Results of a cross-sectional study to determine the level of emergency and disaster response planning at Ohio nonhuman animal shelters and the role Ohio agencies have in emergency and disaster response planning in their communities indicated a lack of preparedness coupled with underutilization of the agencies as a resource. A total of 115 agencies (68%) responded to a standardized survey mailed...

Despite the resources dedicated since 2001 to training health providers in emergency and bioterrorism preparedness and response, the literature on the participation of physician assistants (PAs) is very limited. The purpose of this pilot study was to explore the training level and experiences of PAs in the diagnosis and treatment of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive age...

Objective The purpose of this project is to demonstrate progress in developing a scientific and practical approach for public health (PH) emergency preparedness and response informatics (EPRI) that supports the National Health Security Strategy and Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) objectives. PH emergency operations centers (EOC) contribute to health security objectives because they operati...

In this paper we investigate how well residents of the Andaman coast in Phang Nga province, Thailand, are prepared for earthquakes and tsunami. It is hypothesized that formal education can promote disaster preparedness because education enhances individual cognitive and learning skills, as well as access to information. A survey was conducted of 557 households in the areas that received tsunami...

n recent years, there has been a great deal of interest in emergency preparedness. This is especially true in light of concerns about a pandemic of the H5N1 virus, the “bird flu.”* Ethical concerns include ensuring access to basic resources such as health care, and the duties of professionals to perform their task in the face of such events.1† Like other states, Oregon set out to establish an e...

Experiences from recent emergencies, such as Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, have shown that current emergency preparedness plans are inadequate to address the unique issues of special needs populations. This article shares details about a toolkit meant to assist state and local public health agencies improve their emergency preparedness activities. It distills the most relevant strategies, practi...

OBJECTIVE To assess the preparedness of the US mass fatality infrastructure, we developed and tested metrics for 3 components of preparedness: organizational, operational, and resource sharing networks. METHODS In 2014, data were collected from 5 response sectors: medical examiners and coroners, the death care industry, health departments, faith-based organizations, and offices of emergency m...

The objective of this study is to investigate the subject of birth preparedness and complication readiness to tackle the obstetric complications. Birth preparedness and complication readiness is studied based on husband’s response. Emergency birth preparedness has been promoted to address delays in seeking skilled care at birth. However, little evidence is available for birth preparedness and i...

OBJECTIVES This article details the development of the Center for Health Professional Training and Emergency Response (CHPTER), including its innovative, competency-based emergency preparedness training (EPT) curriculum, and the results of a regional preparedness workforce assessment. METHODS CHPTER was established in 2009 with the goal of enhancing regional health security and patient surge ...

ill-prepared to handle the surge of patients that could result from a large-scale radiation emergency, say Canadian disaster preparedness experts. The ongoing radiation threat in Japan, the result of damage to a nuclear power plant during the country’s recent earthquake, has rekindled concerns about the lackadaisical approach to preparing for such an event in Canada, which has 22 nuclear power ...