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At least 865 records · Page 48Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Internet-based intervention for mental health and substance use problems in disaster-affected populations: a pilot feasibility study.

Early interventions that reduce the societal burden of mental health problems in the aftermath of disasters and mass violence have the potential to be enormously valuable. Internet-based interventions can be delivered widely, efficiently, and at low cost and as such are of particular interest. We describe the development and feasibility analysis of an Internet-delivered intervention designed to address mental health and substance-related reactions in disaster-affected populations. Participants (n = 285) were recruited from a cohort of New York City-area residents that had been followed longitudinally in epidemiological research initiated 6 months after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The intervention consisted of 7 modules: posttraumatic stress/panic, depression, generalized anxiety, alcohol use, marijuana use, drug use, and cigarette use. Feasibility data were promising and suggest the need for further evaluation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Hospital response to acute-onset disasters: the state of the science in 2005.

The level of emergency preparedness in US hospitals is a concern in light of the steady threat of natural disasters, transportation and industrial accidents, and the possibility of terror attack resulting in mass casualties. The science of hospital emergency preparedness is in an early stage of development. For research to logically expand knowledge, an accurate assessment--or examination of the state of the science--is conducted to determine the current state of knowledge, gaps in knowledge, and opportunities for future research. Milsten reviewed the literature on hospital response to acute-onset disasters from 1977 to 1999. His review of 107 articles contains research studies, case studies,and lessons learned pieces largely published in the medical literature.Milsten's analysis provides a substantial starting point. This article examines Milsten's review, identifies articles that have been published that add to this knowledge base, and identifies additional phenomena of interest.

Disaster Planning↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Large-scale urban disaster drill involving an explosion: lessons learned by an academic medical center.

Disaster drills are an effective way to test a hospital's preparedness for real-life disasters, but an extensive amount of coordination and time is necessary to host a successful drill with a large number of victims. The lessons learned in this drill include a number of planning, education, orientation, and follow-up issues. It is not realistic to believe that a drill can be perfectly planned and practiced; therefore each drill provides another opportunity to improve on past experience.

Academic Medical Centers↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Field observations: Disaster Medical Assistance Team response for Hurricane Charley, Punta Gorda, Florida, August 2004.

The South Florida Disaster Medical Assistance Team was deployed to work with victims of Hurricane Charley in Charlotte County, Fla. Charlotte County was unique because of the higher than average number of elderly residents and the fact that all 4 local hospitals had been damaged. The Disaster Medical Assistance Team was required to modify their response, and the lessons learned from this experience are presented.

Disasters↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Challenges of international disaster relief: use of a deployable rapid assembly shelter and surgical hospital.

Surgical care is an important service to provide to victims of a disaster. A specialized response team has been created by the National Disaster Medical Treatment division of the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond when local hospital facilities are either unavailable or unusable. When a major earthquake destroyed Bam, Iran, in December 2003, the US Government mobilized the International Medical Surgical Response Team-East and deployed a team of 57 health care providers to aid in rescue and response efforts. The challenges of designing, maintaining, and keeping a Deployable Rapid Assembly Shelter/Surgical Hospital are described.

Disasters↗
PubMedDate not supplied

HIPAA and disaster research: preparing to conduct research.

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), enacted in 1996 and implemented in 2003, continues to have a profound impact on the ability to carry out research. Many disaster research methodologies are not affected by the HIPAA Privacy Rule and are likely to be appropriate for waivers because of the nature of disaster research. Still other types of studies may require special considerations that researchers must be aware of when planning research methodologies.

Confidentiality↗
PubMed2006

Use of multislice computed tomography in disaster victim identification--advantages and limitations.

After a mass fatality incident (MFI), all victims have to be rapidly and accurately identified for juridical reasons as well as for the relatives' sake. Since MFIs are often international in scope, Interpol has proposed standard disaster victim identification (DVI) procedures, which have been widely adopted by authorities and forensic experts. This study investigates how postmortem multislice computed tomography (MSCT) can contribute to the DVI process as proposed by Interpol. The Interpol postmortem (PM) form has been analyzed, and a number of items in sections D and E thereof have been postulated to be suitable for documentation by CT data. CT scans have then been performed on forensic cases. Interpretation of the reconstructed images showed that indeed much of the postmortem information required for identification can be gathered from CT data. Further advantages of the proposed approach concern the observer independent documentation, the possibility to reconstruct a variety of images a long time after the event, the possibility to distribute the work by transmitting CT data digitally, and the reduction of time and specialists needed at the disaster site. We conclude that MSCT may be used as a valuable screening tool in DVI in the future.

Age Determination by Skeleton↗
PubMed2004

General disaster psychiatry.

This article attempts to make further sense of disasters and specifically terrorism as one particular form of disaster from the perspective of psychology and mental health.

Chemical Warfare↗
PubMed1983

Immediate radiological management of disasters.

During the past 13 years, 93 civil disasters have been dealt with by the Accident and Emergency (A/E) department of the Royal Victorial Hospital, Belfast. The average number of patients requiring hospital treatment was 30 per incident. Most of these needed some form of radiographic examination. The radiological work-load in one major disaster is described. The need for senior radiological, radiographic and clerical staff at such times is emphasised. The rapid and efficient management of patients is essential to avoid life-threatening delays. Radiological priorities in the immediate phase of trauma are discussed. Chest, spinal and pelvic X-rays usually take precedence. A review of 100 patients with significant intra-abdominal trauma showed a poor correlation with the plain-film appearances. Early resort to more accurate diagnostic methods, such as angiography and computed tomography, is suggested. The need for more active participation by radiologists in the A/E department is stressed.

Abdominal Injuries↗
PubMed2000

The density of the extinction probability of a time homogeneous linear birth and death process under the influence of randomly occurring disasters.

Under the influence of randomly occurring disasters, the eventual extinction probability, q, of a birth and death process, Z, is a random variable. In this paper, we obtain an integral expression for the probability density function g(x) of q under the assumption that the population process Z is a time homogeneous linear birth and death process and the disasters occur according to an arbitrary renewal process so that its interarrival times have a density. An example is provided to demonstrate how to evaluate the integral numerically.

Birth Rate↗
PubMed1999

Therapeutic approaches for survivors of disaster.

Common psychiatric responses to disasters include depression, PTSD, generalized anxiety disorder, substance-abuse disorder, and somatization disorder. These symptom complexes may arise because of the various types of trauma experienced, including terror or horror, bereavement, and disruption of lifestyle. Because different types of disaster produce different patterns of trauma, clinical response should address the special characteristics of those affected. Traumatized individuals are typically resistant to seeking treatment, so treatment must be taken to the survivors, at locations within their communities. Most helpful is to train and support mental health workers from the affected communities. Interventions in groups have been found to be effective to promote catharsis, support, and a sense of identification with the group. Special groups to be considered include children, injured victims, people with pre-existing psychiatric histories, and relief workers.

Counseling↗
PubMed1986

The National Disaster Medical System: a concept in large-scale emergency medical care.

The national disaster medical system is a new program established in 1981 to develop and implement a national policy to improve emergency preparedness for large-scale disasters. This article describes the background and purpose of this activity and delineates the elements of the system, which include a rapid medical response, patient evacuation, and definitive medical care. The program is designed to involve resources at the federal, state, and community levels. This article describes how local communities may participate in this initiative.

Disaster Planning↗
PubMed1994

Hantavirus: emergency department response to a disaster from an emerging pathogen.

In May 1993, the appearance of critically ill patients with unexplained respiratory distress was noted in the Four Corners area formed by New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado. This epidemic was ultimately linked to a hantavirus, an emerging pathogen. The impact on the emergency department of a new infectious disease with respiratory distress is described. A model is proposed to manage infectious disease disasters. Emerging infections that are important to emergency physicians are discussed. Recommendations that focus on disaster management and prevention of the spread of an unknown pathogen are developed.

Bunyaviridae Infections↗
PubMed2002

Technological disasters, crisis management and leadership stress.

This paper discusses how psychological stress disturbs decision making during technological crisis and disaster, and how to prevent this from happening. This is exemplified by scientific studies of a Norwegian large scale accident involving hazardous material, and of handling the far-off effects of the nuclear disaster at Chernobyl. The former constitutes an operative level of crisis management, whereas the latter involves crisis management at the strategic and political level. We conclude that stress had a negative effect on decision making in both cases.

Disaster Planning↗
PubMed1977

Mobile triage team in a community disaster plan.

Experience has shown poor predisaster planning, inadequate communication and the absence of an on-scene commander to be common and recurring problems during disaster rescue efforts. A mobile onscene triage team (MOTT) operating in Sacramento has demonstrated the following advantages: immediate access; mobility; coordinated evacuation, treatment, and disposition of mass casualty victims; control of facility overload, and appropriate initial disposition to definitive care facilities. The advantages realized with this approach arise from greater community awareness and participation in a coordinated plan for medical care in disasters.

California↗
PubMed1996

Management of unique clinical entities in disaster medicine.

This article discusses the management of clinical problems encountered particularly in disasters. These include the principles of multiple-casualty triage, and field and hospital management of blast injury, crush syndrome, compartment syndrome, particulate inhalation, and traumatic asphyxiation. The indications for extraordinary measures, such as field amputation, are detailed. A brief review of the causes and epidemiology of these entities is provided, with emphasis on the clinical management in the disaster setting.

Blast Injuries↗
PubMed1996

Infectious disease emergencies in disasters.

This article discusses the relationship between disasters and infections. Infections that are reviewed include those resulting from (1) a breakdown of the usual mechanisms of infection control, (2) the introduction or emergence of pathogens, and (3) the movement of populations into new areas. Components of infectious-disease surveillance and disaster teams are detailed.

Communicable Diseases↗
PubMed2003

School reactivation programs after disaster: could teachers serve as clinical mediators?

Mental health interventions are known to prevent the progressive worsening of symptoms in young victims of disaster and, subsequently, to prevent a decline in their academic performance and self-esteem [8,46]. The tremendous needs that emerge after a disaster and the reluctance shown by most victims to seek professional help require mental health leaders to adopt a proactive stance and implement relief programs in the child's most natural setting. The school as institution and the teachers as empowered mediators offer the appropriate conditions for implementing an effective large-scale intervention program. Well-intentioned child professionals who deal with school administrators and teachers must take into account that, as stated by Pfefferbaum et al [25], "avoidance is at the core of the posttraumatic response, and it sometimes involves avoidance of treatment." For child mental health professionals, routine collaboration across systemic boundaries may prove critical for the rapid mobilization of resources during mass traumatic emergencies. Further studies are needed to identify the protective and risk factors that predict resilience and pathology, respectively, and factors that facilitate or aggravate factors that predict improvement, resistance, and deterioration in response to treatment.

Analysis of Variance↗