To compare food insecurity (FI) risk and food-related COVID-19 infection risk perceptions, practices, and problems (3P) in Washington (WA), New York (NY), and Louisiana (LA).

Data from the RAPID Multi-Wave Risk Perception Study was collected via online surveys between May 19 to July 14, 2020 (N = 1260). Multivariable - adjusted logistic and ordinal regressions were performed for odds of FI risk and 3P during these early months of the pandemic.

The determinants of FI risk in all states included income, age, and employment. Some determinants were state-specific: households with members at substantial risk for COVID-19 (WA and NY), ethnicity (NY), education, and relationship status (LA). The odds of FI risk were higher among those who perceived higher likelihood of COVID-19 infection via in-store shopping (OR = 1.34, 95% CI: 1.06, 1.70) and improperly cooked food (OR = 1.87, 95% CI: 1.46, 2.41). FI risk was associated with higher odds of problems related to food affordability (OR = 10.66, 95% CI: 7.87, 14.44), preference (OR = 2.51, 95% CI: 1.86, 3.39), sufficiency (OR = 2.63, 95% CI: 1.96, 3.54), food sources (OR = 7.68, 95% CI: 5.73, 10.31), food storage capacity (OR = 0.48, 95% CI: 0.36, 0.66), and knowing where to find help in obtaining food (OR= 7.68, 95% CI: 5.73, 10.31); most of which did not differ by state. No association was found between food insecurity risk and food-related practices.

Better food preparedness is needed to reduce FI risk during pandemics in specific groups in WA, NY, and LA. Specifically, food affordability, sufficiency, and storage, as well as sources, and increasing knowledge on food programs are limitations that need to be addressed for emergency situations.

This study aimed to investigate university students’ risk perception, protective measures, and general health during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Turkey.

The research sample consisted of 1920 university students. The data were collected through an online questionnaire.

A total of 56.6% of the students considered their risk of being infected with the COVID-19. The number of measures taken by students was lower than expected. Students’ increased anxiety perceived individual risk level, insufficient social support perceptions, and their perceptions of the current pandemic more serious than previous epidemics affect the number of measures they take. Students had sleep and study problems, and suicidal thoughts in the social isolation period. Sex, studying in medicine, anxiety related to COVID-19, feeling unconfident in coping with the pandemic, social support, were determined to be risk factors regarding general health, sleep and study problems, and suicidal thoughts.

The results of the study showed that the measures taken by university students were insufficient and the precautions were affected by many factors. It was determined that their health was adversely affected by the pandemic. University administrations and decision-makers should consider the risk factors to improve the students’ experiences in such pandemics and emergencies.

Effective incident management is essential for coordinating efforts of multiple disciplines and stakeholders when responding to emergencies, including public health disasters such as the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Existing research frameworks tend to focus on formal structures and doctrine (eg, ICS-NIMS); however, organizational processes that underlie incident management have not been systematically assessed and synthesized into a coherent conceptual framework.

The lack of a framework has hindered the development of measures of performance that could be used to further develop the evidence base and facilitate process improvement. To address this gap, we present a conceptual framework of incident management drawn from expert feedback and a review of literature on incident management and related fields. The framework features 23 measurement constructs grouped into 5 domains: (1) situational awareness and information sharing, (2) incident action and implementation planning, (3) resource management and mobilization, (4) coordination and collaboration, and (5) feedback and continuous quality improvement.

As such, the article provides a first step toward the development of robust measures for assessing the performance and effectiveness of incident management systems.

Plans for allocation of scarce life-sustaining resources during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic often include triage teams, but operational details are lacking, including what patient information is needed to make triage decisions.

A Delphi study among Washington state disaster preparedness experts was performed to develop a list of patient information items needed for triage team decision-making during the COVID-19 pandemic. Experts proposed and rated their agreement with candidate information items during asynchronous Delphi rounds. Consensus was defined as ≥80% agreement. Qualitative analysis was used to describe considerations arising in this deliberation. A timed simulation was performed to evaluate feasibility of data collection from the electronic health record.

Over 3 asynchronous Delphi rounds, 50 experts reached consensus on 24 patient information items, including patients’ age, severe or end-stage comorbidities, the reason for and timing of admission, measures of acute respiratory failure, and clinical trajectory. Experts weighed complex considerations around how information items could support effective prognostication, consistency, accuracy, minimizing bias, and operationalizability of the triage process. Data collection took a median of 227 seconds (interquartile range = 205, 298) per patient.

Experts achieved consensus on patient information items that were necessary and appropriate for informing triage teams during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The imposition of protective health protocols in public spaces to curb the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has confronted the ritual of congregational prayers in mosques for Muslims. This study examines the adoption of protective behaviors in the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak and the influence of religion on risk perception by comparing precautionary behaviors in public and in mosques.

Data were collected through an online survey of 327 Muslim men across the Aceh Province, Indonesia, from April 21, 2020, to May 2, 2020. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the paired t-test were employed to compare the uptake of protective behaviors in public and mosques.

The adoption of protective behaviors was higher in public rather than in mosques. It further revealed that the understanding of Islamic teachings during the pandemic has influenced perceived risk and the way Muslim men comply with the protective guidelines. Those who have complete, incomplete, or no compliance of precautionary behaviors have their own interpretation of Islamic teachings that inform their individual actions to manage the risk.

This study suggests the significance of religious views for developing public health preparedness during the current and future pandemics in Aceh and other Muslim majority regions.