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Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2020 Jul 8:1-6. Epub 2020 Jul 8.

Department of Emergency Medicine, Medical University of Lublin, 20-059, Lublin, Poland.

Objectives: Biological weapons are one of the oldest weapons of mass destruction used by man. Their use has not only determined the outcome of battles, but also influenced the fate of entire civilizations. Although the use of biological weapons agents in a terrorist attack is currently unlikely, all services responsible for the surveillance and removal of epidemiological threats must have clear guidelines and emergency response plans. Read More

Glob Public Health 2020 Jul 7:1-10. Epub 2020 Jul 7.

Public Health Department, SUNY Old Westbury, Old Westbury, NY, USA.

The community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) framework recognises the crucial role that small- and medium-sized NGOs play during adverse events, particularly in marginalised communities. Despite the global frequency of civil unrest, its effect on NGOs' programmatic, administrative, and operational capabilities is poorly understood. To this end, we completed in-depth semi-structured interviews with eight key informants representing seven health NGOs in Nicaragua several months after widespread and persistent civil unrest erupted in April 2018. Read More

Emerg Med Australas 2020 Jul 6. Epub 2020 Jul 6.

Discipline of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, College of Public Health, Medical and Veterinary Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, Queensland, Australia.

Objective: Aeromedical services are an essential part of the healthcare system. Centralised coordination of aeromedical retrieval tasking offers benefits for safety, timeliness and efficiency in service delivery. The aim of the present study is to review aeromedical retrievals in Queensland exploring patient demographics, temporal patterns and usage characteristics. Read More

J Emerg Nurs 2020 Jul 1. Epub 2020 Jul 1.

Introduction: Registered nurses have to adequately prepare to respond to disasters, as they have become increasingly frequent worldwide. The aim of this study was to identify the factors influencing registered nurses' disaster preparedness in Bengkulu, Indonesia.

Methods: This study used a descriptive correlational study design. Read More

Emerg Med J 2020 Jul 3. Epub 2020 Jul 3.

All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India.

J Bone Joint Surg Am 2020 Jul;102(13):e68

Cornea and Refractive Surgery, Katzen Eye Institute, Baltimore, Maryland.

Background: The aim of our study was to explore the impact of elective-surgery deferment on the United States health-care system and subsequent recovery after COVID-19 containment. Using an orthopaedic elective surgery model, we aimed to answer the following: (1) What is the expected recovery time until the health-care system is back to nearly full capacity for performing elective surgery? (2) What will be the expected backlog of elective surgery over time? (3) How should health care change to address the backlog?

Methods: A Monte Carlo stochastic simulation-based analysis was performed to forecast the post-pandemic volume of elective, inpatient total joint arthroplasty and spinal fusion surgical cases. The cumulative backlog was calculated and analyzed. Read More

Community Ment Health J 2020 Jul 2. Epub 2020 Jul 2.

Department of Public Policy and Management, Pusan National University, 2, Busandaehak-ro 63beon-gil, Geumjeong-gu, Busan, 46241, Korea.

The psychological impact of disasters has not been adequately addressed in Korea. This research aims to evaluate how Korea should improve its management of the psychological impact of disasters toward the ultimate goal of effective disaster management. Qualitative content analysis is the main method applied. Read More

Crit Care 2020 06 30;24(1):386. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance, Bonn, Germany.

Mass critical care caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 pandemic poses an extreme challenge to hospitals. The primary goal of hospital disaster preparedness and response is to maintain conventional or contingency care for as long as possible. Crisis care must be delayed as long as possible by appropriate measures. Read More

PLoS One 2020 30;15(6):e0233888. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

Institute for the Environment, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States of America.

Urban development relies on many factors to remain viable, including infrastructure, services, and government provisions and subsidies. However, in situations involving federal or state level policy, development responds not just to one regulatory signal, but also to multiple signals from overlapping and competing jurisdictions. The 1982 U. Read More

Hastings Cent Rep 2020 May;50(3):28-32

In this essay, we suggest practical ways to shift the framing of crisis standards of care toward disability justice. We elaborate on the vision statement provided in the 2010 Institute of Medicine (National Academy of Medicine) "Summary of Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations," which emphasizes fairness; equitable processes; community and provider engagement, education, and communication; and the rule of law. We argue that interpreting these elements through disability justice entails a commitment to both distributive and recognitive justice. Read More

J Grad Med Educ 2020 Jun;12(3):272-279

Background: Horizontal care, in which clinicians assume roles outside of their usual responsibilities, is an important health care systems response to emergency situations. Allocating residents and fellows into skill-concordant clinical roles, however, is challenging. The most efficient method to accomplish graduate medical education (GME) assessment and deployment for horizontal care is not known. Read More

Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2020 Jun 25:1-17. Epub 2020 Jun 25.

Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Khulna University of Engineering & Technology (KUET), Khulna-9203, Bangladesh.

Objective: The purpose of this research was to investigate coronavirus disease (COVID-19) susceptibility in districts of Bangladesh using multicriteria evaluation techniques.

Methods: Secondary data were collected from different government organizations, 120 primary surveys were conducted for calculating weights, and results were validated through 12 key people's interviews. Pairwise comparison matrixes were calculated for 9 factors and subfactors. Read More

Geospat Health 2020 Jun 22;15(1). Epub 2020 Jun 22.

Department of Land Surveying and Geo-Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

This study reviews forty-six publications between 2008 and 2017 dealing with socio-environmental impacts on adverse health effects of temperature extremes, in a geospatial context. The review showed that most studies focus on extremely hot weather but lack analysis of how spatial heterogeneity across a region can influence cold mortality/morbidity. There are limitations regarding the use of temperature datasets for spatial analyses. Read More

Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2020 Jun 23. Epub 2020 Jun 23.

Nurse Pract 2020 Jul;45(7):42-47

Laura Wood is a professor of graduate nursing at Purdue University Global, Chicago, Ill. Concetta Zak is dean and professor at Resurrection University, College of Nursing, Chicago, Ill. Deborah S. Adelman is a professor of graduate nursing at Purdue University Global, Chicago, Ill. She is also the CEO and owner of DSA Disaster and Education Consultants. Catherine Fant is an adjunct professor at Walden University, Minneapolis, Minn.

This final installment presents an overview of the series and calls for NPs to become more educated in disaster response planning, more involved in disaster response research, and better trained to lead in disaster response. Read More

Int J Health Geogr 2020 Jun 20;19(1):22. Epub 2020 Jun 20.

College of Economics, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China.

Background: Urban residents from the developing world have increasingly adopted a sedentary lifestyle and spend less time on physical activities (PA). Previous studies on the association between PA facilities and individuals' PA levels are based on the assumption that individuals have opportunities to use PA facilities within neighborhoods all day long, ignoring the fact that their willingness and opportunities to use nearby facilities depend on how much discretionary time (any time when people have a choice what to do) they have. Further, scant attention has been paid to the influence of PA facilities within both residential and workplace neighborhoods in the dense urban context. Read More

BMJ 2020 06 19;369:m2406. Epub 2020 Jun 19.

Health and Social Care Board Northern Ireland.

Health Secur 2020 May/Jun;18(3):195-204

Regina E. Nailon PhD, RN, is Patient Safety Program Director, Nebraska Coalition for Patient Safety, Omaha, NE.

The United States constantly faces the threat of large-scale disasters caused by natural and human factors. Emergency medical services, other first responders, and emergency department professionals are responsible for triaging and caring for victims of mass casualty incidents that include biological, chemical, and radiological agents. These providers need immediate access to individuals with expertise in infectious disease, medical toxicology, and biological, chemical, and radiological exposure who are readily available or easily accessible in the event of an emergency. Read More

Med J Islam Repub Iran 2020 16;34:21. Epub 2020 Mar 16.

Infectious Diseases Research Center, Aerospace and Subaquatic Medicine Faculty, Aja University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

The fatal pandemics of infectious diseases and the possibility of using microorganisms as biological weapons are both rising worldwide. Hospitals are vital organizations in response to biological disasters and have a crucial role in the treatment of patients. Despite the advances in studies about hospital planning and performance during crises, there are no internationally accepted standards for hospital preparedness and disaster response. Read More

Future Healthc J 2020 Jun;7(2):165-168

England, and deputy strategic incident commander COVID-19, NHS England and NHS Improvement, London, UK.

COVID-19 presents an unprecedented challenge to hospitals and the systems in which they operate. The primary exponential surge of COVID-19 cases is arguably the most devastating event a hospital will face. In some countries, these surges during the initial outbreak of the disease have resulted in hospitals suffering from significant resource strain, leading to excess patient mortality and negatively impacting staff wellbeing. Read More

BMJ Glob Health 2020 06;5(6)

Department of Emergency, Shanghai East Hospital, Tongji University School of Medicine / National Emergency Medical Team (Shanghai), Shanghai, China

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Wuhan has adopted three methods of admitting patients for treatment: designated hospitals, newly built temporary hospitals and Fangcang shelter hospitals. It has been proven that converting large-scale public venues such as stadiums and exhibition centres into Fangcang shelter hospitals, which serve as hospitals for isolation, treatment and disease monitoring of patients with mild symptoms, is the most effective way to control virus transmission and reduce mortality. This paper presents some experiences learnt from treating COVID-19 in Wuhan, the first city to report the outbreak and which suffered from a shortage of emergency supplies, heavy workload among staff and a shortage of hospital beds during the early stages of the pandemic. Read More

BMJ Glob Health 2020 06;5(6)

Center for Global Health Science & Security, Georgetown University, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.

Urbanisation will be one of the defining demographic trends of the 21st century-creating unique opportunities for sustainable capacity development, as well as substantial risks and challenges for managing public health and health emergencies. Plans and policies for responding to public health emergencies are generally framed at higher levels of governance, but developing, improving and sustaining the capacities necessary for implementing these policies is a direct function of local-level authorities. Evaluating local-level public health capacities is an important process for identifying strengths and weaknesses that can impact the preparedness for, detection of and response to health security threats. Read More

Infect Dis Poverty 2020 Jun 16;9(1):68. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

National Institute of Health, Maputo, Mozambique.

Cyclone Idai, which hit Mozambique in March 2019, was one of the worst climate-related natural disasters on record in the Southern Hemisphere causing massive destruction of housing and disruption to vital infrastructure including the electrical grid, communications and water supply. Almost two million people were affected with over 600 deaths, hundreds of thousands of people displaced accompanied by rapid spread of cholera. We describe emergency measures taken by the Government of Mozambique, in collaboration with multilateral partners, to establish a real-time disease surveillance system, implement interventions recommended by a Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) taskforce and rapidly scale up a massive community vaccination program to control a cholera epidemic. Read More

Chest 2020 Jun 13. Epub 2020 Jun 13.

Cleveland Clinic, Respiratory Institute.

Disasters, including infectious disease outbreaks, are inevitable. Hospitals need to plan in advance to ensure that their systems can adapt to a rapidly changing environment if necessary. This review provides an overview of ten general principles that hospitals and healthcare systems should consider when developing disaster plans. Read More

Acad Med 2020 Jun 15. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

D.P. Sklar is professor, Arizona State University, College of Health Solutions, Phoenix, Arizona, and emeritus professor, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

COVID-19 has disrupted every aspect of the U.S. health care and health professions education systems, creating anxiety, suffering, and chaos and exposing many of the flaws in the nation's public health, medical education, and political systems. Read More

Rev Esp Salud Publica 2020 Jun 16;94. Epub 2020 Jun 16.

Servicio de Aparato Digestivo. Área Sanitaria de Pontevedra e O Salnés. Pontevedra. España.

Objective: Decision making in hospitals, and especially in their own healthcare services, is hardly referenced in the literature. During the pandemic period, healthcare services have put in place contingency plans to minimize the consequences of the coronavirus on professionals and patients. However, the deployment of contingency plans and results are hardly shared, depriving other services of references to refute, compare or emulate the aforementioned plans. Read More

J Am Assoc Nurse Pract 2020 Jun 9. Epub 2020 Jun 9.

School of Nursing, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas.

Background And Purpose: Disaster management experts around the world agree that nurses play a vital role in disaster preparation, response, and recovery. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health care Organizations requires biannual disaster drills for accredited facilities, and there are numerous training resources and educational materials on disaster management topics. Multiple federal and state laws govern health care provider activities during a disaster. Read More

Am J Health Syst Pharm 2020 Jun 15. Epub 2020 Jun 15.

UMass Memorial Medical Center, Worcester, MA.

In an effort to expedite the publication of articles related to the COVID-19 pandemic, AJHP is posting these manuscripts online as soon as possible after acceptance. Accepted manuscripts have been peer-reviewed and copyedited, but are posted online before technical formatting and author proofing. These manuscripts are not the final version of record and will be replaced with the final article (formatted per AJHP style and proofed by the authors) at a later time. Read More

Farm Hosp 2020 06 12;44(7):17-20. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital Universitario Ramón y Cajal, Madrid. España.

COVID crisis has abruptly broken into our hospitals, and many difficulties have  emerged, including those related to supply logistics. A huge number of new  patients, a fast internal reorganization process and many other changes were  suddenly established. These circumstances revealed the need to increase stocks  of drugs, both for basic treatment as well as for specific SARS-CoV-2 infection  management. Read More

Farm Hosp 2020 06 12;44(7):11-16. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital Universitario Severo Ochoa, Leganés (Madrid). España..

The purpose of this article is to report the experience of the Department of Hospital Pharmacy of a mid-size hospital during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The human and material resources available in a mid-size hospital were more limited than in larger hospitals of the region. In this article, we describe how this Department of Hospital Pharmacy was reorganized to meet the increase in activity, the strategies developed and the  lessons learned for future pandemics. Read More

Farm Hosp 2020 06 12;44(7):5-10. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Servicio de Farmacia, Hospital General Universitario Gregorio Marañón, Madrid. España.

The WHO declared the SARS- CoV-2 outbreak a pandemic in March 11, 2020.  Spain has been the third country with the highest number of reported cases of  COVID-19. In the face of the pandemic, the authorities of the Autonomous  Community of Madrid led an unprecedented transformation of hospital services  by increasing the number of beds available, setting up temporary field hospitals  in fairgrounds, and transforming hotels into support centers for patients with  mild symptoms of COVID-19. Read More

Farm Hosp 2020 06 12;44(7):3-4. Epub 2020 Jun 12.

Subdirectora de Farmacia Hospitalaria. España.

Burns 2020 May 16. Epub 2020 May 16.

Clinic of Plastic, Reconstructive, Hand and Burn Surgery, Hospital Cologne Merheim, University of Witten-Herdecke, Germany. Electronic address:

Burn disasters present a challenge not only to burn centers but the entire healthcare system. Most burn centers worldwide are unprepared to deal with a burn disaster as it is an uncommon event. We investigated the status of burn center preparedness in German-speaking countries to respond to a burn disaster. Read More

Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 2020 May;31(5):1735-1745

College of Environment and Resources, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou 350116, China.

The bay is the most susceptible area in the marine to human interference. It is of significance for maintaining ecological security of the bay to build an assessment framework of losses of bay ecosystem services caused by the C9 leakage event and evaluate it quantitatively. This study used market value, alternative cost, carbon tax and emergy analysis methods to construct a monetary value evaluation model for the lossses of key ecosystem services (food production, gas regulation, climate regulation, waste treatment, human health, nutrient cycling, species diversity maintenance, and recreation entertainment) caused by C9 leakage accident, and analyzed the losses of x-Bay ecosystem services. Read More

Ying Yong Sheng Tai Xue Bao 2020 May;31(5):1660-1672

Qinghai Province Institute of Meteorological Sciences, Xining 810001, China.

Research on the spatial quantitative evaluation of land use and ecosystem service value in the source region of the Yellow River is of great significance for ensuring the ecological security of the river basin. Taking Maduo County in the source region of the Yellow River as an example, based on a 3 km × 3 km grid unit, the spatial autocorrelation method was applied to construct an evaluation model of ecosystem service value. The spatial autocorrelation pattern characteristics of Maduo County in 2015 was quantitatively evaluated, and the spatial information of ecosystem service value was visually expressed. Read More

ScientificWorldJournal 2020 21;2020:8923036. Epub 2020 May 21.

Demography and Social Statistics, College of Business and Social Sciences, Covenant University, Ota, Ogun State, Nigeria.

Background: The reports and information on coronavirus are not conspicuously emphasising the possible impact of population density on the explanation of difference in rapid spread and fatality due to the disease and not much has been done on bicountry comparisons.

Objective: The study examined the impact of population density on the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in two sociodemographic divergent countries.

Methods: The study conducted a scoping review of published and unpublished articles including blogs on incidences and fatalities of COVID-19. Read More

Nature 2020 06;582(7812):334-336

BMJ Glob Health 2020 06;5(6)

Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, India

Australas Emerg Care 2020 Jun 6. Epub 2020 Jun 6.

Pharmacy Department, Austin Health, Heidelberg, VIC, Australia; Pharmacy Department, Alfred Hospital, Prahran, VIC, Australia.

Background: On 21 November 2016, during a thunderstorm asthma event, an external disaster was called in our Emergency Department (ED), the first since comprehensive implementation of electronic clinical documentation. This study compared medication ordering and administration documentation during surge (thunderstorm asthma) and non-surge (control) conditions.

Methods: Retrospective audit of ED patients presenting with asthma between 21 and 23 November 2016 (72-h thunderstorm asthma period) and equivalent 72-h periods of the preceding three weeks (control period). Read More

J Pak Med Assoc 2020 May;70(Suppl 3)(5):S30-S33

Specialist Endocrinology, NMC Speciality Hospital, Al Nahdha Dubai.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has spread like wildfire and affected almost every stratum of society. It has brought humans together and taught us to have compassion and collaboration among individuals, governments and organisations. Adequate protection of healthcare workers who are at the frontline must be taken care of. Read More

J Pak Med Assoc 2020 May;70(Suppl 3)(5):S11-S14

Armed Forces Institute of Rehabilitation Medicine, Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a recent pandemic which has spread to over 200 countries of the world since its outbreak. As of 21st April, 2020, more than 2.3 million confirmed cases have been reported. Read More

Bull World Health Organ 2020 Jun;98(6):378-379

The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn attention to the international agreement governing responses to public health emergencies, with some experts calling for its revision. Lynn Eaton and Gary Humphreys report. Read More

Elife 2020 06 8;9. Epub 2020 Jun 8.

Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Princeton University, Princeton, United States.

SARS-CoV-2 presents an unprecedented international challenge, but it will not be the last such threat. Here, we argue that the world needs to be much better prepared to rapidly detect, define and defeat future pandemics. We propose that a Global Immunological Observatory and associated developments in systems immunology, therapeutics and vaccine design should be at the heart of this enterprise. Read More

J Educ Health Promot 2020 28;9:97. Epub 2020 Apr 28.

Department of Occupational Health Engineering, Torbat Heydariyeh University of Medical Sciences, Torbat Heydariyeh, Iran.

Background: The empirical assessment of the health outcomes associated with migration caused by climate change is still unclear. However, health outcomes in the early stages are expected to be similar to the health outcomes associated with refugees. The objective of the present study was a systematic review of the health effects of migration caused by climate change. Read More

Int J Disaster Risk Reduct 2020 Nov 29;50:101691. Epub 2020 May 29.

Centre for Academic Development, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand.

Pandemics, earthquakes, fire, war, and other disasters place universities at risk. Disasters can disrupt learning and teaching (L&T) for weeks to months or longer. Some institutions have developed business continuity plans to protect key organisational services and structures, allowing L&T to continue. Read More

Land use policy 2020 Sep 30;97:104805. Epub 2020 May 30.

Live+Smart Research Lab, School of Architecture and Built Environment, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia.

Chinese cities have been placed upon lockdown in early 2020 in an attempt to contain the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), as increasingly huge demands are being placed upon Chinese and international health professionals to address this pandemic. Surprisingly, planning and design professionals are absent in the discourses about existing and post-COVID-19 strategies and actions even though previous pandemics historically revealed major impacts on the urban fabric from social and economic perspectives. This paper is a call for action for international architectural and urban organisations to include pandemics and similar in their disaster management strategies. Read More

J Formos Med Assoc 2020 Jun 3. Epub 2020 Jun 3.

School of Medicine, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan; Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Department of Internal Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Tainan, Taiwan. Electronic address:

Background/purpose: Typhoon Morakot in August 2009 caused significant damages and health and socio-economic impacts in Taiwan. Therefore, we evaluated the mental health status of adult and patients who lived in the affected area after the disaster.

Methods: An observational, prospective population-based study was conducted. Read More

Early Interv Psychiatry 2020 Jun 4. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

Institute of Emergency Management and Post-Disaster Reconstruction, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.

Aim: Psychotic-like experiences (PLEs) are common in adolescents who have experienced or are experiencing trauma. However, the potential relationships between exposure to a major earthquake, negative life events or maltreatment and PLEs in Chinese adolescents are poorly understood. Therefore, this study explored the prevalence of PLEs and the psychosocial correlates in adolescent earthquake survivors. Read More

J Am Soc Nephrol 2020 07 4;31(7):1371-1379. Epub 2020 Jun 4.

J Prev Med Public Health 2020 May 14;53(3):175-177. Epub 2020 Apr 14.

Seoul Detention Center, Ministry of Justice, Uiwang, Korea.

Public health doctors of Korea contributed significantly to massive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing. They were immediately dispatched to epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic, and have run tests at screening centers, airport quarantines and hospitals. However, their expertise from in-field experience has been often neglected. Read More