Nursing education plays a significant role in preparing nurses for disasters; it helps in increasing their knowledge about disasters. The purpose of this study was to explore the attitude of nursing educators in Jordan toward the integration of disaster preparedness contents in nursing curricula.

A descriptive cross-sectional survey was used. The instrument comprises 51 Likert-scale items; 150 questionnaires were distributed to nursing educators in all of the private and government universities. Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS), version 22 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY).

One hundred thirty-one (131) results were collected with an 87% response rate. All participants perceived that the integration of a disaster course in nursing curricula is quite important. Findings indicated a lack of nursing educators’ life experiences regarding disaster management. No significant differences were found in terms of age, area of experience, or years of teaching. Incorporating disaster management courses into nursing curricula will help resolve the lack of knowledge.

Nursing educators have a low level of knowledge in disaster management. This highlights the necessity for preparing nursing educators for disasters by encouraging their participation in disaster management training. Therefore, they will circulate this information adequately to students accordingly.

The study determined whether households in disaster-exposed communities were more likely to be prepared.

Three measures of preparedness were created using the 2013 American Housing Survey: cumulative, adequate, and minimal preparedness. Cumulative and adequate preparedness were created based on the existing literature. Minimal preparedness measured whether households had at present food, water, access to a vehicle, and funds with which to evacuate. Disaster exposure was measured using historical FEMA disaster declarations. The various preparedness measures were regressed onto historical disaster exposure, controlling for sociodemographic factors.

Across all measures of preparedness, historical disaster exposure was a statistically significant predictor of preparedness. Vulnerable households included those where children or the disabled were present. African-American headed households emerged as vulnerable only when minimal preparedness was assessed.

Prior disaster exposure increased household preparedness regardless of how preparedness was defined. However, assessing minimal preparedness may better reflect the changing disaster landscape where more and more households are asked to evacuate or shelter-in-place by policy-makers.

To aid emergency response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) researchers monitor unplanned school closures (USCs) by conducting online systematic searches (OSS) to identify relevant publicly available reports. We examined the added utility of analyzing Twitter data to improve USC monitoring.

Georgia public school data were obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics. We identified school and district Twitter accounts with 1 or more tweets ever posted (“active”), and their USC-related tweets in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 school years. CDC researchers provided OSS-identified USC reports. Descriptive statistics, univariate, and multivariable logistic regression were computed.

A majority (1,864/2,299) of Georgia public schools had, or were in a district with, active Twitter accounts in 2017. Among these schools, 638 were identified with USCs in 2015-16 (Twitter only, 222; OSS only, 2015; both, 201) and 981 in 2016-17 (Twitter only, 178; OSS only, 107; both, 696). The marginal benefit of adding Twitter as a data source was an increase in the number of schools identified with USCs by 53% (222/416) in 2015-16 and 22% (178/803) in 2016-17.

Policy-makers may wish to consider the potential value of incorporating Twitter into existing USC monitoring systems.

The Indian subcontinent is prone to tropical cyclones that used to originate in the North Indian Ocean. Through this study, an inventory of disease outbreaks for the tropical cyclone-affected regions from 2010 to 2018 has been compiled. This inventory is used to assess the success of recent sanitation intervention, Swachh Bharat Mission, also known as the Clean India Mission.

Meteorological parameters from the Indian satellites were used to demarcate the cyclone-affected area. Disease outbreaks and epidemics during the tropical cyclones were compiled from the Integrated Disease Surveillance Program and other relevant sources. The inventory has been used to track the effect of recent sanitation interventions on disease outbreaks.

Districts in the eastern coast of India are frequently affected due to tropical cyclones that have originated from the North Indian Ocean. Infectious diseases like the acute diarrheal diseases, vector-borne diseases, viral fevers, enteric fevers, and food poisoning have recursively occurred during the cyclonic events and persisted up to 2 weeks from the cyclonic episode. The effectiveness of the Clean India Mission is evident during the recent cyclones, Ockhi, Titli, and Gaja, where a significantly lower number of infectious disease outbreaks were recorded.

The Clean India Mission has exhibited positive results on the public health consequences associated with tropical cyclones.

The aim of this study is to assess prevalence of major depressive disorder (MDD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in students of Keyano College 18 months after a wildfire and to determine the predictors of likely MDD, GAD, and PTSD in the respondents.

A quantitative cross-sectional survey was used to collect data through self-administered, paper-based questionnaires to determine likely MDD, GAD, and PTSD using the PHQ 9, GAD-7, and the PTSD Checklist for DSM 5, Part 3, respectively. Data were analyzed with SPSS version 20 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY) using univariate analysis with chi-square tests.

Eighteen months after the wildfire, the 1-month prevalence rates for MDD, GAD, and PTSD among the college students were 23.4%, 18.7%, and 11.0%, respectively. There were statistically significant associations between multiple sociodemographic variables and the likelihood respondents presented with MDD, GAD, and PTSD 18 months after the wildfire. There were also associations between the likely MDD, GAD, and PTSD and abuse/dependence on alcohol and substances in respondents at 18 months.

Our study has established prevalence rates for MDD, GAD, and PTDS among college students 18 months after the Fort McMurray wildfires. Further studies are needed to explore the impact of college-based mental health interventions on the long-term mental health effects of the wildfires.

Injuries may occur when putting up and taking down hurricane (storm) shutters. This study described hurricane shutter-related injuries managed at emergency departments (EDs).

Hurricane shutter-related injuries were identified through the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), a database of consumer product-related injuries collected from the EDs of approximately 100 United States hospitals.

There were 329 hurricane shutter-related injuries during 2001-2017. Thirty-six injuries were reported during October 2005 (Hurricane Wilma), 30 during August 2008 (Tropical Storm Fay), and 103 during September 2017 (Hurricane Irma). Patients were 20 years or older in 90.6% of the cases; 76.3% of the patients were male. The most frequently reported injuries were laceration (48.9%), sprain or strain (15.2%), and fracture (9.4%). Lower extremities (34.0%) were the most commonly affected body part followed by upper extremities (29.5%) and head or neck (17.0%). The patient was treated or examined at the ED and released in 86.6% of the cases.

Over half of the hurricane shutter-related injuries appeared to occur in association with hurricanes and tropical storms. The most frequently reported injuries were laceration followed by sprain or strain and fracture. The majority of patients were treated or examined at the ED and released.

In the present study, the factors inducing the successful immediate mitigation measures and other activities at Haji-Abad village in Golestan Province, Iran, were scrutinized.

To find authentic data, information was gathered from a variety of sources, including mass media documents and interviews with the related Health House attendant (Behvarz) at Haji-Abad and the disaster liaison at the Rural-Urban Healthcare Center, both of whom were among the residents. A thematic analysis was performed on the transcriptions.

The findings showed that apart from the favorable geographical location of the area, appropriate education as well as vast family kinship among the residents were the major causes that induced high-risk perception, adequate collaboration and coordination among the residents and between them and the local authorities, and the women's active participation; these major effects, in turn, helped provide all of the efficient mitigation measures leading to the flood control.

It is recommended that opportunities for people's collaboration in preparedness, mitigation measures, and resilience during the occurrence of disasters be arranged by means of providing related inclusive operational education prior to the incidents. This can simultaneously generate risk perception and help people assume themselves as the owners of the disasters.

The lack of radiation knowledge among the general public continues to be a challenge for building communities prepared for radiological emergencies. This study applied a multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) to the results of an expert survey to identify priority risk reduction messages and challenges to increasing community radiological emergency preparedness.

Professionals with expertise in radiological emergency preparedness, state/local health and emergency management officials, and journalists/journalism academics were surveyed following a purposive sampling methodology. An MCDA was used to weight criteria of importance in a radiological emergency, and the weighted criteria were applied to topics such as sheltering-in-place, decontamination, and use of potassium iodide. Results were reviewed by respondent group and in aggregate.

Sheltering-in-place and evacuation plans were identified as the most important risk reduction measures to communicate to the public. Possible communication challenges during a radiological emergency included access to accurate information; low levels of public trust; public knowledge about radiation; and communications infrastructure failures.

Future assessments for community readiness for a radiological emergency should include questions about sheltering-in-place and evacuation plans to inform risk communication.

Social media provides an opportunity to engage in social contact and to give and receive help by means of online social networks. Social support following trauma exposure, even in a virtual community, may reduce feelings of helplessness and isolation, and, therefore, reduce posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTS), and increase posttraumatic growth (PTG). The current study aimed to assess whether giving and/or receiving offers of help by means of social media following large community fires predicted PTS and/or PTG.

A convenience sample of 212 adults living in communities that were affected by large-scale community fires in Israel (November 2016) completed questionnaires on giving and receiving offers of help by means of social media within 1 mo of the fire (W1), and the PTSD checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) and PTG questionnaire (PTGI-SF), 4 mo after the fire (W2).

Regression analyses showed that, after controlling for age, gender, and distance from fire, offering help by means of social media predicted higher PTG (β = 0.22; t = 3.18; P < 0.01), as did receiving offers of help by means of social media (β = 0.18; t = 2.64; P < 0.01). There were no significant associations between giving and/or receiving offers of help and PTS.

Connecting people to social media networks may help in promoting posttraumatic growth, although might not impact on posttraumatic symptoms. This is one of the first studies to highlight empirically the advantages of social media in the aftermath of trauma exposure.

Collaboration and cooperation are critical for public health management. Nevertheless, collaboration and cooperation between government departments, as well as other entities, are still in a weak condition in China. This article analyzes the status of collaboration and cooperation in the management of public health services in China and explores the problems and gives strategic suggestions for strengthening collaboration and cooperation in the development of public health service systems in China, in order to provide a reference for improvement of public health management in the future.

This study uses a qualitative case study approach, including documents review, in-depth interview, and focus group.

The main problems of collaboration and cooperation in public health service management in China include problems of effective collaboration and cooperation between institutions and relevant departments, public information platform, and implementation of public health and health promotion. On this basis, several relevant policy recommendations are put forward.

Collaboration and cooperation are critical for the overall coordination and sustainable development of public health in China, and there is still work to be done in order to achieve appropriate cooperation and collaboration between different entities in the provision of public health services.

Emergency preparedness is a key factor in public resilience when facing adversities. It is widely agreed that populations who are better prepared for crises and emergencies cope better and sustain fewer damages. Yet, promoting readiness continues to be challenging. In an effort to assess Israeli threat perception of emergencies, a novel visual tool measuring personally salient appraisals and attitudes (the Pictorial Representation of Illness and Self-Measure [PRISM]) was used.

A cross-sectional study of 502 participants representing the adult Jewish population was carried out. An online version of the PRISM tool was used together with a set of validated questionnaires to assess household preparedness.

The results suggest that preparedness for emergencies (war or earthquake) is associated with the way subjects appraise preparedness in their lives, but is not associated to the appraisal of threat objects themselves. In other words, the results suggest that preparedness has little to do with threat perception.

This study highlights the disparity between classic risk reduction strategies, which argue that awareness is key in promoting public preparedness, and the reality.

Compliance with college emergency notifications can minimize injury; however, time is often wasted in alert verification. Building on prior research, this study assesses using health-behavior theory to predict rapid compliance to emergency notifications across a range of scenarios and within a diverse college population.

Cross-sectional, student data were collected in 2017-2018 (n = 1529). The Theory of Planned Behavior and Protection Motivation Theory were used to explain intention to comply with emergency notifications in scenarios: robbery, shooter, fire, chemical spill, protest, health emergency, and air quality. Regression models assessed associations between constructs and intention to rapidly comply with each notification.

The most consistent predictors of rapid compliance were attitudes and subjective norms (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 1.057-1.118; 95% CI: 1.009-1.168). Scenarios prone to rapid developments such as robbery, shooter, and fire were associated with increased perceived threat and response efficacy (AOR: 1.024-1.082; 95% CI: 1.003-1.132) Slower developing situations such as air quality and health hazards were associated with increased perceived control (AOR: 1.027-1.073; 95% CI: 1.031-1.117).

This study identified attitude and subjective norms as consistent predictors of rapid compliance and improves understanding of additional constructs across scenarios. Campuses may benefit from leveraging concepts from health-behavior theory to provide targeted intervention focusing on factors associated with rapid compliance.

Natural disasters affect long-term health by directly disrupting or destroying health-care systems and social support. We examined the associations between social support and subjective symptoms (SS) among disaster victims living in their homes approximately 1–2 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011, which devastated the northeastern Japan seaboard and far inland, focusing on Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture.

The Health and Life Revival Council of Ishinomaki District conducted door-to-door household surveys between April 2012 and January 2013. Replies to 12 questions regarding social support, specifically emotional, informational, and instrumental, were investigated. SS prevalence was calculated as the proportion of those having any of 8 predetermined symptoms including back pain, neck stiffness, sleep difficulty, dizziness, heart palpitations, poor appetite, or stomachache. Logistic regression analysis by sex was used to obtain crude and adjusted odds ratios for the association between SS prevalence and forms of social support.

From 4023 households, self-reported data on 2593 individuals from 1709 households were obtained. SS prevalence was 29.1%. Adjusted logistic regression analysis revealed that instrumental support with others and emotional support with personal and others were specific associated with SS in men and women, respectively.

Our findings suggest that providing social support depending on needs is potentially effective in preventing SS in disaster areas.

The effectiveness of Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) is strongly related to their time of arrival, and usually only few teams arrive within 24-48 h postdisaster. The decision to deploy and the scale of deployment rely heavily on context and nature of the event and consequently a rapid assessment of needs/gaps is critical to an appropriate and customized response.

In this study, we describe a desk-based study that provides: (1) knowledge about the medical needs that can be anticipated according to the phases of the disaster that is not rich in literature; and (2) a decision support framework for the deployment of EMTs to earthquakes that combines the results of a literature research and a Delphi study involving the opinion of 12 experts in the field.

The resulting framework is a tool that will help better mapping the configuration to the needs on the ground at the time the team becomes operational in the field and will assist those responsible for deploying and/or accepting EMTs in making informed decisions on deployment after an earthquake.

With additional research the framework approach may be adapted to other types of international relief such as to deploy a Search And Rescue (SAR) team.

Three years after the 2013 Yolanda Typhoon, this study sought to determine the factors associated with the stress of the affected mothers and the health of the children on Leyte island, and the preparedness of the community to mitigate future potential disasters.

Three hundred mothers with children from 0 to 7 years old were selected through convenience sampling, structured interviews conducted using the Hurricane-Related Traumatic Experiences questionnaire and the PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) Checklist 5 (PCL5), and the children’s weights and heights were measured.

The provisional PTSD prevalence was found to be 53.3% 3 y after Yolanda. The multiple regression analysis with multiple imputation for the missing values found that housing and childcare attitudes were significantly associated with preparedness.

This study concluded that living in multistoried houses was useful for disaster mitigation and that the caregiving responsibility for their children could be a disaster preparedness motivation for mothers.

In New York City, a multi-disciplinary Mass Casualty Consultation team is proposed to support prioritization of patients for coordinated inter-facility transfer after a large-scale mass casualty event. This study examines factors that influence consultation team prioritization decisions.

As part of a multi-hospital functional exercise, 2 teams prioritized the same set of 69 patient profiles. Prioritization decisions were compared between teams. Agreement between teams was assessed based on patient profile demographics and injury severity. An investigator interviewed team leaders to determine reasons for discordant transfer decisions.

The 2 teams differed significantly in the total number of transfers recommended (49 vs 36; P = 0.003). However, there was substantial agreement when recommending transfer to burn centers, with 85.5% agreement and inter-rater reliability of 0.67 (confidence interval: 0.49–0.85). There was better agreement for patients with a higher acuity of injuries. Based on interviews, the most common reason for discordance was insider knowledge of the local community hospital and its capabilities.

A multi-disciplinary Mass Casualty Consultation team was able to rapidly prioritize patients for coordinated secondary transfer using limited clinical information. Training for consultation teams should emphasize guidelines for transfer based on existing services at sending and receiving hospitals, as knowledge of local community hospital capabilities influence physician decision-making.