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Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2021 Jun 23:1-31. Epub 2021 Jun 23.

Department of Disaster Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.

Objective: This study aims to evaluate the long-term impact of living in post-disaster prefabricated temporary housing on social interaction activities and mental health status.

Methods: A total of 917 adult residents in a coastal town, whose residences were destroyed by the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake (GEJE), were enrolled for the assessment held five years after the disaster. They answered questions about their experience and consequence of living in prefabricated temporary housing after the disaster. Read More

J Digit Imaging 2021 Jun 22. Epub 2021 Jun 22.

Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Imaging Institute, Cleveland Clinic, 9500 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, OH, USA.

In this era, almost all healthcare workflows are digital and rely on robust institutional networks; a ransomware attack in a healthcare system can have catastrophic patient care consequences. The usual downtime processes in an institution might not address the breadth of this disruption and timelines for recovery. This article shares our lessons learned from ransomware recovery. Read More

Nat Hazards (Dordr) 2021 Jun 16:1-25. Epub 2021 Jun 16.

Florida Institute for Built Environment Resilience, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA.

Research concerning the behavior of international linguistic minorities at institutions of higher education during disasters is very limited. Many international groups suffer from discrimination based on language (linguicism) during disasters-their stories are not being told, and their voices are not being heard. The main objective of our study is to develop new knowledge about disaster-related behaviors of international linguistic minorities at institutions of higher education with a view toward enhancing overall campus emergency planning. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Jun 17. Epub 2021 Jun 17.

Nanjing Hydraulic Research Institute, Nanjing, 210029, Jiangsu, China.

To reduce losses from the various disasters, regional water security evaluation and risk control model is studied. The model is built upon different kinds of indices in water security system, proceeding from the whole structure and its parts of evaluation, forewarning and decision making analysis. Based on China's national conditions, this study firstly advances an evaluation index system of regional water security, which includes three subsystems of water resource security, water environment security, and water disaster control security. Read More

Kidney Int Rep 2021 Jun 10. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.

Health Promot Int 2021 Jun 13. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

Faculty of the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities, Australian Centre for Health Engagement, Evidence and Values (ACHEEV), University of Wollongong, Northfields Ave., Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.

During disasters, the behaviour of pet owners and of pets themselves may compromise the ability of emergency responders to perform their duties safely. Furthermore, pet loss can have deleterious effects on personal and community recovery. To explore these issues and their implications for health promotion and disaster management practice, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 27 emergency responders in Australia, where disaster policy embraces shared responsibility yet does not acknowledge pets. Read More

Environ Monit Assess 2021 Jun 13;193(7):420. Epub 2021 Jun 13.

Faculty of Architecture and Engineering, Department of City and Regional Planning, İzmir Katip Çelebi University, İzmir, Turkey.

In addition to several negative environmental effects, climate change, which reduces bioclimatic comfort levels especially in urban areas, also has economic implications, especially in cities where the economic structure is tourism-oriented. Considering most of the tourism practices are based on outdoor activities in cities such as Antalya, it is of great importance to determine bioclimatic comfort level as well as the attitudes of people toward climate change who live in those conditions to be able to take proper precautions in terms of tourism and urban planning. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to reveal the bioclimatic comfort conditions of Antalya city center, and a comprehensive questionnaire was conducted with the people living in the area questioning the opinions on reasons and consequences of climate change, perceivable effects of climate change in Antalya, and suggestions to prevent or reduce the adverse effects. Read More

Value Health Reg Issues 2021 Jun 10;26:66-74. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

School of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, England, UK.

Objectives: In 2015, a dam collapsed at Samarco iron ore mine in the municipality of Mariana, Brazil, and contaminated more than 600 km of watercourses and destroyed almost 1600 acres of vegetation. Nineteen people died and more than 600 families lost their homes. This study aimed to estimate health-related quality of life (HRQoL) losses owing to this disaster. Read More

Front Public Health 2021 25;9:695143. Epub 2021 May 25.

Faculty of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, University of Balochistan Quetta, Quetta, Pakistan.

In addition to the psychiatric and societal misery, terrorism places an exceptional burden while delivering healthcare services. Accordingly, a responsive and well-prepared healthcare system ensures effective management of terrorism-related events. Within this context, with a strong historic grounding in addressing situations of societal crisis nurses are well-placed in contributing to the global arena of humanitarian policy and social research. Read More

J Am Coll Surg 2021 Jun 2. Epub 2021 Jun 2.

Istanbul University, Istanbul Faculty of Medicine, Department of Anesthesiology and Reanimation. Electronic address:

Background: High scores in Medically Necessary, Time-sensitive (MeNTS) scoring system, used for elective surgical prioritization during Coronavirus Disease 2019 pandemic, are assumed to be associated with worse outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the MeNTS scoring system in patients undergoing elective surgery during restricted capacity of our institution with or without moderate or severe postoperative complications.

Study Design: In this prospective observational study, MeNTS scores of patients undergoing elective operations during May-June 2020 were calculated. Read More

PLoS One 2021 10;16(6):e0252934. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Primorska, Izola, Slovenia.

The core competencies in disaster nursing, nurses' roles in disaster management and the potential barriers are assessed with a view to developing disaster nursing in Slovenia. Despite training and experience, many indicators show nurses are deficient in skills involving emergency and disaster-preparedness competencies. Nurses report little familiarity with disaster-planning skills, the implementation of disaster guidelines and assessment of patients subject to a disaster circumstance. Read More

Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 2021 Jun 10. Epub 2021 Jun 10.

Hainan Key Laboratory for Sustainable Utilization of Tropical Bioresource, College of Tropical Crops, Hainan University, Haikou, 570228, Hainan, China.

Toxic metals and particle pollutants in urbanized cities have significantly increased over the past few decades mainly due to rapid urbanization and unplanned infrastructure. This research aimed at estimating the concentration of toxic metals and particle pollutants and the associated risks to public health across different land-use settings including commercial area (CA), urban area (UA), residential area (RA), and industrial area (IA). A total of 47 samples for both soil and air were collected from different land-use settings of Faisalabad city in Pakistan. Read More

Soc Sci Med 2021 Jun 1;281:114084. Epub 2021 Jun 1.

Epidemiology Program, University of Delaware, 100 Discovery Blvd, Newark, DE, 19713, USA.

Background: Although increases in the prevalence of mental distress have been reported after natural disasters, less is known about the role the environment may play in mitigating posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in hurricane-impacted communities.

Aim: This study aims to investigate the extent to which concentration and perceived quality of neighborhood greenness are associated with lower levels of PTSD, along with potential mechanisms through which these effects occur.

Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional survey of individuals (N=272) from 30 Houston neighborhoods that were affected during Hurricane Harvey. Read More

PLoS One 2021 9;16(6):e0250208. Epub 2021 Jun 9.

Institute for Sociology, University of Bremen; and Leibniz Centre for Tropical Marine Research (ZMT), Bremen, Germany.

Drawing on Jakarta, Metro Manila and Singapore as case studies, we explore the paradox of slow political action in addressing subsiding land, particularly along high-density urban coastlines with empirical insights from coastal geography, geodesy analysis, geology, and urban planning. In framing land subsidence as a classic 'wicked' policy problem, and also as a hybrid geological and anthropogenic phenomenon that is unevenly experienced across urban contexts, the paper uses a three-step analysis. First, satellite-derived InSAR maps are integrated with Sentinel-1A data in order to reveal the socio-temporal variability of subsidence rates which in turn pose challenges in uniformly applying regulatory action. Read More

Environ Health Insights 2021 24;15:11786302211018390. Epub 2021 May 24.

UCL Bartlett Development Planning Unit, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK.

Background: Dust storms and their impacts on health are becoming a major public health issue. The current study examines the health impacts of dust storms around the world to provide an overview of this issue.

Method: In this systematic review, 140 relevant and authoritative English articles on the impacts of dust storms on health (up to September 2019) were identified and extracted from 28 968 articles using valid keywords from various databases (PubMed, WOS, EMBASE, and Scopus) and multiple screening steps. Read More

Sci Rep 2021 Jun 8;11(1):12079. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Research Center on Flood & Drought Disaster Reduction of the Ministry of Water Resources, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Yuyuantan South Road, Haidian District, Beijing, China.

Urban flooding can be predicted by using different modeling approaches. This study considered different methods of modeling the dynamic flow interactions between pipe systems and surface flooding in urban areas. These approaches can be divided into two categories based on surface runoff collection units. Read More

Am J Health Syst Pharm 2021 Jun 8. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Corporate Pharmacy Services, Yale New Haven Health, West Haven, CT, USA.

Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2021 Jun 8:1-13. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Professor of Emergency Medicine, Department of Emergency Medicine, Life Lion EMS, Penn State Health Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033,

Objective: COVID-19 (caused by SARS-CoV-2) is a historic pandemic severely impacting health care. This study examines its early effect on a busy academic emergency department.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of patients from an academic tertiary care Level I trauma, cardiac and stroke center's emergency department seeing an average of 54,000 adults and 21,000 pediatric patients per year. Read More

Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2021 Jun 8:1-25. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TNUSA.

Public health emergencies, including the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, highlight disproportionate impacts faced by populations with existing disparities. Concepts and terms used to describe populations disproportionately impacted in emergencies vary over time and across disciplines, but United States (U.S. Read More

Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2021 Jun 8:1-19. Epub 2021 Jun 8.

Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.

One of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is the utility of an early, flexible and rapidly deployable disease screening and detection response. The largely uncontrolled spread of the pandemic in the United States exposed a range of planning and implementation shortcomings, which if they had been in place before the pandemic emerged, may have changed the trajectory. Disease screening by detection dogs show great promise as a non-invasive, efficient, and cost-effective screening method for COVID-19 infection. Read More

Glob Environ Change 2021 May;68:102248

Department of Urban Planning and Disaster Management, Ming-Chuan University, Taiwan.

Interest in nature-based approaches for climate change adaptation in cities is growing. Whilst there is a growing field of scholarship in a European and North America setting, research on the policy and governance of urban greenspace for climate adaptation in subtropical Asia is limited. Given the different development patterns, environmental characteristics and governance arrangements in subtropical cities, plus their comparatively large population and high climate risk, this is a significant knowledge gap. Read More

Nature 2021 06;594(7863):311

Sci Total Environ 2021 Aug 10;783:147015. Epub 2021 Apr 10.

Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Bashundhara, Dhaka, Bangladesh. Electronic address:

The COVID-19 pandemic has abruptly halted the Anthropocene's ever-expanding reign for the time being. The resulting global human confinement, dubbed as the Anthropause, has created an unprecedented opportunity for us to evaluate the environmental consequences of large-scale changes in anthropogenic activities. Based on a methodical and in-depth review of related literature, this study critically evaluates the positive and negative externalities of COVID-19 induced lockdown on environmental components including air, water, noise, waste, forest, wildlife, and biodiversity. Read More

Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2021 Jun 4:1-9. Epub 2021 Jun 4.

Faculty of Health Science, Naragakuen University, Nara, Japan.

Aichi prefecture, Japan is predicted to be hit by Mega-earthquake. Aichi Prefectural Association of Midwives has been making efforts to improve disaster preparedness for pregnant women. This project aims to acquire area data of pregnant women for simulated studies of rescue activities. Read More

PLoS Pathog 2021 06 3;17(6):e1009583. Epub 2021 Jun 3.

University of New Mexico, Department of Biology and Museum of Southwestern Biology, Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States of America.

The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic reveals a major gap in global biosecurity infrastructure: a lack of publicly available biological samples representative across space, time, and taxonomic diversity. The shortfall, in this case for vertebrates, prevents accurate and rapid identification and monitoring of emerging pathogens and their reservoir host(s) and precludes extended investigation of ecological, evolutionary, and environmental associations that lead to human infection or spillover. Natural history museum biorepositories form the backbone of a critically needed, decentralized, global network for zoonotic pathogen surveillance, yet this infrastructure remains marginally developed, underutilized, underfunded, and disconnected from public health initiatives. Read More

Nature 2021 06;594(7861)

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 05 18;18(10). Epub 2021 May 18.

Department of Nursing, Research Institute for Basic Science, Hoseo University, Asan 31499, Korea.

Bioterrorism is destructive enough to cause a societal collapse, and preparation for bioterrorism is imperative. This study aims to identify the factors influencing preparedness for bioterrorism among Koreans. A total of 1050 subjects were included in the study, which were allocated according to region and age in proportion to population. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 05 17;18(10). Epub 2021 May 17.

Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC), The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.

Disasters disproportionately impact poor and marginalised populations due to greater vulnerability induced by various risk determinants, such as compromised living conditions, language barriers, and limited resources for disaster risk management. Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM) emphasises a people- and community-centred approach for building stronger capacities in communities and countries since community members are often the first responders to health emergencies and should be central to effective risk management. A key action for promoting community disaster preparedness is the provision of Health EDRM education interventions. Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 05 7;18(9). Epub 2021 May 7.

Public Health England, London SE1 8UG, UK.

In response to the increasing burden of recent health emergencies and disasters, the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners established the WHO thematic platform for health emergency and disaster risk management research network (health EDRM RN) in 2016, with the purposes of promoting global research collaboration among various stakeholders and enhancing research activities that generate evidence to manage health risks associated with all types of emergencies and disasters. With the strong support and involvement of all WHO regional offices, the health EDRM RN now works with more than 200 global experts and partners to implement its purposes. The 1st and 2nd Core Group Meetings of the health EDRM RN were held on 17-18 October 2019 and 27 November 2020, respectively, to discuss the development of a global research agenda that the health EDRM RN will focus on facilitating, promoting, synthesizing and implementing, taking into account the emergence of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (health EDRM RN research agenda). Read More

Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021 05 6;18(9). Epub 2021 May 6.

Department of Microbiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece.

Earthquake-induced tsunamis have the potential to cause extensive damage to natural and built environments and are often associated with fatalities, injuries, and infectious disease outbreaks. This review aims to examine the occurrence of respiratory infections (RIs) and to elucidate the risk factors of RI transmission following tsunamis which were induced by earthquakes in the last 20 years. Forty-seven articles were included in this review and referred to the RIs emergence following the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman, the 2009 Samoa, and the 2011 Japan earthquakes. Read More