Health status among emergency department patients approximately one year after consecutive disasters in New York City.

Objectives: Emergency department (ED) patients with disaster-related experiences may present with vague symptoms not clearly linked to the event. In 2001, two disasters in New York City, the World Trade Center disaster (WTCD) and the subsequent American Airlines Flight 587 crash, presented an opportunity to study long-term consequences of cumulative disaster exposure (CDE) on health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among ED patients.

Methods: From July 15 to October 30, 2002, a systematic sample of stable, adult patients from two EDs in New York City were enrolled.