Building Child-Focused Community Resilience Utilizing A Community-based, Multi-modal Educational Approach The case study presented explores the disaster literacy facets of the Resilient Children/Resilience Communities (RCRC) Initiative. The community-based project aimed to build the capacity of six unique communities in the United States and its territories. The RCRC aimed to build a model of child-focused community resilience through a community mobilization approach. The community mobilization approach … Continue reading “Building Child-Focused Community Resilience Utilizing A Community-based, Multi-modal Educational Approach” Learn More
Remote work and climate change: Considerations for grid resilience in the 21st century This paper explores how the unprecedented dependence on remote work since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the demand for electricity. The paper discusses how the increased dependence on information and communication technologies has driven a shift in the daytime demand for power, from the commercial sector to the residential sector, prompting changes … Continue reading “Remote work and climate change: Considerations for grid resilience in the 21st century” Learn More
The American Preparedness Project: Where the US Public Stands in 2015 The American Preparedness Project was launched by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) in 2002, in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks in order to survey public perceptions and opinions on disaster preparedness and to acknowledge that a comprehensive understanding of the concerns of individuals and families is critical to emergency planning efforts on … Continue reading “The American Preparedness Project: Where the US Public Stands in 2015” Learn More
Children in Disasters: Do Americans Feel Prepared? A National Survey This study was led by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Earth Institute on behalf of the Resilient Children/Resilient Communities (RCRC) Initiative, in partnership with Save the Children with funding from GSK.The purpose of the study was to learn more about people’s opinions and attitudes toward disaster preparedness with a focus … Continue reading “Children in Disasters: Do Americans Feel Prepared? A National Survey” Learn More
System-Level Planning, Coordination, and Communication: Care of the Critically Ill and Injured During Pandemics and Disasters: CHEST Consensus Statement System-level planning involves uniting hospitals and health systems, local/regional government agencies, emergency medical services, and other health-care entities involved in coordinating and enabling care in a major disaster. We reviewed the literature and sought expert opinions concerning system-level planning and engagement for mass critical care due to disasters or pandemics and offer suggestions for system-planning, … Continue reading “System-Level Planning, Coordination, and Communication: Care of the Critically Ill and Injured During Pandemics and Disasters: CHEST Consensus Statement” Learn More
Disaster Planning for Vulnerable Populations: Leveraging Community Human Service Organizations Direct Service Delivery Personnel Given the variability, complexities, and available resources for local vulnerable populations, it is clear that preparing effectively for catastrophic events cannot be accomplished with a single, simple template. Inclusion of Community Human Service Organizations’ (CHSO’s) direct service delivery personnel ensures that emergency disaster planning efforts for vulnerable populations are effective and responsive to unique needs … Continue reading “Disaster Planning for Vulnerable Populations: Leveraging Community Human Service Organizations Direct Service Delivery Personnel” Learn More
Disaster-Related Environmental Health Hazards: Former Lead Smelting Plants in the United States Natural disasters exacerbate risks of hazardous environmental exposures and adverse health consequences. The present study determined the proportion of previously identified lead industrial sites in urban locations that are at high risk for dispersal of toxic chemicals by natural disasters. Geographic analysis from publicly available data identified former lead smelting plants that coincide with populated … Continue reading “Disaster-Related Environmental Health Hazards: Former Lead Smelting Plants in the United States” Learn More
Would Triage Predictors Perform Better than First-Come-First-Served in Pandemic Ventilator Allocation? In a pandemic, needs for ventilators might overwhelm the limited supply. Outcome predictors have been proposed to guide ventilator triage allocation decisions. However, pandemic triage predictors have not been validated. This quantitative simulation study evaluated outcomes resulting from allocation strategies varying in their performance for selecting short stay survivors as favorable candidates for ventilators. A … Continue reading “Would Triage Predictors Perform Better than First-Come-First-Served in Pandemic Ventilator Allocation?” Learn More
Lessons from Sandy — Preparing Health Systems for Future Disasters Within hours after Hurricane Sandy’s landfall, doctors and staff at one of New York City’s premier medical centers realized that something was going terribly wrong. Lights were flickering, critical devices essential to life support for more than 200 patients, many in intensive care units, were malfunctioning. A decision had to be made by hospital leaders, … Continue reading “Lessons from Sandy — Preparing Health Systems for Future Disasters” Learn More
The American Preparedness Project: Executive Summary: Where the US Public Stands in 2011 on Terrorism, Security, and Disaster Preparedness Ten years after the tragic events of September 11, 2001, America is, in some aspects, a different country. Significant portions of the federal budget over the past decade have been spent on enhancing preparedness and security on the home front, and prosecuting terrorism in Iraq and Afghanistan. As part of its American Preparedness Project, which … Continue reading “The American Preparedness Project: Executive Summary: Where the US Public Stands in 2011 on Terrorism, Security, and Disaster Preparedness” Learn More
Domestic preparedness cuts in the current federal budget threaten infrastructure gains and public health preparedness Recent cuts in the federal budget have serious implications for the country’s preparedness and response standing. In mid-May, federal agencies released their final FY11 budgets. Much of the country’s funding for homeland security and public health preparedness resides in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budgets. Preparedness … Continue reading “Domestic preparedness cuts in the current federal budget threaten infrastructure gains and public health preparedness” Learn More
Health care system planning for and response to a nuclear detonation The hallmark of a successful response to a nuclear detonation will be the resilience of the community, region, and nation. An incident of this magnitude will rapidly become a national incident; however, the initial critical steps to reduce lives lost, save the lives that can be saved with the resources available, and understand and apply … Continue reading “Health care system planning for and response to a nuclear detonation” Learn More
Planning for Long‐Term Recovery Before Disaster Strikes: Case Studies of 4 US Cities: A Final Project Report Among the four phases along the hazard continuum — preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation — the sub‐field of long‐term recovery has long been an outlier, an “orphan” when it comes to concerted policy attention and pre‐disaster planning. It’s not that community residents or municipal and state government officials are unaware of the potential long‐term residual … Continue reading “Planning for Long‐Term Recovery Before Disaster Strikes: Case Studies of 4 US Cities: A Final Project Report” Learn More
Rural and suburban population surge following detonation of an improvised nuclear device: A new model to estimate impact Background: The objective of the study was to model urban evacuation into surrounding communities after the detonation of an improvised nuclear device (IND) to assist rural and suburban planners in understanding and effectively planning to address the effects of population surges. Methods: Researchers developed parameters for how far evacuees would travel to escape disasters and … Continue reading “Rural and suburban population surge following detonation of an improvised nuclear device: A new model to estimate impact” Learn More
Hospital Referral Patterns: How Emergency Medical Care is Accessed in a Disaster BACKGROUND: A prevalent assumption in hospital emergency preparedness planning is that patient arrival from a disaster scene will occur through a coordinated system of patient distribution based on the number of victims, capabilities of the receiving hospitals, and the nature and severity of illness or injury. In spite of the strength of the emergency medical … Continue reading “Hospital Referral Patterns: How Emergency Medical Care is Accessed in a Disaster” Learn More
Regional Health and Public Health Preparedness for Nuclear Terrorism: Optimizing Survival in a Low Probability/High Consequence Disaster The United States remains unprepared to cope with the possibility of an attack on a major city by terrorists capable of acquiring and detonating an improvised nuclear device. Long-held anxieties about the non-survivability of nuclear war promulgated during the intense U.S.—Soviet arms race from the late 1940s through the 1980s, and reluctance to consider low … Continue reading “Regional Health and Public Health Preparedness for Nuclear Terrorism: Optimizing Survival in a Low Probability/High Consequence Disaster” Learn More
Utilizing paramedics for in-patient critical care surge capacity INTRODUCTION: While many hospitals have developed preliminary emergency department and in-patient surge plans, the ability to surge is often limited by critical resources. The resource which is often the most limited is usually the human resource and within this category the limiting factor is almost universally nursing. As a result, nursing shortages can result in … Continue reading “Utilizing paramedics for in-patient critical care surge capacity” Learn More
Climate Change and the Public's Health: The Coming Crisis for the U.S. Gulf Coast This paper reviews the scientific consensus as to how climate change will affect human health on a global scale and describes the limited, emerging research findings concerning climate change health impacts along the U.S. Gulf Coast. Through myriad pathways, climate change is likely to make the Gulf Coast less hospitable and more dangerous for Americans, … Continue reading “Climate Change and the Public’s Health: The Coming Crisis for the U.S. Gulf Coast” Learn More
Mitigating absenteeism in hospital workers during a pandemic Objectives: An influenza pandemic, as with any disaster involving contagion or contamination, has the potential to influence the number of health care employees who will report for duty. Our project assessed the uptake of proposed interventions to mitigate absenteeism in hospital workers during a pandemic. Methods: Focus groups were followed by an Internet-based survey of … Continue reading “Mitigating absenteeism in hospital workers during a pandemic” Learn More
Pediatric Emergency Preparedness for Natural Disasters, Terrorism, and Public Health Emergencies: A National Consensus Conference: 2009 Update This is the third consensus document in an ongoing process to convene experts from the multiple disciplines that are involved in the planning for children affected by disasters. Learn More
Education and Training of Hospital Workers: Who Are Essential Personnel during a Disaster? Hospital plans often vary when it comes to the specific functional roles that are included in emergency and incident management positions. Bioterrorism coordinators and emergency managers for 31 hospitals in a seven-county region outside of a major metropolitan area, with urban, suburban, and rural demographics were surveyed to determine which specific functional roles were considered … Continue reading “Education and Training of Hospital Workers: Who Are Essential Personnel during a Disaster?” Learn More
The Future of Pediatric Preparedness This article is part of a collaborative effort by experts in the field of emergency preparedness to complete an overview begun by the late Michael Shannon, MD, MPH, on the current challenges and future directions in pediatric disaster readiness. This particular article, “The Future of Pediatric Preparedness,” will offer a perspective on future directions in … Continue reading “The Future of Pediatric Preparedness” Learn More
The Incorporation of GIS Technologies in Emergency Preparedness and Response Public health agencies make decisions that have far reaching consequences, and geography impacts these decisions on a daily basis. Geographic information systems (GIS) are powerful computer software programs which can enable agency staff to visualize spatial information in new ways, so that they can become better planners and problem solvers, particularly in the areas of … Continue reading “The Incorporation of GIS Technologies in Emergency Preparedness and Response” Learn More
The 2008 American Preparedness Project: Why Parents May Not Heed Evacuation Orders and What Emergency Planners, Families and Schools Need to Know Since 2002, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and The Children’s Health Fund (CHF), have conducted annual surveys of public attitudes and personal preparedness in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Produced in collaboration with the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion … Continue reading “The 2008 American Preparedness Project: Why Parents May Not Heed Evacuation Orders and What Emergency Planners, Families and Schools Need to Know” Learn More
Teaching emergency preparedness to public health workers: use of blended learning in web-based training This article presents the development of a program and results of a study to evaluate an online distancebased learning (DBL) program for competency-based, basic emergency preparedness training for employees of local health departments nationwide. The program was developed and implemented beginning in May 2003 by Columbia University’s Center for Public Health Preparedness (CU-CPHP), and was … Continue reading “Teaching emergency preparedness to public health workers: use of blended learning in web-based training” Learn More
Of peppers and preparedness What can a chili pepper teach us about disaster preparedness? In June, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began issuing advisories about a foodborne salmonella outbreak that was detected in the United States. At the end of August, the agencies announced with little fanfare that the … Continue reading “Of peppers and preparedness” Learn More
Are We Ready Yet to Deal with Large-Scale Disasters? What seems to be abundantly clear, however, is that the United States is still not where it should be in terms of the general response capacity following major disasters, whatever their cause. Part of the problem is unchanged from last year. We will have not defined what we mean by “prepared” whether we are speaking … Continue reading “Are We Ready Yet to Deal with Large-Scale Disasters?” Learn More
The New York City Principals Pandemic Flu Survey: Are Schools Prepared? It will be only a matter of time before another influenza pandemic occurs. Pandemic flu refers to a novel human influenza virus that causes a global outbreak, or pandemic. Researchers cannot accurately predict the timing, severity, or source of the next pandemic, but are certain it would present a myriad of issues for the public … Continue reading “The New York City Principals Pandemic Flu Survey: Are Schools Prepared?” Learn More
Comparison of Urban Transit Planning Responses to Pandemic Influenza Pandemic influenza and other large scale communicable disease outbreaks pose a unique public safety concern in respect to transit and emergency planning. While local transit agencies, supported by federal funds, have identified disaster planning and response as critical to maintaining continuity of service and quality of life, most plans contend solely with event-based scenarios such … Continue reading “Comparison of Urban Transit Planning Responses to Pandemic Influenza” Learn More
The American Preparedness Project: Where the US Public Stands in 2007 on Terrorism, Security, and Disaster Preparedness Since 2002, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and The Children’s Health Fund (CHF), have conducted annual surveys of public attitudes and personal preparedness in the aftermath of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. Produced in collaboration with the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion … Continue reading “The American Preparedness Project: Where the US Public Stands in 2007 on Terrorism, Security, and Disaster Preparedness” Learn More
Emergency Preparedness: Addressing the Needs of Persons with Disabilities In July 2004, President Bush signed an Executive Order explicitly stating the policy of the United States in the area of emergency preparedness for people with disabilities. The Executive Order built on The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990 “to provide a clear and comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against … Continue reading “Emergency Preparedness: Addressing the Needs of Persons with Disabilities” Learn More
Global Preparedness for Public Health There are many reasons to be interested in public health in China. China is the single most populous nation on earth and was the point of origin for SARS and probably for most pandemic influenza viruses, past and future. In this issue of the Journal, we get a valuable window into the organization of public … Continue reading “Global Preparedness for Public Health” Learn More
The US pandemic influenza implementation plan at six months There has been great concern recently about pandemic influenza. The US government developed a National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza in November 2005, followed by an implementation plan in May 2006. A six-month progress report was published in late December. The current strategies are intended to improve preparedness and response for the next influenza pandemic. In … Continue reading “The US pandemic influenza implementation plan at six months” Learn More
Safer Schools in an Age of Mass Violence: Back to the Basics of Public Health Schools in the US are by and large safe environments where millions of our children are secure and thrive. Outbreaks of fatal violence like the recent shootings at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) are, fortunately, rare. In fact, the odds of a student losing his or her life to homicide are 50 … Continue reading “Safer Schools in an Age of Mass Violence: Back to the Basics of Public Health” Learn More
Unanticipated Consequences of Pandemic Flu: School Related Issues: A Preliminary Literature Review In the event of a pandemic flu outbreak, closing schools would be one of the most likely non pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) considered to contain the outbreak, consistent with social distancing theories (Hodge 2006, Germann 2006). Children in preschool and school-age groups are frequently observed to amplify transmission of many forms of flu (Bell 2006, Germann … Continue reading “Unanticipated Consequences of Pandemic Flu: School Related Issues: A Preliminary Literature Review” Learn More
Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters, Terrorism and Public Health Emergencies: A National Consensus Conference: Executive Summary and Final Report In 2003, we convened experts from the multiple areas of expertise and disciplines involved in the planning for and care of children during times of disaster and terrorist events. The goals of this unprecedented meeting were to: 1) Build collaboration among individuals with expertise in emergency management, including disaster medicine, disaster planning, pediatric emergency medicine, … Continue reading “Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters, Terrorism and Public Health Emergencies: A National Consensus Conference: Executive Summary and Final Report” Learn More
Interventions to Mitigate the Reduced Ability and Willingness to Work of Health Care Workers During a Pandemic Influenza Public Health Emergency Several widely publicized articles were released in the past two years which suggest that health care and public health employees may be unable or unwilling to report to work during a public health emergency involving contagion or contamination such as pandemic influenza, SARS, smallpox, or a terrorist attack using disease or radiation: A 2006 study … Continue reading “Interventions to Mitigate the Reduced Ability and Willingness to Work of Health Care Workers During a Pandemic Influenza Public Health Emergency” Learn More
The Pediatrician and Disaster Preparedness Recent natural disasters and events of terrorism and war have heightened society’s recognition of the need for emergency preparedness. In addition to the unique pediatric issues involved in general emergency preparedness, several additional issues related to terrorism preparedness must be considered, including the unique vulnerabilities of children to various agents as well as the limited … Continue reading “The Pediatrician and Disaster Preparedness” Learn More
National Preparedness Planning: The Historical Context and Current State of the U.S. Public's Readiness, 1940-2005 In the United States, national public preparedness efforts meant to ready individuals and families for disasters have been driven primarily by international threats, actual or anticipated. These include terrorism, war and the potential for global instability such as the millennium Y2K computer error. The national dialogue on public preparedness following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in … Continue reading “National Preparedness Planning: The Historical Context and Current State of the U.S. Public’s Readiness, 1940-2005” Learn More
Next Flu Pandemic: What to Do Until the Vaccine Arrives? Most scientists consider another influenza pandemic inevitable, but there is little information on how best to protect the public before a vaccine can be made available. Learn More
Ethical and Legal Challenges Posed by mandatory Hurricane Evacuation: Duties and Limits When Hurricane Katrina made landfall in August 2005, between 70,000 and 100,000 residents of New Orleans either did not or could not comply with the order that had been issued to evacuate. The events surrounding Katrina raised critical legal and ethical questions about the use of mandatory evacuation orders. We discuss four key ethical issues … Continue reading “Ethical and Legal Challenges Posed by mandatory Hurricane Evacuation: Duties and Limits” Learn More
Guide to Contracting Public Health Drills and Exercises In the wake of September 11, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) made available hundreds of millions of dollars through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA) to assist State, Local, and Territorial Health departments increase their capacity to respond to bioterrorism and … Continue reading “Guide to Contracting Public Health Drills and Exercises” Learn More
Homeland Preparedness for Major Terrorism in 2006: Not Yet Ready for Prime Time This year will represent a turning point for preparedness and homeland security in the United States. With Michael Chertoff firmly in place and making his own mark as the new Secretary of Homeland Security, the anticipated reauthorization of the federal bioterrorism bill and many other new perspectives and strategies on the table, changes are likely … Continue reading “Homeland Preparedness for Major Terrorism in 2006: Not Yet Ready for Prime Time” Learn More
Life under the "new normal": notes on the future of preparedness Being prepared for emergencies is not a new concept. At every level of government there are contingency plans for natural disasters, accidental catastrophes, local events and personal emergencies of every conceivable manner. Organizations from the Red Cross to the Federal Emergency Management Agency to hospital emergency departments are in a constant state of readiness. Often, … Continue reading “Life under the “new normal”: notes on the future of preparedness” Learn More
Critical Concepts for Children in Disasters Identified by Hands-on Professionals: Summary of Issues Demanding Solutions Before the Next One This supplement contains many hands-on experiences of pediatricians and others who cared for children during the Hurricane Katrina disaster. They have all offered significant insightful suggestions to help planners better prepare for care of children during the next disaster. Pediatricians and other providers need to educate families on many aspects of disaster planning. Families should … Continue reading “Critical Concepts for Children in Disasters Identified by Hands-on Professionals: Summary of Issues Demanding Solutions Before the Next One” 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
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
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
Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters and Terrorism: A National Consensus Conference: Executive Summary In a time of crisis, it is essential to ensure the needs of children are being met in planning and preparing for disasters and terrorist events. The current adult models and guidelines cannot be applied to the care of children. We convened experts from the multiple areas of expertise and disciplines involved in the planning … Continue reading “Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters and Terrorism: A National Consensus Conference: Executive Summary” Learn More
Disaster and Terrorism Preparedness: What Pediatricians Need To Know This chapter is designed to provide an overview of key issues for the pediatrician with respect to terrorism and disaster preparedness. It is not intended to be a complete compendium of didactic content, but it does represent an approach to understanding what needs to be learned by the pediatrician on this difficult topic and how … Continue reading “Disaster and Terrorism Preparedness: What Pediatricians Need To Know” Learn More
The Vigilance Defense: Proven Systems and Well-Prepared People Are Our Best Protection Against Bioterror Last fall, when physicians diagnosed anthrax in a Florida man named Robert Stevens, they initially suspected that they were seeing a rare, natural case of the disease. The infection of a co-worker of Stevens, however, put the country on alert. Five people eventually died, but the quick recognition that the earliest anthrax infections resulted from … Continue reading “The Vigilance Defense: Proven Systems and Well-Prepared People Are Our Best Protection Against Bioterror” Learn More
First Steps: A Pilot Preparedness Program for Public Health Nurses Public health will face major challenges in the coming decades. The 1999 West Nile outbreak in New York City and other recent incidents demonstrate how important public health is as a frontline defense against emerging infections, bioterrorism, and other unexpected emergencies. A well-prepared public health workforce is more critical than ever. The challenges are particularly … Continue reading “First Steps: A Pilot Preparedness Program for Public Health Nurses” Learn More
