.

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Keim, S.M., Mays, M.Z., Parks, B. et al. Estimating the Incidence of Heat-Related Deaths Among Immigrants in Pima County, Arizona. J Immigrant Health 8, 185–191 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-006-8527-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-006-8527-z

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