The electricity cost burden of durable medical equipment in the United States.

Those who rely on durable medical equipment (DME) for their health are more likely to be energy insecure and face higher energy burdens than those who do not. In this article, we evaluate the costs of electricity to run DMEs. We find that the average cost across the most common types of high-frequency DMEs-including oxygen concentrators, continuous positive airway pressure machines, and peritoneal kidney dialysis machines-is between $120 and $333 per year, depending on device size and usage frequency.

Assessing demographic vulnerability and weather impacts on utility disconnections in California.

When a household is disconnected from their electric utility service the consequences can be severe, including accumulation of debt, the inability to maintain comfortable temperatures, and in the most extreme cases, homelessness or mortality. While the survey-based literature on utility disconnections has yielded important findings about which households are most likely to experience a utility shutoff, only a few existing studies have used data from utility companies themselves. In this analysis, we utilize zip-code level data from four of California's largest utility providers to measure sociodemographic disparities in disconnections, in addition to the impact of adverse weather.

Head Injury Evaluation and Ambulance Diagnosis (HOME) Study protocol: a feasibility study assessing the implementation of the Canadian CT Head Rule in the prehospital setting.

Introduction: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common presentation in the prehospital environment. At present, paramedics do not routinely use tools to identify low-risk patients who could be left at scene or taken to a local hospital rather than a major trauma centre. The Canadian CT Head Rule (CCHR) was developed to guide the use of CT imaging in hospital.

Equity and modeling in sustainability science: Examples and opportunities throughout the process.

Equity is core to sustainability, but current interventions to enhance sustainability often fall short in adequately addressing this linkage. Models are important tools for informing action, and their development and use present opportunities to center equity in process and outcomes. This Perspective highlights progress in integrating equity into systems modeling in sustainability science, as well as key challenges, tensions, and future directions.