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Scott F Wetterhall

Publications and source records attributed to Scott F Wetterhall.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Pre-event willingness to receive smallpox vaccine among physicians and public safety personnel.

BACKGROUND: Planning for voluntary smallpox vaccination of health and safety officials began in December 2002. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Surveys were conducted among physicians and fire and police department personnel in Atlanta, Georgia. Information on demographics, willingness to receive smallpox vaccine, self-reported knowledge level, and potential vaccine contraindications was analyzed. RESULTS: Forty-one percent of physicians (n = 199) were undecided on vaccination (32% would receive vaccine and 27% would not). Forty-eight percent of firefighters (n = 343) and 41% of police (n = 466) were undecided; 23% and 41% would receive vaccine, whereas 28% and 18% would not (fire and police, respectively). Absence of contraindications was associated with physicians' willingness to be vaccinated (P = 0.006). Many physicians (66%) and most public safety personnel (88%) considered themselves inadequately informed on smallpox vaccine. In a multivariate analysis, inadequately informed respondents were more likely to be undecided (OR = 2.23, CI = 1.39 to 3.56). CONCLUSIONS: Before implementation of the smallpox vaccination program, self-assessed knowledge about smallpox disease and vaccine were poor.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Development of an interactive bioterrorism and emerging infections curriculum for medical students and internal medicine residents.

While awareness of bioterrorism threats and emerging infectious diseases has resulted in an increased sense of urgency to improve the knowledge base and response capability of physicians, few medical schools and residency programs have curricula in place to teach these concepts. Public health agencies are an essential component of a response to these types of emergencies. Public health education during medical school is usually limited to the non-clinical years. With collaboration from our local public health agency, the Emory University School of Medicine developed a curriculum in bioterrorism and emerging infections. By implementing this curriculum in the clinical years of medical school and residency programs, we seek to foster improved interactions between clinicians and their local public health agencies.

Bioterrorism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The recording of demographic information on death certificates: a national survey of funeral directors.

OBJECTIVE: The authors sought to ascertain the methods used by funeral directors to determine the demographic information recorded on death certificates. METHODS: Standardized questionnaires were administered to funeral directors in five urban locations in the U.S. In addition, personnel on four Indian reservations were interviewed. Study sites were selected for diverse racial/ethnic populations and variability in recording practices; funeral homes were selected by stratified random sampling. RESULTS: Fifty-two percent of responding funeral directors reported receiving no formal training in death certification. Seventy-nine percent of respondents reported finding certain demographic items difficult to complete--26% first specified race as the problematic item, and 25% first specified education. The decedent's race was "sometimes" or "often" determined through personal knowledge of the family by 58% of respondents; 43% reported "sometimes" or "often" determining race by observation. Only three respondents reported that occupation was a problematic item. CONCLUSIONS: The authors recommend that the importance of demographic data and the instructions for data collection be clarified for funeral directors, that standard data collection worksheets be developed, and that training videos be developed.

Communication↗