Disaster health care workers experience much greater stress providing psychological first-aid and suffer from the indirect experience of traumatic events. This study examines how disaster health care workers experience disaster mental health.

Twenty-one disaster health care workers recruited from fire stations, community mental health service centers, and disaster trauma centers in Korea participated in this study. Data were collected via in-depth interviews and qualitatively analyzed according to Colaizzi’s phenomenological approach.

Disaster health care workers’ experiences of disaster mental health can be analyzed according to 4 theme categories: (1) commitment to one’s duty as a disaster health care worker; (2) powerlessness and lack of confidence; (3) incident shock and burnout; and (4) incomplete and inadequate healing.

In order to prevent mental health problems and support the disaster health care workers, it is necessary to develop and provide effective, nationwide psychological first-aid training, as well as disaster trauma recovery programs that are tailored to Korean sociocultural context and use immersive digital health care/education technology.

The present opioid epidemic and abuse of fentanyl in the United States has led to an increased risk of exposure to first responders. Law enforcement, fire, and emergency medical services are receiving misinformation on fentanyl health and safety risks and this has led to miscommunication. Understanding the risk perceptions and knowledge of first responders regarding fentanyl can help identify training gaps.

A 15-item 6-point Likert scale online questionnaire was developed and distributed to firefighters, police officers, and emergency medical technicians, regarding perceptions of fentanyl exposure, and additional questions concerning knowledge. The online questionnaire was sent to 15 associations of national and New York State first responders with 3 associations acknowledging and distributing the survey.

Of the 247 participants, 187 served New York State; 92 worked in law enforcement; and the other 95 worked in either fire, emergency medical service, or both. New York State first responders generally agreed with expert risk perceptions and knowledge of fentanyl exposure in the pilot study. Items pertaining to using hand sanitizer, selecting glove type, and dermal exposure to fentanyl had lower agreement with expert beliefs.

Risk perceptions and knowledge could be used to evaluate fentanyl response training among first responders.

This study investigated the health effects of Lake Urmia’s drought on adjacent urban and rural areas and people.

The data for sociodemographic status, physical activity, dietary pattern, smoking, and angina of the subjects living in areas adjacent to and far from Lake Urmia were collected through validated questionnaires. Physical examinations, including blood pressure, anthropometrics, and biochemical measurements, were performed.

There were no significant differences between 2 areas in the case of age, sex, educational, and physical activity and smoking status (P > 0.05). The mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures and the prevalence of hypertension, prehypertension, and anemia in cases living in the adjacent areas were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.05). No significant differences were observed between 2 districts in the prevalence of hyperlipidemia, overweight/obesity, asthma, angina, infraction, diabetes, and vitamin D insufficiency/deficiency.

Our data showed that Lake Urmia’s drought has serious effects on hypertension and anemia. More longitudinal and well-designed studies are needed to confirm these results.

Natural disasters are becoming increasingly common, but it is unclear whether families can comprehend and use available resources to prepare for such emergencies. The objective of this study was to evaluate the literacy demands of risk communication materials on natural disasters for US families with children.

In January 2018, we assessed 386 online self-directed learning resources related to emergency preparedness for natural disasters using 5 literacy assessment tools. Assessment scores were compared by information source, audience type, and disaster type.

One-in-three websites represented government institutions, and 3/4 were written for a general audience. Nearly 1-in-5 websites did not specify a disaster type. Assessment scores suggest a mismatch between the general population’s literacy levels and literacy demands of materials in the areas of readability, complexity, suitability, web usability, and overall audience appropriateness. Materials required more years of education beyond the grade level recommended by prominent health organizations. Resources for caregivers of children generally and children with special health care needs possessed lower literacy demands than materials overall, for most assessment tools.

Risk communication and public health agencies could better align the literacy demands of emergency preparedness materials with the literacy capabilities of the general public.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention developed 15 National Public Health Emergency and Preparedness Response Capabilities (NPHPRCs) to serve as national standards for health-related core capabilities. The objective of this study is to determine the level of federal funding allocated for research related to NPHPRCs during 2008–2017.

An online search of http://www.USAspending.gov was performed to identify federal awards, grants, contracts from 2008–2017 related to research associated with NPHPRCs. Inclusion criteria were identifiable as research and disaster-related; US-based; and specific reference to any of the NPHPRCs. A panel of 3 experts reviewed each entry for inclusion.

The search identified 15 278 transactions representing US $29.2 billion in awards. After exclusions, 93 entries were found to be related to NPHPRCs, averaging US $2 783 136 annually. Funding notably dropped to US $168 684 in 2010 and ceased entirely in 2016. Ten (67%) of NPHPRCs received funding. Eighty-percent of funding focused on 4 capabilities. Three federal agencies funded 80% of research. Sixteen (24%) of the 47 recipients received 80% of all funding.

US federal investments in research and development related to NPHPRCs have been highly variable over the past decade. One-third of NPHPRCs receive no funding. There are notable gaps in funding, content, continuity, and scope of participation.

The study provides a comprehensive insight into how an initial receiving hospital without adequate capacity adapted to coping with a mass casualty incident after the Formosa Fun Coast Dust Explosion (FFCDE).

Data collection was via in-depth interviews with 11 key participants. This was combined with information from medical records of FFCDE patients and admission logs from the emergency department (ED) to build a detailed timeline of patients flow and ED workload changes. Process tracing analysis focused on how the ED and other units adapted to coping with the difficulties created by the patient surge.

The hospital treated 30 victims with 36.3% average total body surface area burn for over 5 hours alongside 35 non-FFCDE patients. Overwhelming demand resulted in the saturation of ED space and intensive care unit beds, exhaustion of critical materials, and near-saturation of clinicians. The hospital reconfigured human and physical resources differently from conventional drills. Graphical timelines illustrate anticipatory or reactive adaptations. The hospital’s ability to adapt was based on anticipation during uncertainty and coordination across roles and units to keep pace with varying demands.

Adapting to beyond-surge capacity incident is essential to effective disaster response. Building organizational support for effective adaptation is critical for disaster planning.

The aim of this study is to describe the risk factors of injured children’s posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in China and provide the scientific data for PTSD prevention and control in children.

Electronic databases, including Medline, Science Direct, Google Scholar, and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure), were searched for articles published on or before October 30, 2018, searching for the words, “PTSD,” “child”/“children,” “injury”/“injuries,” and “China”/“Chinese.” Forty-seven articles met the inclusion criteria and were meta-analyzed using random-effect models.

The total sample size in our meta-analysis was 65 298, and there were 13 402 children diagnosed with PTSD. The prevalence of PTSD after suffering from injury was 20.52% (95% CI = 17%–23%). PTSD occurrence was higher in girls than boys (24.61% vs 19.36%, P < 0.001). The PTSD rate for students was 51.82%, 37.12%, and 14.02% in senior, junior high school children, and primary school student, respectively. PTSD prevalence was 58.93% in rural children and higher than the urban children (57.36%). The prevalence of PTSD in ethnic minority children was significantly higher than that of Han Chinese children (35.38% vs 13.50%).

PTSD in injured children is significantly higher in girls, senior high school children, in rural areas, and in ethnic minority children. PTSD prevention and control should be focused on these 4 subgroups.

This study compared live instructor-led training with video-based instruction in personal protective equipment (PPE) donning and doffing. It assessed the difference in performance between (1) attending 1 instructor-led training session in donning and doffing PPE at 1 month prior to assessment, and (2) watching training videos for 1 month.

This randomized controlled trial pilot study divided 21 medical students and junior doctors into 2 groups. Control group participants attended 1 instructor-led training session. Video group participants watched training videos demonstrating the same procedures, which they could freely watch again at home. After 1 month, a doctor performed a blind evaluation of performance using checklists.

Nineteen participants were assessed after 1 month. The mean donning score was 84.8/100 for the instructor-led group and 88/100 for the video group; mean effect size was 3.2 (95% CI: -7.5 to 9.5). The mean doffing score was 79.1/100 for the instructor-led group and 73.9/100 for the video group; mean effect size was 5.2 (95% CI: -7.6 to 18).

Our study found no significant difference in donning and doffing scores between instructor-led and video lessons. Video training could be a fast and resource-efficient method of training in PPE donning and doffing in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.