Search Our Scientific Publications & Authors

Sci Total Environ 2019 Apr 9;673:734-749. Epub 2019 Apr 9.

School of Marine Science, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China; Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Resources and Coastal Engineering, Guangzhou 510275, China; Southern Laboratory of Ocean Science and Engineering (Guangdong, Zhuhai), Zhuhai 519000, China.

Due to the recent rapid increase in human activity and economic development, many coastal areas have recently experienced a high degree of land-based pollution. Evaluating the total maximum allocated load (TMAL) of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) nutrients and the remaining capacity is of importance for improving water quality. A considerable amount of nutrients derived from the coastal watershed can be found in wet seasons, which is non-negligible for the estimation of remaining capacity. Read More

Disasters 2019 Apr 16. Epub 2019 Apr 16.

MA, is Assistant News Director at KBIA (a National Public Radio-member station) at the School of Journalism, University of Missouri, United States.

Natural and human-caused disasters pose a significant risk to the health and well-being of people. Journalists and news organisations can fulfil multiple roles related to disasters, ranging from providing warnings, assessing disaster mitigation and preparedness, and reporting on what occurs, to aiding long-term recovery and fostering disaster resilience. This paper considers these possible functions of disaster journalism and draws on semi-structured interviews with 24 journalists in the United States to understand better their approach to the discipline. Read More

Hosp Pediatr 2019 Apr 12. Epub 2019 Apr 12.

Division of Critical Care Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology, Critical Care, and Pain Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts; and.

Objectives: We aimed to design a graphical tool for understanding and effectively communicating the complex differences between pediatric and adult hospital care systems.

Patients And Methods: We analyzed the most recent hospital administrative data sets for inpatient admission and emergency department visits from 7 US states (2014: Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York; 2011: California). Probabilities of care completion (Pcc) were calculated for pediatric (<18 years old) and adult conditions in all acute-care hospitals in each state. Read More

Inj Prev 2019 Apr 11. Epub 2019 Apr 11.

Key Laboratory of Environmental Change and Natural Disaster of Ministry of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.

Background: Determining the locations of disaster emergency shelters and the allocation of impacted residents are key components in shelter planning and emergency management. Various models have been developed to solve this location-allocation problem, but gaps remain regarding the processes of hazards. This study attempts to develop a model based on the change of typhoon track that addresses the location-allocation problem for typhoon emergency shelters. Read More

J Public Health Manag Pract 2019 Apr 5. Epub 2019 Apr 5.

Department of Public Health, Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina (Dr Lea); Department of Nursing, College of Health Sciences, University of North Carolina at Pembroke, Pembroke, North Carolina (Dr Beasley); and Public Health Preparedness and Response Branch, Epidemiology Section, Division of Public Health, NC Department of Health and Human Services, Raleigh, North Carolina (Dr Cox).

Hurricane Matthew impacted eastern North Carolina during October 2016. A regional after-action exercise was conducted as a moderated discussion using an adaptation of Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) after-action report format to allow health departments to communicate lessons learned across jurisdictional lines. Forty-one professionals from 18 counties participated in a 2-hour workshop. Read More

Prehosp Disaster Med 2019 Apr 10:1-5. Epub 2019 Apr 10.

3.Department of Public Health Dentistry,MM College of Dental Sciences and Research,Mullana, Ambala, Haryana,India.

Objective: This study's objective was to explore the disaster management knowledge, attitude, behavior, willingness, and assistance among Nigerian dentists.

Methods: This cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study was conducted in Edo State (Nigeria) among selected Nigerian dentists that attended the Annual Scientific Conference of School of Dentistry, University of Benin (Benin City, Nigeria) between 2016 and 2017. The 54-item, modified Chhabra, et al disaster management questionnaire, which elicited information on demographic characteristics, disaster management knowledge, attitude, preparedness, and willingness, was the data collection tool. Read More

Confl Health 2019 25;13. Epub 2019 Mar 25.

5Department of Health Policy and Management, Institute for Disaster Management, University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Athens, USA.

Background: Instability in the global geopolitical climate and the continuing spread of nuclear weapons and increase in their lethality has made the exchange of nuclear weapons or a terrorist attack upon a nuclear power plant a serious issue that demands appropriate planning for response. In response to this threat, the development of a nuclear global health workforce under the technical expertise of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the World Health Organization Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network has been proposed.

Main Body Of The Abstract: As the largest component of the global healthcare workforce, nurses will play a critical role in both the leadership and health care effectiveness of a response to any public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) resulting from the unprecedented numbers of trauma, thermal burn, and radiation affected patients that will require extensive involvement of the nursing professional community. Read More

Injury 2019 Mar 18. Epub 2019 Mar 18.

Safety Promotion and Injury Prevention Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, School of Public Health and Safety, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran; Department of Neurobiology, Care Sciences and Society (NVS), H1, Division of Family Medicine and Primary Care, Alfred Nobels Allé 23, 141 83, Huddinge, Sweden. Electronic address:

Objective: Early discharge of some in-patients is the effective measure to create hospital surge capacity in disasters. However, some of these patients may need to post-discharge continuity of care. The aim of the current study then is to explore the barriers of continuity of care, and to provide suitable solutions for potentially dischargeable patients during disasters. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2019 Mar 26;19(6). Epub 2019 Mar 26.

Faculty of Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China.

Deformation monitoring is a powerful tool to understand the formation mechanism of earth fissure hazards, enabling the engineering and planning efforts to be more effective. To assess the evolution characteristics of the Yangshuli earth fissure hazard more completely, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS), a remote sensing technique which is regarded as one of the most promising surveying technologies in geohazard monitoring, was employed to detect the changes to ground surfaces and buildings in small- and large-scales, respectively. Time-series of high-density point clouds were collected through 5 sequential scans from 2014 to 2017 and then pre-processing was performed to filter the noise data of point clouds. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019 Mar 22;16(6). Epub 2019 Mar 22.

Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC), The Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Rural populations living in poverty are the most vulnerable to disaster. Despite this increased risk of recurrent disaster, previous disaster experience is not a good predictor for disaster preparedness in these populations. This was evidenced on 31 August 2012, when a major flood occurred in Sichuan, China. Read More

Disabil Rehabil 2019 Mar 23:1-9. Epub 2019 Mar 23.

b Centre for Disability Research and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences , University of Sydney , Sydney , NSW , Australia.

Background: Community-based service providers are optimally positioned to contribute to the inclusion of people with disability and chronic health conditions in community-level disaster risk reduction. However, little is known about how to enable emergency preparedness within existing community health care, disability, and rehabilitation service delivery.

Purpose: This study synthesised findings from a scoping review of the literature on how community-based service providers can enable emergency preparedness for clients in the community. Read More

J Prof Nurs 2019 Mar - Apr;35(2):124-132. Epub 2018 Sep 14.

University of Arkansas, 238 Graduate Education, Fayetteville, AR, USA. Electronic address:

Background: With disasters occurring often, nurses must understand and ethically implement disaster management and patient care coordination. Yet these topics are often not discussed in nursing education curricula. Simulations are a potential solution to this ethical educational deficit, allowing students to act as professional nurses in a realistic scenario with minimal threat of harm to themselves or others. Read More

Ann Glob Health 2019 Mar 20;85(1). Epub 2019 Mar 20.

University of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine.

Background Aim: Many Syrian civil war refugees are housed in carefully designed camps, however 60% of all refugees in host countries reside outside of specifically designated camps. Turkey hosts the largest number of refugees displaced in the civil war of Syria. In the present study, we aimed to illustrate healthcare services provided to Syrian refugees in Turkey. Read More

Am J Pharm Educ 2019 Feb;83(1):6968

University of Charleston School of Pharmacy, Charleston, West Virginia.

J Emerg Med 2019 Mar 16. Epub 2019 Mar 16.

Fellow, International Federation for Emergency Medicine; Professor Emeritus, Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona.

Background: The three U.S. Antarctic research stations' medical facilities exist in an isolated, harsh environment, typical of many such facilities throughout the world. Read More

Med J Aust 2019 Apr 19;210(7):297-299.e1. Epub 2019 Mar 19.

Western Sydney University, Sydney, NSW.

Front Psychiatry 2019 20;10:65. Epub 2019 Feb 20.

University Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Children's Hospital of Nice CHU-Lenval, Nice, France.

Recent years have seen a multiplication of terrorist attacks in public places across European and North American countries, thus heightening the need for public mental health planning and response strategies focused on the special needs of children and their families. The present article retrospectively analyzes the early phase psychiatric response for children and adolescents after the truck attack in Nice on July 14th, 2016. In addition, lessons which can be drawn from it will be discussed, with a focus on organizational challenges in the early phase. Read More

PLoS One 2019 13;14(3):e0212917. Epub 2019 Mar 13.

Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.

In response to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant disaster, the Nuclear Regulation Authority of Japan issued the new "Nuclear Emergency Response Guideline." However, there is a perception that scientific information about the health impact of radiation exposure has not been adequately shared among the local government staffs, including schoolteachers. We contacted schoolteachers at all 120 schools within the Urgent Protective Action Planning Zone of the Sendai Nuclear Power Plant, Kagoshima prefecture, in 2017. Read More

Jamba 2019 10;11(1):608. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Department of Planning, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana.

Floods are common events that confront many cities in the developing world. Ghana, a developing country, is persistently challenged with flood events, especially in its major cities. In informal Accra, for instance, despite the severity of flood effects and its associated threats, poor informal residents continue to stay. Read More

Jamba 2019 15;11(1):591. Epub 2019 Jan 15.

Disaster Management Training and Education Centre for Africa, University of the Free State, South Africa.

Estimation of ecological drought vulnerability indicators is the important step for drought mitigation management. This article identified and estimated ecological drought vulnerability indicators among communal farmers in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, using an ecological vulnerability index based on a household survey of 121 communal farmers. The results identified overgrazing, soil erosion, land degradation, surface and groundwater supply, and land use management as the main ecological vulnerability variables. Read More

Jamba 2019 10;11(1):507. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Multidisciplinary Research Centre, University of Namibia, Namibia.

Floods in Namibia are more pronounced than drought or any other natural disaster. Ompundja village in northern central Namibia has experienced severe flooding over the last decade since the village is a catchment area of water from two distinct sources, that is, the Cuvelai system and the Efundja. Data were collected from households based on an action learning cycle. Read More

Jamba 2019 10;11(1):494. Epub 2019 Jan 10.

Department of Geography, Benue State University, Nigeria.

The impact of natural disaster on land use and/or land cover (LULC) has emerged as a global phenomenon and is perhaps the most significant regional anthropogenic and natural disturbance to the environment. Natural disasters and land use change are major concerns all over the world, and if these two concerns exist together along large rivers, then the consequences for people and the human activities may be severe. This study evaluated land use and land cover affected by flooding along Benue River in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Read More

Soc Sci Med 2019 Apr 1;226:176-181. Epub 2019 Mar 1.

Department of Geography, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.

While numerous environmental justice (EJ) studies have found socially disadvantaged groups such as racial/ethnic minorities and low-income individuals to be disproportionately affected by environmental hazards, previous EJ research has not examined whether disabled individuals are disproportionately exposed to natural hazards. Our article addresses this gap by conducting the first distributive EJ study of the relationship between flooding caused by Hurricane Harvey and locations of people with disabilities in Harris County, the most populous county in Texas that was severely impacted by this disaster. Our objective is to determine whether the areal extent of flooding at the neighborhood (census tract) level is disproportionately distributed with respect to people with any disability and with specific types of disabilities, after controlling for relevant socio-demographic factors. Read More

Acad Med 2019 Mar 5. Epub 2019 Mar 5.

B. Newman is a hospitalist physician, Alaska Regional Hospital, Anchorage, Alaska, and former internal medicine chief resident, Corpus Christi Medical Center, Corpus Christi, Texas. C. Gallion is the administrative director of medical education for Corpus Christi Medical Center, Corpus Christi, Texas.

When disasters strike, hospitals are challenged to continue the delivery of health care, much of which is dependent on trainees. Fortunately, disasters are infrequent; however, that infrequency leads to an absence of training in how to plan and execute a disaster response, and leaves medical professionals and trainees unprepared to handle the burden of a disaster when it strikes. In August 2017, Hurricane Harvey tested the efficacy of the graduate medical education (GME) disaster plan at Corpus Christi Medical Center (CCMC) and provided an opportunity to evaluate residents' performance in a disaster situation in the inpatient setting. Read More

J Rehabil Med 2019 Apr;51(4):312-316

Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Ichikawa City Rehabilitation Hospital, Ichikawa city, Japan.

Objective: There are a lack of disaster preparedness measures that target populations with dysphagia. In particular, disaster response plans frequently overlook differences in textures between emergency foods and regularly consumed foods. The aim of this study was to estimate the number of community-dwelling elderly care recipients requiring specific food preparations, including the population at risk of aspiration when solely consuming common emergency foods. Read More

Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2019 02;13(1):38-43

3US Virgin Islands Department of Health,St Thomas,USVI(Ms LaPlace Ekpo, Drs Guendel, Davis, Ellis).

Objectives: Two Category 5 storms, Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria, hit the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) within 13 days of each other in September 2017. Read More

Sci Total Environ 2019 Mar 12;654:1258-1269. Epub 2018 Nov 12.

Indian Space Research Organisation, Bengaluru 560 231, India.

Quantification of hydrological components in-terms of surface runoff, stream flow and evapotranspiration is important and useful in planning and management of water resources across the river basin, including downstream delta regions. River deltas water availability; management and related disaster risk are largely influenced by the hydrological state of upstream river basins. The paper presents the results of hydrological modelling (SWAT) based long-term water balance components in river basins draining into selected delta Districts of Eastern India. Read More

PLoS One 2019 1;14(3):e0212994. Epub 2019 Mar 1.

School of Social Sciences and Psychology, Western Sydney University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.

Background: Lesotho and Swaziland experience intense, recurring drought resulting in disaster situations. Despite the recurrence of drought, both its influence on rural subsistence communities' support systems and the actions that enable structures of resilience remain poorly understood. Each incidence of drought stimulates a disaster resilience discussion that stalls without achievement of positive results until the next disaster. Read More

Am J Disaster Med 2018 Fall;13(4):289-296

Morton Amsterdam Dean, Department of Preventative and Restorative Services, School of Dental Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The weather-related disasters in 2017 in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the 2017-2018 wildfire seasons in California and Hurricanes Florence and Michael in 2018 have challenged all healthcare professionals, to have plans in place to protect their facility, patients, and staff from all possible hazards. These were "slowly developing" events, with enormous media coverage, and yet the results were still horrific. The need to have both a good evacuation plan and a good shelter-in-place plan has previously been dramatically demonstrated. Read More

Am J Disaster Med 2018 Fall;13(4):227-236

Associate Professor, Department of Public Health, Environments and Society, Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Objective: There is a need to develop cost-effective methods to support public health policy makers plan ahead and make robust decisions on protective measures to safeguard against severe impacts of extreme weather events and natural disasters in the future, given competing demands on the social and healthcare resources, large uncertainty associated with extreme events and their impacts, and the opportunity costs associated with making ineffective decisions.

Design: The authors combine a physics-based method known as nonextensive statistical mechanics for modeling the probability distribution of systems or processes exhibiting extreme behavior, with a decision-analytical method known as partitioned multiobjective risk method to determine the optimal decision option when planning for potential extreme events.

Results: The method is illustrated using a simple hypothetical example. Read More

Environ Monit Assess 2019 Feb 27;191(3):194. Epub 2019 Feb 27.

College of Environment and Resources, Fuzhou University, Fuzhou, 350108, Fujian, China.

Land surface temperature and moisture are central components of the Earth's surface heat budget. China has experienced substantial land use/cover change that has led to deterioration of the urban microclimate, thus affecting global climate change. Understanding the spatial non-stationarity in the relationships between climate and land cover across a highly heterogeneous surface of urban landscapes is important for improving urban planning and management. Read More

J Educ Health Promot 2019 29;8. Epub 2019 Jan 29.

Department of Health Services Management, School of Health Management and Medical Information, Tehran, Iran.

Introduction: Perception the risk of disasters, is mainly of universal and theoretical nature and is a means of achieving risk understanding/knowledge. In Sendai Framework, the focus is on increasing risk understanding plans in order to achieve community resilience. Therefore, to achieve greater public participation in planning for disaster risk reduction (DRR), this study was conducted primarily to clarify people's expectations from disaster risk management authorities in order to approach managers' and experts' views to people's views. Read More

Eur J Psychotraumatol 2019 22;10(1):1544024. Epub 2019 Jan 22.

Impact - National Knowledge and Advice Centre for Psychosocial Care Concerning Critical Incidents, Arq Psycho Trauma Expert Group, Diemen, The Netherlands.

: Despite numerous calls for a more evidence-based provision of post-disaster psychosocial support, systematic analyses of post-disaster service delivery are scarce. : The aim of this review was to evaluate the organization of post-disaster psychosocial support in different disaster settings and to identify determinants. : We conducted a meta-synthesis of scientific literature and evaluations of post-disaster psychosocial support after 12 Dutch disasters and major crises between 1992 and 2014. Read More

Mar Pollut Bull 2019 Mar 24;140:116-128. Epub 2019 Jan 24.

Department of Civil Engineering, Sharif University of Technology, P.O. Box. 11365-11155, Tehran, Iran. Electronic address:

Different causes lead to accidental oil spills from fixed and mobile sources in the marine environment. Therefore, it is essential to have a systematic plan for mitigating oil spill consequences. In this research, a general DSS is proposed for passive and active response planning in Persian Gulf, before and after a spill. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019 Feb 20;16(4). Epub 2019 Feb 20.

School of Natural Resources, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.

Flood disasters often have serious impacts on cities. Disaster prevention and mitigation schemes for flood disasters must be based on risk assessment. We constructed an indicator system for flood disaster risk assessment from the aspects of hazard factors, sensitivity to the environment, disaster vulnerability, flood disaster prevention, and resilience. Read More

Australas J Ageing 2019 Feb 21. Epub 2019 Feb 21.

Centre for Emergency and Disaster Management, School of Public Health, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Objective: The aim was to explore the natural disaster preparedness strategies of Australian residential aged care facilities (RACFs), focussing on aspects relevant to people with dementia.

Methods: An online survey was sent to 2617 RACF managers, with 416 responding. Questions included the following: (a) demographics; (b) presence and detail level of disaster/evacuation plans; and (c) references to people with dementia. Read More

Nihon Eiseigaku Zasshi 2019 ;74(0)

Prefectural University of Shimane.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to clarify the current status of stockpiling of oral care hygiene materials in case of a disaster and to determine methods to support stockpiling during disaster preparation.

Methods: We conducted an Internet questionnaire survey on stockpiling and disaster prevention measures among 300 adults. For statistical analysis, the χ² test, Mann-Whitney U-test and Spearman rank test were employed. Read More

Health Promot Pract 2019 May 17;20(3):338-343. Epub 2019 Feb 17.

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Emergence of a novel infectious disease, such as pandemic influenza, is the one global crisis most likely to affect the greatest number of people worldwide. Because of the potentially severe and contagious nature of influenza, a rapid multifaceted pandemic response, which includes nonpharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and effective strategies for communication with the public are essential for a timely response and mitigating the spread of disease. A web-based questionnaire was administered via email in July 2015 to 62 Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) directors across jurisdictions that receive funding through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention PHEP cooperative agreement. Read More

J Med Internet Res 2019 Feb 15;21(2):e12644. Epub 2019 Feb 15.

Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, United States.

Background: Over the past decade, clinical care has become globally dependent on information technology. The cybersecurity of health care information systems is now an essential component of safe, reliable, and effective health care delivery.

Objective: The objective of this study was to provide an overview of the literature at the intersection of cybersecurity and health care delivery. Read More

Nutr Clin Pract 2019 Apr 14;34(2):216-219. Epub 2019 Feb 14.

Nutrishare, Inc., Elk Grove, California, USA.

Natural disasters are most often weather related but can also be unrelated to weather. Either way, these disrupt "normal" life for a short or extended period of time. When someone depends on electricity, clean water, and transportation services for life-sustaining therapies such as home nutrition support, it is important to have a plan in place-even if it is never used. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019 02 5;16(3). Epub 2019 Feb 5.

Disaster Resilience Initiative, Accident Research Centre, Clayton, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia.

Identification and profiling of current and emerging disaster risks is essential to inform effective disaster risk management practice. Without clear evidence, readiness to accept future threats is low, resulting in decreased ability to detect and anticipate these new threats. A consequential decreased strategic planning for mitigation, adaptation or response results in a lowered resilience capacity. Read More

Prehosp Disaster Med 2019 Feb;34(1):20-24

2School of Nursing and Midwifery,Tehran University ofMedical Sciences,Tehran,Iran.

IntroductionNatural disasters have many effects on vulnerable groups, especially infants and children. Protecting breastfeeding in disasters is important, because artificial feeding puts a lot of risk to the child. In disasters, artificial nutrition is dangerous to children and its supplementation requires special equipment. Read More

Int J Soc Psychiatry 2018 Dec;64(8):778-785

10 Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK.

Natural and man-made disasters carry with them major burden and very often the focus is on immediate survival and management of resulting infectious diseases. The impact of disasters directly and indirectly on the well-being and mental health of those affected often gets ignored. The reasons are often stigma and lack of attention to mental health consequences. Read More

Sensors (Basel) 2019 Feb 12;19(3). Epub 2019 Feb 12.

School of Resource and Environmental Sciences, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430079, China.

Wuhan city is the biggest city in central China and has suffered subsidence problems in recent years because of its rapid urban construction. However, longtime and wide range monitoring of land subsidence is lacking. The causes of subsidence also require further study, such as natural conditions and human activities. Read More

Health Res Policy Syst 2019 Feb 11;17(1):18. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Department of Physiology, Pharmacology/Toxicology, Division of Biomedical Sciences, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.

Background: Worldwide, natural disasters have caused a large number of deaths and considerable morbidity. Nevertheless, limited information is available on how the health-related literature on natural disasters has evolved. The current study aims to assess the growth and pattern of health-related literature on natural disasters. Read More

Accid Anal Prev 2019 Apr 7;125:106-115. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii, United States; National Disaster Preparedness Training Center, University of Hawaii, United States. Electronic address:

In spite of research and awareness of the hazards associated with handheld mobile device use while driving, many motorists continue to engage in this risky behavior. The mobile device use while driving has a detrimental effect on the operation of the vehicle. It contributes significantly to distraction which is a leading cause of accidents. Read More

Ambio 2019 May 8;48(5):494-506. Epub 2019 Feb 8.

Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, and African Climate and Development Initiative, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, 7700, South Africa.

The intersecting challenges of urbanization, growing inequality, climate and environmental risk and economic sustainability require new modes of urban governance. Although the urban poor are increasingly recognized as needing to be part of climate adaptation planning and implementation, many governance arrangements fail to explicitly include them. In order to make climate governance more inclusive, transformative capacity is needed. Read More

Gerontology 2019 Feb 7:1-9. Epub 2019 Feb 7.

US Department of Veterans Affairs, Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), North Hills, California, USA.

Background: Historically, older adults have been disproportionately affected by disasters. In particular, homebound adults are especially at risk. As one facet of bolstering community resilience, home health agencies have been tasked with improving their patients' disaster preparedness. Read More

J Res Health Sci 2018 Sep 22;18(4):e00427. Epub 2018 Sep 22.

Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Modeling in Health Research Center, Faculty of Health, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran.

Background: Determining the epidemic threshold parameter helps health providers calculate the coverage while guiding them in planning the process of vaccination strategy. Since the trend and mechanism of influenza is very similar in different countries, we planned a study with the mentioned goal by using data of US from 2017 to 2018.

Study Design: A secondary study. Read More