Dr. Irwin Redlener joins Jon Stewart on the Daily Show Dr. Irwin Redlener would make this country more prepared by providing competent leadership, organization, and accountability. Learn More
Preparing Health Professions Students for Terrorism, Disaster, and Public Health Emergencies: Core Competencies The recent increased threat of terrorism, coupled with the ever-present dangers posed by natural disasters and public health emergencies, clearly support the need to incorporate bioterrorism preparedness and emergency response material into the curricula of every health professions school in the nation. A main barrier to health care preparedness in this country is a lack … Continue reading “Preparing Health Professions Students for Terrorism, Disaster, and Public Health Emergencies: Core Competencies” Learn More
Psychosocial Implications of Disaster or Terrorism on Children: A Guide for the Pediatrician During and after disasters, pediatricians can assist parents and community leaders not only by accommodating the unique needs of children but also by being cognizant of the psychological responses of children to reduce the possibility of long-term psychological morbidity. The effects of disaster on children are mediated by many factors including personal experience, parental reaction, … Continue reading “Psychosocial Implications of Disaster or Terrorism on Children: A Guide for the Pediatrician” Learn More
Public Health Department Training of Emergency Medical Technicians for Bioterrorism and Public Health Emergencies: Results of a National Assessment Hypothesis: The public health system has a specialized body of knowledge and expertise in bioterrorism and public health emergency management that can assist in the development and delivery of continuing medical education programs to meet the needs of emergency medical service providers. Methods: A nationally representative sample of the basic and paramedic emergency medical service … Continue reading “Public Health Department Training of Emergency Medical Technicians for Bioterrorism and Public Health Emergencies: Results of a National Assessment” Learn More
Psychopathology Among New York City Public School Children 6 Months After September 11 It has been proposed that the terror itself that results from a terrorist attack elicits what is perhaps one of the attack’s more profound consequences: a direct assault on the population’s mental health. Prior research suggests that in the context of a mass disaster, children may be an especially vulnerable group. Previous research has shown … Continue reading “Psychopathology Among New York City Public School Children 6 Months After September 11” Learn More
Snapshot 2005: Where the American Public Stands on Terrorism and Preparedness Four Years after September 11 The National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) 2005 survey of the American public’s attitudes and views on terrorism, preparedness, and associated issues is the latest in a series of national surveys administered annually beginning in the months after September 11, 2001. The survey was completed in July 2005, just after the London Underground bombings and … Continue reading “Snapshot 2005: Where the American Public Stands on Terrorism and Preparedness Four Years after September 11” Learn More
Children in a Post-9/11 World There is a special set of concerns with respect to children in a post·9/ll world. With the enormous national effort being made to prevent terrorism and particularly to enhance response capacity to unconventional weapons of terror, the special needs of children must be accounted for in preparedness planning at all levels. The important principle is … Continue reading “Children in a Post-9/11 World” Learn More
Identification and Evaluation of Mental Health and Psychosocial Preparedness Resources From the Centers for Public Health Preparedness An exemplar group of disaster mental health subject matter experts was formed as part of the CDC Center for Public Health Preparedness program to develop a “toolkit’ of relevant CPHP disaster mental health training and education curricula and resources. The group developed a charter, compiled relevant CPHP training materials, developed an objective review template, and … Continue reading “Identification and Evaluation of Mental Health and Psychosocial Preparedness Resources From the Centers for Public Health Preparedness” Learn More
The Willingness of U.S. Emergency Medical Technicians to Respond to Terrorist Incidents A nationally representative sample of basic and paramedic emergency medical service providers in the United States was surveyed to assess their willingness to respond to terrorist incidents. EMTs were appreciably (9-13%) less willing than able to respond to such potential terrorist-related incidents as smallpox outbreaks, chemical attacks, or radioactive dirty bombs (p < 0.0001). EMTs … Continue reading “The Willingness of U.S. Emergency Medical Technicians to Respond to Terrorist Incidents” Learn More
Terrorism and preparedness: What September 11 and its aftermath mean for physicians In the aftermath of September 11, the people and government of the United States confronted a new reality–so too did the health care community. The attacks revealed a number of vulnerabilities with respect to the health care system’s infrastructure and ability to respond to terrorism. Although September 11 represents an unprecedented disaster in the United … Continue reading “Terrorism and preparedness: What September 11 and its aftermath mean for physicians” Learn More
Children as Potential Targets of Terrorism: Conference Report The working group was an assembly of top thinkers who through their professional and personal endeavours stand poised to consider the implications of children as explicit targets of terrorism and provide directions for research and policy. The group was structured to be a small, select convergence of high-level persons situated in a forum of free … Continue reading “Children as Potential Targets of Terrorism: Conference Report” Learn More
Homelessness and its Consequences Understanding the implications and meaningful details of homelessness helps to clarify the health care challenges that homeless people and the service providers who care for them face on a daily basis. This is not just a matter of very disadvantaged children who need medical care and a food pantry; it is also about families who … Continue reading “Homelessness and its Consequences” Learn More
Preparing for disasters: What should you know, and when should you know it? Three waves of terrorism have ushered in a new era in public health, safety, and health care in the United States: The February 26, 1993 explosions at New York’s World Trade Center, the April 19, 1995 bombing at the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, and the September 11, 2001 attacks, along with the anthrax … Continue reading “Preparing for disasters: What should you know, and when should you know it?” Learn More
Are our children terrorist targets? Are U.S. children potential terror targets? While such a notion is almost impossible to contemplate, evidence increasingly suggests that U.S. intelligence efforts must be alert to this horrific possibility and that schools and first-responders should have appropriate emergency plans. Learn More
Katrina, Rita, and the Failure of Imagination Americans have had to deal with disaster preparedness for decades, anticipating events such as industrial accidents, power plant meltdowns, natural disasters, and nuclear attacks. Since September 11, 2001, the nation has spent unprecedented resources, created new federal, state, and local agencies, and greatly intensified efforts to prepare for catastrophes. But when Hurricane Katrina hit, we … Continue reading “Katrina, Rita, and the Failure of Imagination” Learn More
Epidemiological evidence of an early wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic in New York City The 1918 “Spanish flu” was the fastest spreading and most deadly influenza pandemic in recorded history. Hypotheses of its origin have been based on a limited collection of case and outbreak reports from before its recognized European emergence in the summer of 1918. These anecdotal accounts, however, remain insufficient for determining the early diffusion and … Continue reading “Epidemiological evidence of an early wave of the 1918 influenza pandemic in New York City” Learn More
