Establishing a Foundation for Performance Measurement for Local Public Health Preparedness The development of performance measures is not a new concept in the disaster preparedness space. For over a decade, goals have been developed and tied to federal preparedness grant programs. However, these measures have been heavily criticized for their inability to truly measure preparedness. There is also growing frustration at the local level that these … Continue reading “Establishing a Foundation for Performance Measurement for Local Public Health Preparedness” Learn More
Examining the Dose–Response Relationship: Applying the Disaster Exposure Matrix to Understand the Mental Health Impacts of Hurricane Sandy Disaster exposure is a strong predictor of survivor mental health following large-scale disasters. However, there is continued debate regarding how disaster exposure should be measured and quantified, as well as whether specific types of disaster exposure are more likely to influence certain mental health outcomes like psychological distress or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In this … Continue reading “Examining the Dose–Response Relationship: Applying the Disaster Exposure Matrix to Understand the Mental Health Impacts of Hurricane Sandy” Learn More
Crowd-sourcing structure-from- motion data for terrain modelling in a real-world disaster scenario: A proof of concept Structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry techniques are now widely available to generate digital terrain models (DTMs) from optical imagery, providing an alternative to costlier options such as LiDAR or satellite surveys. SfM could be a useful tool in hazard studies because its minimal cost makes it accessible even in developing regions and its speed of use can … Continue reading “Crowd-sourcing structure-from- motion data for terrain modelling in a real-world disaster scenario: A proof of concept” Learn More
Anger Versus Fear: Perceptions of Terrorism Among the American Public With recent terrorist attacks in Brussels, Belgium; Paris, France; San Bernardino, California and elsewhere, the rhetoric for addressing the issue of terrorism has grown more polarized. In particular we have seen increasingly aggressive statements demanding limits to immigration, increasing vigilance against Muslim communities, and calling for more direct military action against terrorist organizations.The tone of … Continue reading “Anger Versus Fear: Perceptions of Terrorism Among the American Public” Learn More
The Hurricane Sandy Place Report: Evacuation Decisions, Housing Issues and Sense of Community Hurricane Sandy was one of the largest storms on record, sweeping through the eastern seaboard of the United States with a massive diameter twice the size of Hurricane Katrina. Although wind speeds did not match those of Katrina, the combination of high tide at landfall and the lunar phase resulted in exceptionally high storm surges. … Continue reading “The Hurricane Sandy Place Report: Evacuation Decisions, Housing Issues and Sense of Community” Learn More
The Hurricane Sandy Person Report: Disaster Exposure, Health Impacts, Economic Burden, and Social Well-Being The impact a disaster has on the health of a population can be described as having a “dose-response” relationship: the larger the “dose” of the disaster, the greater the health impact or “response” among those individuals and communities exposed. This PERSON Briefing Report describes the impact of Hurricane Sandy (the dose) on the health and … Continue reading “The Hurricane Sandy Person Report: Disaster Exposure, Health Impacts, Economic Burden, and Social Well-Being” Learn More
School Interventions After the Joplin Tornado Background/Objective To qualitatively describe interventions by schools to meet children’s needs after the May 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado. METHODS: Qualitative exploratory study conducted six months after the tornado. Key informant interviews with school staff (teachers, psychologists, guidance counselor, nurse, principal), public health official, and physicians. Report After the tornado, school staff immediately worked to contact … Continue reading “School Interventions After the Joplin Tornado” Learn More
Assessing the Reliability and Validity of the Evacuation Support Decision Tool This study examines the reliability and validity of the Evacuation Decision Support Tool (EDST). The EDST is designed to provide healthcare facilities, emergency managers, and other agencies with a systematic process with which to evaluate and guide “evacuation” versus “shelter in place” decision making for a variety of “all hazards” situations. The EDST is comprised … Continue reading “Assessing the Reliability and Validity of the Evacuation Support Decision Tool” Learn More
Measuring Individual Disaster Recovery: A Socioecological Framework Background: Disaster recovery is a complex phenomenon. Too often, recovery is measured in singular fashion, such as quantifying rebuilt infrastructure or lifelines, without taking in to account the affected population’s individual and community recovery. A comprehensive framework is needed that encompasses a much broader and far-reaching construct with multiple underlying dimensions and numerous causal pathways; … Continue reading “Measuring Individual Disaster Recovery: A Socioecological Framework” Learn More
Recovery Research, Katrina's Fifth Anniversary, and Lessons Relearned What may be called “disaster science” is a broad field that begins with understanding hazards, risks, and population vulnerabilities and moves on to establishing best-practice models of response, mitigation, and recovery. Gaps abound in our collective knowledge in all of these areas, and it is fair to suggest that we have only begun to scratch … Continue reading “Recovery Research, Katrina’s Fifth Anniversary, and Lessons Relearned” Learn More
Analyzing Postdisaster Surveillance Data: The Effect of the Statistical Method Data from existing administrative databases and ongoing surveys or surveillance methods may prove indispensable after mass traumas as a way of providing information that may be useful to emergency planners and practitioners. The analytic approach, however, may affect exposure prevalence estimates and measures of association. We compare Bayesian hierarchical modeling methods to standard survey analytic … Continue reading “Analyzing Postdisaster Surveillance Data: The Effect of the Statistical Method” Learn More
Public Health Disaster Research: Surveying the Field, Defining its Future Disaster medicine and public health preparedness are commonly perceived as subfields of the larger fields of medicine and public health rather than being recognized as an emerging academic field embracing all of the disciplines that contribute to effective disaster response. As such, they serve as appropriate subjects for multidisciplinary work in the social sciences, whether … Continue reading “Public Health Disaster Research: Surveying the Field, Defining its Future” Learn More
Global Infectious Disease Surveillance And Health Intelligence Current concerns about the spread of infectious diseases, especially unexpected (“emerging”) infections such as pandemic influenza or severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), have renewed focus on the critical importance of global early warning and rapid response. Although considerable progress has been made, many gaps remain. A number of the gaps can be addressed through increased … Continue reading “Global Infectious Disease Surveillance And Health Intelligence” Learn More
