Prehospital and disaster medicine
-
Prehosp Disaster Med · Jul 2008
Survey of hospital healthcare personnel response during a potential avian influenza pandemic: will they come to work?
In order to prepare for pandemics, it is important to assess the likelihood that hospital personnel would report to work and to identify the issues that may affect this decision. ⋯ Personnel absenteeism during a pandemic due to fear of contracting an illness may result in a significant personnel shortage. Ensuring worker confidence in adequate personal protection may be more important than financial incentives.
-
Prehosp Disaster Med · May 2008
Evaluation of manual cuff palpation to confirm proper endotracheal tube depth.
In the prehospital setting, optimal endotracheal tube (ETT) depth may be approximated using the patient's sex or height, and assessed by auscultation. Even when using these methods, the ETTs still may be placed at inappropriate depths. ⋯ Manual cuff palpation is a simple and reproducible technique that is sensitive, but nonspecific, in identifying intubations of appropriate depth.
-
Prehosp Disaster Med · May 2008
Disaster and emergency management: Canadian nurses' perceptions of preparedness on hospital front lines.
Three years following the global outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), a national, Web-based survey of Canadian nurses was conducted to assess perceptions of preparedness for disasters and access to support mechanisms, particularly for nurses in emergency and critical care units. ⋯ Canadian nurses have indicated that considerably more training and information are needed to enhance preparedness for frontline healthcare workers as important members of the response community.