Although much attention is now being paid to the health risks associated with nuclear disasters, reliable information is lacking. We retrospectively evaluated the health effects of living in highly contaminated radioactive areas in Japan.

The health evaluation was conducted in Tamano district, Fukushima prefecture, in 2011 and 2012. The surface deposition density of cesium in Tamano was 600 to 1000 kBq/m2 shortly after the Fukushima nuclear accident. Clinical parameters included body mass index, blood pressure, and laboratory examinations for blood cell counts, glucose levels, and lipid profiles. A screening program for internal and external exposure was also implemented.

One hundred fifty-five residents participated in the health evaluation. Significant decreases in average body mass index and blood pressure were observed from 2011 to 2012. Annual internal exposure levels did not exceeded 1 mSv in any participants. The levels of external exposure ranged from 1.3 to 4.3 mSv/y measured in the first test period but decreased to 0.8 to 3.6 mSv/y in the second test period.

These findings suggest that inhabiting nuclear contaminated areas is not always associated with short-term health deterioration and that radiation exposure can be controlled within safety limitations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:34–37)

Personal protective equipment (PPE) is worn by prehospital providers (PHPs) for protection from hazardous exposures. Evidence regarding the ability of PHPs to perform resuscitation procedures has been described in adult but not pediatric models. This study examined the effects of PPE on the ability of PHPs to perform resuscitation procedures on pediatric patients.

This prospective study was conducted at a US simulation center. Paramedics wore normal attire at the baseline session and donned full Level B PPE for the second session. During each session, they performed timed sets of psychomotor tasks simulating clinical care of a critically ill pediatric patient. The difference in time to completion between baseline and PPE sessions per task was examined using Wilcoxon signed-rank tests.

A total of 50 paramedics completed both sessions. Median times for task completion at the PPE sessions increased significantly from baseline for several procedures: tracheal intubation (+4.5 s; P = 0.01), automated external defibrillator (AED) placement (+9.5 s; P = 0.01), intraosseous line insertion (+7 s; P < 0.0001), tourniquet (+8.5 s; P < 0.0001), intramuscular injection (+21-23 s, P < 0.0001), and pulse oximetry (+4 s; P < 0.0001). There was no significant increase in completion time for bag-mask ventilation or autoinjector use.

PPE did not have a significant impact on PHPs performing critical tasks while caring for a pediatric patient with a highly infectious or chemical exposure. This information may guide PHPs faced with the situation of resuscitating children while wearing Level B PPE.

This paper explores compounding challenges for older coastal populations due to accelerated sea level rise at the nexus of physical hazard exposure and place-based socioeconomic and health considerations.

This study applies geospatial analysis to assess the spatial distribution of older adults (age 65+) and their socioeconomic characteristics in Miami-Dade County in Florida. Next, it uses logistic regression to evaluate the socioeconomic determinants of block groups with 20% or more of residents age 65 and older at 3 feet of sea level rise compared to the other block groups in Miami-Dade.

The results show that this study area has an older population clustered in flood-prone locations along the shoreline. The block groups with more than 20% of older adults and sea level rise risk have higher homeownership and vacancy rates, a higher percentage of homes constructed before 1980, and more older individuals who live alone.

This study identifies place-based compounding factors undermining the ability of older residents to adequately cope with accelerated sea level rise flooding in coastal urban locations. Namely, owning an older home in a declining neighborhood and living alone can trap older individuals in place and increase their flood risk.

This study assesses the attitudes (willingness) and preparedness of non-frontline physicians across different specialties in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) toward the management of hospitalized coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients.

This cross-sectional study conducted between April 15, 2020, and May 5, 2020, included 6209 physicians working in KSA. An electronic questionnaire was designed and validated for the assessment of 3 categorical outcome variables, namely, attitudes, confidence, and knowledge levels. Pearson’s chi-square test was used for comparing the distribution of the proportions of these 3 categorical variables.

Most participants (63.2%) were willing and prepared to treat COVID-19 patients. A significantly large proportion of participants specializing in anesthesiology (78.2%) had higher knowledge levels, followed by those from plastic surgery (71.1%), pediatrics (69.7%), and obstetrics and gynecology (69.1%) (P < 0.0001). Lower confidence levels were found for airway management skills (38.1%), particularly among dermatologists and radiologists.

Higher knowledge levels about personal protective equipment (PPE) use and confidence in airway management skills were proportionally related to the level of willingness to participate in COVID-19 patient management. There is an urgent need to train doctors from certain specialties on PPE use and airway management to enable their frontline support of severely ill COVID-19 patients.

The purpose of this study was to clarify whether the support activities of dietitians during disasters were able to address the problems faced by mothers about their children’s diet and nutrition.

Dietitians (7 in total) and mothers (8) were selected by the snowball sampling method. Semi-structured interviews were used to conduct focus group interviews about children’s diet and nutrition. Verbatim data were generated, and an inductively qualitative descriptive analysis was conducted.

Six categories were generated for each group. Dietitians responded to problems that mothers had regarding their children’s diet and nutrition via 2 activities: [dealing with allergy food shortages] and [school lunch support].

It is important for dietitians to recommend stockpiling allergy-friendly foods to accommodate children with allergies and achieve early resumption of school lunches to meet children’s nutritional needs.

Acute and chronic stress after severe earthquakes can contribute to cardiovascular events, including heart failure (HF). On April 14, 2016, magnitude 7 earthquakes occurred in the Aso region in the western part of Japan. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of HF in this area after these earthquakes.

We investigated the clinical characteristics and 1-y mortality rate of patients with HF. Nutritional status was evaluated with the Geriatric Nutritional Risk Index (GNRI) and the Prognostic Nutritional Index (PNI).

Among a total of 58 cardiovascular events, HF was the most frequently observed (n = 28). The mean age of individuals with HF was 85.5 y. The total incidence of HF was significantly higher compared with the average of the prior 2 y. Disaster influence on mental health was suggested by patient history in 20 patients (71%). The 1-y mortality rate among patients with HF was 50%. Among those who died, 93% had malnutrition status (GNRI <92 and /or PNI ≤38).

Our results demonstrated the poor prognosis of patients with HF following the disaster. The prevalence of malnutrition was high in those patients. Careful follow-up is necessary, especially for older people with frailty.

The purpose of this study is to analyze a strategy for the assignment and transportation of injured patients to hospital to decrease the demand on transportation, in both predisaster and postdisaster periods, on the Anatolian side of Istanbul.

Two approaches are used in this study: a Voronoi diagram, and a heuristic approach to the problem of scheduling. A Voronoi diagram is used to divide the city into 74 regions, where each hospital has a certain region of responsibility. The transportation strategy of 1 hospital is modeled by minimizing the makespan (ie, the maximal completion time) and the work-in-process, which are used as different objectives in scheduling theory.

The total waiting time of 100 injured people was minimized to 13,036 min when a total of 3 vehicles was used in the studied region, on the Asian side of Istanbul. The transportation capacity and total operating capacity of the hospitals should be approximately equal.

The people of Istanbul will be in a safer position if the suggested measures are implemented. This is an important consideration, as Istanbul is situated in a region where serious earthquakes are possible at any moment.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of training programs in improving the knowledge about disaster management among Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs) in Mysuru, India.

A quasi-experimental study was conducted among 40 ASHAs of 3 Primary Health Centers in Mysuru district. A 3-h disaster management training and workshop followed by a mock-drill was organized in each center. Knowledge about disaster preparedness and management was assessed before and 1 mo after the intervention using a questionnaire by interview method. The data obtained were entered into an MS Excel spreadsheet and analyzed using licensed SPSS 22 software.

The mean score obtained by the ASHAs in pretraining assessment was 37.2 ± 10.4. Improvement was evident in the knowledge and preparedness of ASHAs 1 mo after the training, which showed a mean score of 90.14 ± 5.05. This change in score was statistically significant with a P-value < 0.001 on performing a paired t-test.

Training programs with mock drills and hands-on activities are effective in improving the knowledge of frontline health workers about disaster management. We recommend such training to be organized in all public health facilities.