About the lead author (Dr Krug): I am a professor of pediatrics at the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and head the division of emergency medicine at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. I currently serve as the chairperson for the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Disaster Preparedness Advisory Council and am past-chair for both the AAP Committee on Pediatr...

Objective The objective of this study was to examine the association between race/ethnicity (including language subgroups among Hispanics) and disaster preparedness among Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) survey respondents. Methods BRFSS data were obtained for eight states which implemented the optional general preparedness module from 2006 through 2010. Three dependent variab...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has established a system of collaborating centers known as the Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network (REMPAN) to promote radiation emergency medical preparedness, assistance, and advice to countries in cases of overexposure of populations from any source of radiation. This network consists of 13 specialized institutions located in 10...

Geographic Information Systems visual products have become a powerful resource for Infrastructure Protection and Emergency Preparedness. The utility of informed decision making processes could significantly be improved using 3D web-based GIS visual models. However, collective efforts are needed for further improvement of currently available visual models to address Infrastructure Protection and...

Emergency preparedness suffers great challenges, because of the vast number of threats needing consideration and the limited resources to carry out the programs. In developed countries like the United States, technical disaster relief has surpassed natural disaster relief as the main focus of emergency preparedness. Compared with natural disasters, technical disasters demonstrate new characteri...

Cardiac arrest during pregnancy is a dedicated chapter in the American Heart Association Guidelines for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiovascular Care; however, a robust maternal cardiac arrest knowledge translation strategy and emergency response plan is not usually the focus of institutional emergency preparedness programs. Although maternal cardiac arrest is rare, the emerge...

Over the past decade, entry-to-practice emergency preparedness competencies have been identified as an essential component of nursing education. In this paper the author reports upon a small Canadian study which explores the perspective of undergraduate learners and faculty members who participated in and/or facilitated an Emergency Preparedness Simulation (EPS) module during a primary health c...

BACKGROUND In 2009, the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH) made potassium iodide (KI), a nonprescription radio-protective drug, available by mailing vouchers redeemable at local pharmacies for KI tablets, at no cost to residents living within 10 miles of Michigan's 3 nuclear power plants (NPPs). MDCH conducted an evaluation of this program to determine Michigan's KI coverage and to ...

OBJECTIVES During disasters, the public expects that emergency care will be available at a moment's notice. As such, an emergency medical services (EMS) workforce that is trained and prepared for disasters is imperative. The primary objectives of this study were to quantify the amount of individual-level training EMS professionals receive in terrorism and disaster-preparedness, as well as to as...