This study aims for a greater understanding of how older adults (age 65 and older) in Jackson County, Florida, are prepared for and cope with the effects of a natural disaster.

A multidisciplinary, international research team developed a survey examining: (1) resources available to individuals aged 65+ in rural communities for preparing for a disaster; (2) challenges they face when experiencing a disaster; and (3) their physical, social, emotional, and financial needs when it strikes. The survey was administered with older adults (65+) in Jackson County, Florida, following Hurricane Michael in 2018. The descriptive, multivariate logistic, and linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between respondents’ demographic information and needs, concerns, and consequences of disaster.

Results indicated (n = 139) rural community-dwelling older adults rely on social support, community organizations, and trusted disaster relief agencies to prepare for and recover from disaster-related events.

Such findings can be used to inform the development of new interventions, programs, policies, practices, and tools for emergency management and social service agencies to improve disaster preparedness and resiliency among older populations in rural communities.

Although previous studies have examined the impact of Hurricane Katrina on adults with diabetes, less is known about the effects on children with diabetes and on those displaced by the storm. We analyzed individual-level enrollment and utilization data of children with diabetes who were displaced from Louisiana and were enrolled in the Texas Medicaid Hurricane Katrina emergency waiver (TexKat).

We compared the utilization and outcomes of children displaced from Louisiana with those of children who lived in areas less affected by Hurricane Katrina. Data from both before and after the storm were used to calculate difference-in-difference estimates of the effects of displacement on the children. We analyzed 4 diabetes management procedures (glycated hemoglobin [HbA1C] tests, eye exams, microalbumin tests, and thyroid tests) and a complication from poor diabetes management (diabetic ketoacidosis).

Children enrolled in the waiver generally did not experience a decrease in care relative to the control group while the waiver program was in effect. After the waiver ended, however, we observed a drop in care and an increase in complications relative to the control group.

Although the waiver appeared to have been largely successful immediately following Katrina, future waivers may be improved by ensuring that enrollees continue to receive care after the waivers expire. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:480–483)

This study analyzes the effects of the Pedernales earthquake (April 2016) on Ecuador’s health care system.

A research was carried out in Chone Canton, which combined documentary, quantitative, and qualitative techniques. Epidemiological and service production information taken from official documents was analyzed systematically. In-depth interviews and surveys were conducted with health care program directors and technicians from the Health Centres of the Ministry of Public Health and the users.

Deficiencies in the health care system were already observed in Chone Canton prior to the earthquake mainly due to the lack of doctors, nurses, and hospital beds. According to the interviewees, the health district was not prepared for an emergency like the earthquake. Some buildings fell after the earthquake, and Chone Hospital was disabled. These problems coupled with preventive action failures at the community level led to an increase in diseases after the earthquake.

The shortage of personnel and physical infrastructure, weaknesses in primary health care in the Ecuadorian health system, the lack of preparation, and limited availability of information on health indicators were the causes of the sharp increase in pre-existing diseases in the area, and of new epidemic outbreaks after the earthquake.

To examine the effects of household preparedness on perceptions of workplace preparedness during a pandemic among all employees at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities.

The VA Preparedness Survey (October–December 2018, Los Angeles, CA) used a stratified simple random, web-based survey. Multivariate statistical analyses examined the effect of household preparedness on perceptions of workforce preparedness during a pandemic: institutional readiness; desire for additional training; and understanding their role and its importance.

VA employees totaling 4026 participated. For a pandemic, 55% were confident in their VA medical facility’s ability to respond, 63% would like additional training, 49% understood their role during a response, and 68% reported their role as important. Only 23% reported being “well prepared” at home during major disasters. After controlling for study-relevant factors, household preparedness was positively associated with perceptions of workforce preparedness during a pandemic.

Efforts to increase household preparedness for health care employees could bolster workforce preparedness during pandemics. Organizations should consider robust policies and strategies, such as flexible work arrangements, in order to mitigate factors that may serve as barriers to household preparedness.

The transfer of experiences gained after prehospital medical responses to major incidents has largely been nonsystematic, and better-structured reporting methods have been advocated. A consensus-based template was recently created and implemented as an open-access website. This qualitative study assessed the feasibility of using the template and reporting site.

Informants who had used or who had been asked to use the template were interviewed. The semi-structured interviews were transcribed verbatim, and the transcripts were analyzed by using an inductive approach based on grounded theory methodology.

The major theme identified was a need for “defining purpose” as explained by the minor themes “relevance,” “scope,” “resources,” and “usefulness.” Informants reported that the template content needed to be revised and that the scope and rationale behind each question should be conveyed to the user. Resources necessary for reporting and clarity regarding the aim and outcome also need to be communicated to users and policy-makers. The interface between informants and the template is critical.

Informants considered the template and website useful but reported that the workload exceeded their expectations. Despite pilot testing of the template before implementation, early revision of the template is recommended. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:403–406)

In the summer of 2015, Beirut experienced a garbage crisis that led to rioting. Riot control measures resulted in multiple casualties. This study examines injury patterns of riot victims presenting to the emergency department of a tertiary care center in a developing country.

A retrospective study was conducted in the emergency department of the American University of Beirut Medical Center between August 22 and August 30, 2015. Patients seen in the emergency department with riot injuries were included. Patient characteristics, injuries, and resources utilized in the emergency department were analyzed.

Ninety-five patients were identified. Most patients presented to the emergency department within a short time period. The mean age of the patients was 28.0 ± 8.7 years. Most (90.5%) of the patients were males and 92.6% were protestors. Emergency medical services were utilized by 41.0% of patients. Laceration was the most common presenting complaint (28.5%), and blunt trauma was the most common type of injury (50.5%). The head/face/neck was the most common injured body region (55.8%). Most patients did not require blood tests or procedures (91.6% and 61.0%, respectively), and 91.2% of patients were treated in the emergency department and discharged. One patient required intensive care unit admission and another was dead on arrival.

Most patients had mild injuries on presentation. The emergency department experienced a high influx of patients. Complications and deaths can occur from seemingly nonlethal weapons used during riots and warrant effective prehospital and hospital disaster planning.

The aim of this study is to determine the demographic and clinical characteristics associated with the need for long-term treatment in a child psychiatry facility.

Demographic characteristics, diagnosis, source of referral, time elapsed between the earthquake and the request for care, and the treatment prescribed in the baseline assessment were compared between a group of subjects that required long-term treatment (LTT) and a group that was discharged after a brief intervention (D).

A total of 171 patients were seen, and 27% of the subjects required LTT. In general, these subjects were younger, referred from highly affected areas, presented a delay in seeking care, and were mainly diagnosed with anxiety and stress-related disorders.

These findings suggest the need for research regarding the design of mental health programs for the early detection of psychopathology after natural disasters in children and adolescents.

We trained local public health workers on disaster recovery roles and responsibilities by using a novel curriculum based on a threat and efficacy framework and a training-of-trainers approach. This study used qualitative data to assess changes in perceptions of efficacy toward Hurricane Sandy recovery and willingness to participate in future disaster recoveries.

Purposive and snowball sampling were used to select trainers and trainees from participating local public health departments in jurisdictions impacted by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. Two focus groups totaling 29 local public health workers were held in April and May of 2015. Focus group participants discussed the content and quality of the curriculum, training logistics, and their willingness to engage in future disaster recovery efforts.

The training curriculum improved participants’ understanding of and confidence in their disaster recovery work and related roles within their agencies (self-efficacy); increased their individual- and agency-level sense of role-importance in disaster recovery (response-efficacy); and enhanced their sense of their agencies’ effective functioning in disaster recovery. Participants suggested further training customization and inclusion of other recovery agencies.

Threat- and efficacy-based disaster recovery trainings show potential to increase public health workers’ sense of efficacy and willingness to participate in recovery efforts. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:615–622)

This study aimed to clarify the management of emergency electric power and the operation of radiology diagnostic devices after the Great East Japan Earthquake.

Timing of electricity restoration, actual emergency electric power generation, and whether radiology diagnostic devices were operational and the reason if not were investigated through a questionnaire submitted to all 14 disaster base hospitals in Miyagi Prefecture in February and March 2013.

Commercial electricity supply resumed within 3 days after the earthquake at 13 of 14 hospitals. Actual emergency electric power generation was lower than pre-disaster estimates at most of the hospitals. Only 4 of 11 hospitals were able to generate 60% of the power normally consumed. Under emergency electric power, conventional X-ray and computed tomography (CT) scanners worked in 9 of 14 (64%) and 8 of 14 (57%) hospitals, respectively. The main reason conventional X-ray and CT scanners did not operate was that hospitals had not planned to use these devices under emergency electric power. Only 2 of the 14 hospitals had a pre-disaster plan to allocate emergency electric power, and all devices operated at these 2 hospitals.

Pre-disaster plans to allocate emergency electric power are required for disaster base hospitals to effectively operate radiology diagnostic devices after a disaster. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;8:548-552)

Emergency preparedness is a key factor in public resilience when facing adversities. It is widely agreed that populations who are better prepared for crises and emergencies cope better and sustain fewer damages. Yet, promoting readiness continues to be challenging. In an effort to assess Israeli threat perception of emergencies, a novel visual tool measuring personally salient appraisals and attitudes (the Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self-Measure [PRISM]) was used.

A cross-sectional study of 502 participants representing the adult Jewish population was carried out. An online version of the PRISM tool was used together with a set of validated questionnaires to assess household preparedness.

The results suggest that preparedness for emergencies (war or earthquake) is associated with the way subjects appraise preparedness in their lives, but is not associated to the appraisal of threat objects themselves. In other words, the results suggest that preparedness has little to do with threat perception.

This study highlights the disparity between classic risk reduction strategies, which argue that awareness is key in promoting public preparedness, and the reality.