Healthcare facilities serve as critical infrastructure during disasters, yet their accessibility is vulnerable to natural disasters, compromising routine and emergency services. Understanding how disasters affect healthcare visitation is essential, yet previous studies relying on modeled assumptions fail to capture the empirical dynamics of disruption and recovery. The availability of mobile phone location data offers unprecedented spatiotemporal resolution and coverage, enabling detailed assessments of disaster impacts on healthcare visitation. This study develops a Mobility Disruption Index (MDI) based on SafeGraph mobility data, quantifying visitation changes across 4003 healthcare facilities in Harris County, Texas, following Hurricane Beryl in July 2024. By integrating nighttime light imagery, meteorological data, and socioeconomic indicators, we applied spatial regression modeling to examine relationships between storm severity, infrastructural failures, community characteristics, and healthcare visitation disruptions. Results indicate that medium-sized facilities and Offices of Physicians were most disrupted but recovered fastest. Medical and Diagnostic Facilities sustained prolonged disruptions. Spatial lag model results showed that % non-White population and median household income shaped mobility disruption. Communities with more non-White residents experienced greater visitation declines, reflecting structural vulnerability and unequal hazard exposure. Communities with higher median household incomes exhibited more severe disruptions, likely due to their ability to defer non-urgent care through alternatives such as telehealth or private providers. Additionally, power outages led to mobility disruptions within affected areas and propagated effects to neighboring communities. This study highlights the need to prioritize support for healthcare facilities susceptible to disaster-induced disruptions and implement targeted preparedness strategies for vulnerable communities.
Lin et al. (Mon,) studied this question.