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At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Rapid assessment of the needs and health status in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties, Florida, after Hurricane Ivan, September 2004.

BACKGROUND: Hurricane Ivan, a Category 3 storm, devastated the Florida panhandle on September 16, 2004, causing extensive property damage and 24 deaths. The Florida Department of Health requested assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to conduct a rapid assessment in Santa Rosa and Escambia counties to determine the health impact of the hurricane and needs of the affected population. METHODS: A questionnaire was administered 6 days after the hurricane made landfall. The survey instrument elicited information about house damage, illness/injury, and access to utilities. A modified cluster sampling method was used to select 30 clusters in each county. Seven households were interviewed in each cluster and reported weighted frequencies. RESULTS: Three quarters of houses in each county were damaged. Households in Santa Rosa and Escambia lacked basic utilities, including regular garbage pick-up, telephone service, and electricity. Fifty-four percent of households in Santa Rosa and 27% in Escambia reported using a generator. The most commonly self-reported health conditions were sleep disturbances in Santa Rosa (54%) and upper respiratory problems in Escambia (46%). Injuries were reported in fewer than 15% of households in each county. CONCLUSION: Rapid restoration of power, telephone services, and debris pick-up remained a priority 1 week after the event. Findings demonstrated the need for (1) mental health and primary care services, (2) information about safe generator use, and (3) ways to access medical care and medications.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S.↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The Sri Lanka tsunami experience.

The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 killed 31,000 people in Sri Lanka and produced morbidity primarily resulting from near-drownings and traumatic injuries. In the immediate aftermath, the survivors brought bodies to the hospitals, which hampered the hospitals' operations. The fear of epidemics led to mass burials. Infectious diseases were prevented through the provision of clean water and through vector control. Months after the tsunami, little rebuilding of permanent housing was evident, and many tsunami victims continued to reside in transit camps without means of generating their own income. The lack of an incident command system, limited funding, and political conflicts were identified as barriers to optimal relief efforts. Despite these barriers, Sri Lanka was fortunate in drawing upon a well-developed community health infrastructure as well as local and international resources. The need continues for education and training in clinical skills for mass rescue and emergency treatment, as well as participation in a multidisciplinary response.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Challenges and opportunities of nursing care in special-needs shelters.

Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced many individuals along the coast of Texas and Louisiana to seek shelter inland. Among the evacuees were residents with special needs and residents of nursing homes and group homes caring for mentally retarded and physically disabled persons. Many nurses volunteered to provide health care for those in need. This article discusses challenges and opportunities that were encountered by nurses volunteering in special-needs shelters. Issues related to human and physical resources, patient care, and confidentiality are discussed including lessons learned. As nurses who cared for evacuees in the shelter, it is hoped some of the lessons learned can be utilized in future disasters.

Persons with Disabilities↗
PubMed2004

Feasibility of remote echocardiography with satellite transmission and real-time interpretation to support medical activities in the austere medical environment.

Echocardiography is an essential tool in the evaluation of patients with cardiac emergencies and chest trauma. The objective of our study was to establish the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of a portable satellite transmission system in the assessment of cardiac emergencies for the real-time support of mass casualty and humanitarian relief efforts. Twelve patients with various degrees of cardiac structural disease identified by conventional inhospital transthoracic echocardiography were transported to a remote portable field hospital where transthoracic echocardiography was performed with a handheld echocardiographic device. Images were then relayed by a commercial satellite to a level III trauma center where they were interpreted in real time by a cardiologist. Remote studies were recorded at the field hospital before satellite transmission and again on download at the receiving facility. The remotely acquired studies before and after satellite transmission were compared with each other and subsequently compared with conventional hospital transthoracic echocardiograms for technical quality and diagnostic accuracy using a blinded, single-reader, side-by-side comparison. Excellent agreement was found between the recorded field-site and satellite-transmitted images with an overall average of 95% concordance. When the field data acquired with the handheld device and satellite transmission were compared with conventional inhospital echocardiography, a high degree of agreement was demonstrated in overall technical quality (83%) and assessments of left ventricular ejection fraction (100%), pericardial effusion (100%), and left ventricular size (92%). This study demonstrates the feasibility and diagnostic accuracy of remote, real-time echocardiography using satellite transmission for mass casualty triage or humanitarian relief efforts.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Treading water. The long-term impact of the 1998 flood on nutrition in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh was hit by the worst flood in over a century in the summer of 1998. Although many households were able to smooth consumption expenditure, not everyone was able to maintain adequate calorie consumption. As a consequence, the nutritional status of children in households that were more severely exposed to the flood deteriorated. We use a three round panel data set to investigate which households were better protected from longer term nutritional crises, and whether the health of flood-exposed children recovered to the level of those who were not exposed. The evidence suggests that children exposed to the flood were adversely affected by the shock to their health and did not recover within the survey period. The results also suggest that ex ante government programs were more effective than ex post interventions to protect the heath of children from the impact of the flood.

Age Distribution↗
PubMed2005

International humanitarian assistance: where do emergency physicians belong?

As human civilization faces new and challenging humanitarian crises, the entrance of EPs into the realm of HA is needed and timely. As noted by Jennifer Leaning [35], an EP at Harvard University, "Medical and public health personnel who respond to these crises enter a domain of perilous complexity. Road maps do not exist, but the possibility of good favors the prepared mind." Thus, with proper training in the principles of public health and experience, EPs have a tremendous opportunity to affect the realm of international HA, particularly via the analysis and development of international emergency health systems and building the capacity for effective relief. EPs with training in HA can be valuable assets to relief programs in the field and administratively, especially after the initial disaster and during the transition to health system reconstruction and development.

Altruism↗