Disaster medicine and public health preparedness
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Oct 2016
ReviewTools and Checklists Used for the Evaluation of Hospital Disaster Preparedness: A Systematic Review.
Hospitals need to be fully operative during disasters. It is therefore essential to be able to evaluate hospital preparedness. However, there is no consensus of a standardized, comprehensive and reliable tool with which to measure hospital preparedness. ⋯ Fifteen articles fulfilled the criteria of relevance and considered at least 1 of the 14 predetermined themes. None of the evaluated checklists and tools included all dimensions required for an appropriate hospital preparedness evaluation. The results of the current systematic review could be used as a basis for designing an evaluation tool for hospital disaster preparedness. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 8).
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Oct 2016
Yemen's Unprecedented Humanitarian Crisis: Implications for International Humanitarian Law, the Geneva Convention, and the Future of Global Health Security.
The current humanitarian crisis in Yemen is unprecedented in many ways. The Yemeni War tragedy is symptomatic of gross failures to recognize, by combatants, existing humanitarian law and the Geneva Convention that have become the new norm in unconventional armed conflicts and are increasingly replicated in Africa, Afghanistan, and other areas of the Middle East with dire consequences on aid workers and the noncombatant population. The health and humanitarian professions must take collective responsibility in calling for all belligerent parties to cease the massacre and commit to guaranteed medical assistance, humanitarian aid, and the free flow of information and respect for the humanitarian principles that protect the neutrality and impartiality of the humanitarian workforce. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 3).
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Oct 2016
Zika Virus: A Basic Overview of an Emerging Arboviral Infection in the Western Hemisphere.
Since February 2015, Zika virus has spread throughout the Western Hemisphere, starting in Brazil. As of March 2016, autochthonous transmission has been reported in at least 31 countries or territories. ⋯ This article provides an overview of the Zika virus infection and presents the historical background of the virus, a description of the pathogen, the epidemiology and clinical spectrum of Zika virus infection, diagnosis and treatment approaches, and prevention and control measures. Understanding what is known about the virus and its clinical presentation will assist in prevention, detection, and response measures to reduce and control the spread of the virus throughout the Western Hemisphere. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 6).