Disaster medicine and public health preparedness
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Jun 2009
Major influences on hospital emergency management and disaster preparedness.
The role of hospitals in the community response to disasters has received increased attention, particularly since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Hospitals must be prepared to respond to and recover from all-hazards emergencies and disasters. ⋯ Despite the different approach each group uses to assist hospitals to improve their emergency management capabilities, the initiatives reinforce one another and have resulted in increased efforts by hospitals to improve their disaster preparedness and response capabilities and community integration. The continued progress of our medical response system in all-hazard emergencies and disasters depends in large part on the future guidance and support of these 4 key institutions.
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Mar 2009
Developing consensus on appropriate standards of disaster care for children.
Neither professional consensus nor evidence exists to guide the choice of essential hospital disaster interventions. The objective of our study was to demonstrate a method for developing consensus on hospital disaster interventions that should be regarded as essential, quantitatively balancing needs and resources. ⋯ The quantitative methodology and consensus development process described in the present report may have utility in future planning. Groups with appropriate expertise must develop action plans according to authority within each jurisdiction, addressing likely disaster scenarios, according to the needs in each medical service region, using available regional resources, and accounting for the capabilities of each institution.
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Dec 2008
Comparative StudyImplementation of evidence-based humanitarian programs in military-led missions: part I. Qualitative gap analysis of current military and international aid programs.
A recent Department of Defense instruction mandates country-specific assessments, identification of interventions, and development of guidance for Department of Defense to plan, train, and prepare for the provision of humanitarian assistance in stability operations. It also directs the use of outcome-based measures of effectiveness and the establishment of processes facilitating transparency of information. Whereas this would align military-led projects closer to the standards of the international aid community, how this process will be developed and implemented within the military has not yet been determined. ⋯ This investigation shows that the Department of Defense humanitarian assistance operations are, historically, recorded without documentation using quantifiable health data identifying which aid activities contributed directly to desired outcomes or favorable public opinion, and rarely are analyzed for effectiveness. As humanitarian assistance operations assume an ever greater role in US military strategy, it is imperative that we investigate useful impact assessment models to meet mission directives and, more important, to maximize coordination in a necessarily integrated and cooperative development environment. These findings provide baseline knowledge for the implementation of an evidence-based impact assessment process to validate future Department of Defense humanitarian assistance operations.