OBJECTIVE To assess the preparedness of health workers in St James, Jamaica, to respond to natural disasters. METHODS A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a 25% quota sample of hospital and health department staff in St James in 2005 (n = 307). Awareness of and attitudes to disaster management policies, plans and training and how these influenced their response in Hurricane Ivan were eva...

Editorials 558 Several high-impact disasters in the last decade have shown diverse environmental and social settings to be vulnerable to natural hazards. According to the United Nations (UN), in 2011 302 disasters resulting from natural hazards killed 29 782 people and injured, displaced or otherwise affected another 206 million. Economic damages reached 366 billion United States dollars (US$),...

BACKGROUND Disaster is a serious public health issue. Health professionals and community residents are main players in disaster responses but their knowledge levels of disaster medicine are not readily available. This study aimed to evaluate knowledge levels and training needs of disaster medicine among potential disaster responders and presented a necessity to popularize disaster medicine educ...

Background: Indonesia is home to approximately 400 active volcanoes located on three different tectonic plates. Thus, the country frequently experiences natural disasters, and health care in emergencies and disasters is important. Therefore, the aim of this  study was to describe nursing students’ experiences of nursing education in disaster nursingat one university in Indonesia.  Materials an...

Iran's health system is expanding the disaster and emergency higher education programs over the country to enhance the capacity of human resources for effective and efficient disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. In this article we present an overview about the initiatives and progress of disaster and emergency health higher education in Iran. Following the Bam earthquake, i...

The unimpeded functioning of hospital Health Information Services (HIS) is essential for patient care, clinical governance, organisational performance measurement, funding and research. In an investigation of hospital Health Information Services' preparedness for internal disasters, all hospitals in the state of Victoria with the following characteristics were surveyed: they have a Health Infor...

background: evaluating the effectiveness of reengineering moheb (interventions and sociopsychological supports in disasters) project helps the managers of the welfare organization have feedback on the status of community empowerment against disasters. in this regard, this study aimed to determine the effectiveness of reengineering moheb project to improve the knowledge, attitude, and performanc...

Disaster response requires rapid, complex action by multiple agencies that may rarely interact during nondisaster periods. Failures in communication and coordination between agencies have been pitfalls in the advancement of disaster preparedness. Recommendations of the Federal Emergency Management Agency address these needs and demonstrate commitment to successful disaster management, but they ...

Global climate change will increase the probability of extreme weather events, including heatwaves, drought, wildfire, cyclones, and heavy precipitation that could cause floods and landslides. Such events create significant public health needs that can exceed local capacity to respond, resulting in excess morbidity or mortality and in the declaration of disasters. Human vulnerability to any dis...