Disaster medicine and public health preparedness
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Jun 2013
Information technology systems for critical care triage and medical response during an influenza pandemic: a review of current systems.
To assess local, state, federal, and global pandemic influenza preparedness by identifying pandemic plans at the local, state, federal, and global levels, and to identify any information technology (IT) systems in these plans to support critical care triage during an influenza pandemic in the Canadian province of Ontario. ⋯ Although several pandemic plans have been drafted, the majority are high-level general documents that do not describe IT systems. The plans that discuss IT systems focus strongly on surveillance, which fails to recognize the needs of a health care system responding to an influenza pandemic. The best examples of the types of IT systems to guide decision making during a pandemic were found in the Kansas and the Czech Republic pandemic plans, because these systems were designed to collect both patient and surveillance data. Although Ontario has yet to develop such an IT system, several IT systems are in place that could be leveraged to support critical care triage and medical response during an influenza pandemic.
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Apr 2013
Public expectations for nonemergency hospital resources and services during disasters.
The public's expectations of hospital services during disasters may not reflect current hospital disaster plans. The objective of this study was to determine the public's expected hospital service utilization during a pandemic, earthquake, and terrorist bombing. ⋯ Public expectations of hospitals during disasters are high, and some expectations are inappropriate. Better community disaster planning and public risk communication are needed.
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Feb 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialMental health triage tools for medically cleared disaster survivors: an evaluation by MRC volunteers and public health workers.
Psychological assessment after disasters determines which survivors are acutely distressed or medically compromised and what kind of assistance is needed (whether practical or psychological). A mental health triage tool can help direct more people to the appropriate type of help. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the Fast Mental Health Triage Tool (FMHT) and the Alsept-Price Mental Health Scale (APMHS) among public health workers and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers in conducting mental health triage. Both tools screen for ability to follow simple commands, chronic medical conditions, mental health conditions and services, occult injuries, and traumatic events in the past year. Both were designed for use in disasters where mental health resources are scarce and survivors are already medically triaged. ⋯ The incorporation of a temporal component should be evaluated for potential inclusion in existing mental health triage systems.