scholarly journals Defining Roles for Pharmacy Personnel in Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 496-504 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Alkhalili ◽  
Janice Ma ◽  
Sylvain Grenier
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Medical Supplies ◽  
Emergency Event ◽  
Emergency Events ◽  
Future Work

AbstractOngoing provision of pharmaceuticals and medical supplies is of key importance during and following a disaster or other emergency event. An effectively coordinated response involving locally available pharmacy personnel—drawing upon the efforts of licensed pharmacists and unlicensed support staff—can help to mitigate harms and alleviate hardship in a community after emergency events. However, pharmacists and their counterparts generally receive limited training in disaster medicine and emergency preparedness as part of their initial qualifications, even in countries with well-developed professional education programs. Pharmacy efforts have also traditionally focused on medical supply activities, more so than on general emergency preparedness. To facilitate future work between pharmacy personnel on an international level, our team undertook an extensive review of the published literature describing pharmacists’ experiences in responding to or preparing for both natural and manmade disasters. In addition to identifying key activities that must be performed, we have developed a classification scheme for pharmacy personnel. We believe that this framework will enable pharmacy personnel working in diverse practice settings to identify and undertake essential actions that are necessary to ensure an effective emergency response and will promote better collaboration between pharmacy team members during actual disaster situations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:496–504)

Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response: There’s An App for That

2015 ◽  
Vol 30 (5) ◽  
pp. 486-490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Bachmann ◽  
Nathan K. Jamison ◽  
Andrew Martin ◽  
Jose Delgado ◽  
Nicholas E. Kman
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Value Relevance ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Smartphone Applications ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Lay Public

AbstractIntroductionSmartphone applications (or apps) are becoming increasingly popular with emergency responders and health care providers, as well as the public as a whole. There are thousands of medical apps available for Smartphones and tablet computers, with more added each day. These include apps to view textbooks, guidelines, medication databases, medical calculators, and radiology images.Hypothesis/ProblemWith an ever expanding catalog of apps that relate to disaster medicine, it is hard for both the lay public and responders to know where to turn for effective Smartphone apps. A systematic review of these apps was conducted.MethodsA search of the Apple iTunes store (Version 12; Apple Inc.; Cupertino, California USA) was performed using the following terms obtained from the PubMed Medical Subject Headings Database: Emergency Preparedness, Emergency Responders, Disaster, Disaster Planning, Disaster Medicine, Bioterrorism, Chemical Terrorism, Hazardous Materials (HazMat), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). After excluding any unrelated apps, a working list of apps was formed and categorized based on topics. Apps were grouped based on applicability to responders, the lay public, or regional preparedness, and were then ranked based on iTunes user reviews, value, relevance to audience, and user interface.ResultsThis search revealed 683 applications and was narrowed to 219 based on relevance to the field. After grouping the apps as described above, and subsequently ranking them, the highest quality apps were determined from each group. The Community Emergency Response Teams and FEMA had the best apps for National Disaster Medical System responders. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) had high-quality apps for emergency responders in a variety of fields. The National Library of Medicine’s Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER) app was an excellent app for HazMat responders. The American Red Cross had the most useful apps for natural disasters. Numerous valuable apps for public use, including alert apps, educational apps, and a well-made regional app, were also identified.ConclusionSmartphone applications are fast becoming essential to emergency responders and the lay public. Many high-quality apps existing in various price ranges and serving different populations were identified. This field is changing rapidly and it deserves continued analysis as more apps are developed.BachmannDJ, JamisonNK, MartinA, DelgadoJ, KmanNE. Emergency preparedness and disaster response: there’s an app for that. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(5):1–5.

Learning Outcome Measurement in Nurse Participants After Disaster Training

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 728-733
Author(s):  
Sharon L. Farra ◽  
Sherrill Smith ◽  
Marie A Bashaw
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Homeland Security ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Outcome Measurement ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Learning Framework ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Disaster Training ◽  
National Disaster

AbstractObjectiveThe National Disaster Health Consortium is an interprofessional disaster training program. Using the Hierarchical Learning Framework of Competency Sets in Disaster Medicine and Public Health, this program educates nurses and other professionals to provide competent care and leadership within the interprofessional team. This study examined outcomes of this training.MethodsTraining consisted of a combination of online and on-site training. Learning outcomes were measured by using the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) pre/post training and participant performance during live functional exercises with the use of rubrics based on Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation principles.ResultsA total of 64 participants completed the EPIQ before and after training. The mean EPIQ pre-training score of 154 and mean post-training score of 81 (reverse-scored) was found to be statistically significant by paired t-test (P<0.001). Performance was evaluated in the areas of triage, re-triage, surge response, and sheltering. Greater than 90% of the exercise criteria were either met or partially met. Participants successfully achieved overall objectives in all scenarios.ConclusionsDisaster response requires nurses and other providers to function in interprofessional teams. Educational projects, like the National Disaster Health Consortium program, offer the potential to address the need for a standardized, interprofessional disaster training curriculum to promote positive outcomes. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 6)

Anatomy of Mine Rescue Teams’ Casualty Incidents: A Basis for Medical Emergency Preparedness and Injury Prevention

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 695-699
Author(s):  
Leilei Li ◽  
Deyong Guo ◽  
Yi Wang ◽  
Ke Wang ◽  
Runan Lian
Keyword(s):  
Injury Prevention ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Medical Emergency ◽  
Personal Factors ◽  
Rescue Work ◽  
Team Members ◽  
Medical Teams ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Mine Rescue

ABSTRACTObjectiveMine rescue teams bear a high risk of injury. To improve medical emergency preparedness and injury prevention, this work analyzed the causes and severity of mine rescue teams’ casualty incidents, the primary injuries, and the link between the causes and the occurrences of the casualty incidents.MethodsA total of 81 cases from 1953 to 2013 were used to analyze the casualty incidents of mine rescue teams based on the frequency of accidents. A panel with 4 rescue experts was set up to ensure the accuracy of the analysis.ResultsThe 81 casualty incidents occurred in 7 types of rescue work and were due to 6 causes. Organizational and personal factors were the leading cause, followed by rescue skill and equipment factors. Problems with decision-making and command have gradually become the primary inducement of casualty incidents in recent years, with an average death toll reaching up to 6 to 7 people. The main injuries causing death to team members were blast injury, burns, poisoning, suffocation, blunt trauma, and overwork injury. Some of the injured died because of medical emergency response failure.ConclusionThe construction of emergency medical teams and the preparedness of disaster medicine need to be improved to reduce the mortality of the injured team members. Actions according to the causes of casualty incidents should be adopted for injury prevention. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:695–699)

Benchmarking emergency preparedness and response practices in the process industry

2005 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nir Keren ◽  
Harry H. West ◽  
M. Sam Mannan
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Chemical Plant ◽  
Control Measures ◽  
Process Industry ◽  
Process Safety ◽  
Loss Of Control ◽  
Emergency Event ◽  
Emergency Preparedness And Response

Process safety of a chemical plant encompasses several layers of protection. Control measures, shutdown systems, release absorption, accumulation of releases by dikes, and protection by barriers are layers of protection that are intended to prevent the development of an event. Emergency response is the next line of defense to control an event or, in case of loss of control, to minimize the consequences. However, a reliable response to an emergency event requires planning. This paper presents results of a benchmarking study of practices of emergency preparedness and response of 15 facilities in the process industry.

New Zealand ShakeOut exercise: lessons learned by schools

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 550-563 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karlene S. Tipler ◽  
Ruth A. Tarrant ◽  
David M. Johnston ◽  
Keith F. Tuffin
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Content Type ◽  
School Based ◽  
Emergency Events ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify lessons learned by schools from their involvement in the 2012 New Zealand ShakeOut nationwide earthquake drill. Design/methodology/approach – The results from a survey conducted with 514 schools were collated to identify the emergency preparedness lessons learned by schools through their participation in the ShakeOut exercise. Findings – Key findings indicated that: schools were likely to do more than the minimum when presented with a range of specific emergency preparedness activities; drills for emergency events require specific achievement objectives to be identified in order to be most effective in preparing schools; and large-scale initiatives, such as the ShakeOut exercise, encourage schools and students to engage in emergency preparedness activities. Practical implications – Based on the findings, six recommendations are made to assist schools to develop effective emergency response procedures. Originality/value – The present study contributes to the ongoing efforts of emergency management practitioners and academics to enhance the efficacy of school-based preparedness activities and to, ultimately, increase overall community resilience.

Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response: There’s an App for That 2.0

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Kyle J. McAtee ◽  
Robert Bedenbaugh ◽  
Dorothy (Christie) Lakis ◽  
Daniel J. Bachmann ◽  
Nicholas E. Kman
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
First Responders ◽  
Clinical Decision ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Medical Subject Headings ◽  
Google Play

Abstract Introduction: In disaster response, smartphone applications (or apps) are being used by the layperson, emergency first responders, and health care providers to aid in everything from incident reporting to clinical decision making. However, quality apps are often diluted by the overwhelming number of apps that exist for both the lay public and first responders in the Apple iTunes (Apple Inc.; Cupertino, California USA) and Google Play (Google LLC; Mountain View, California USA) stores. Hypothesis/Problem: A systematic review of disaster response apps was originally completed in 2015; a follow-up review was completed here to evaluate trends and explore novel apps. Methods: A search of the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores was performed using the following terms obtained from PubMed (National Center for Biotechnology Information; Bethesda, Maryland USA) Medical Subject Headings Database: Emergency Preparedness; Emergency Responders; Disaster; Disaster Planning; Disaster Medicine; Bioterrorism; Chemical Terrorism; Hazardous Materials; and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA [Washington, DC USA]). After excluding any unrelated apps, a working list of apps was formed and categorized based on topics. Apps were categorized by intended user (first responders or the public) and sub-categorized by topic for discussion. Sub-categories included News/Information, Reference/Education, Weather/Natural Disasters, Travel/Navigation, and Communication/Reunification. Results: A search of the Apple iTunes store revealed 394 unique apps and was narrowed to 342 based on relevance to the field and availability on the iPhone. A search of the Google Play store yielded 645 unique applications and was narrowed to 634 based on relevance. Of note, 49 apps appeared in both app stores using the search terms. An aggregate 927 apps from the Apple iTunes and Google Play stores were then critically reviewed by the authors. Apps were sub-categorized based on intended audience, layperson or first responder, and sorted into one of five disaster response categories. Two apps were chosen for discussion from each of the five sub-categories. The highest quality apps were determined from each group based on relevance to emergency preparedness and disaster response, rating, and number of reviews. Conclusion: After comparisons with the 2015 article, many new apps have been developed and previously described apps have been updated, highlighting that this is a constantly changing field deserving of continued analysis and research.

scholarly journals (A333) The Potential use of Social Media in Animal Emergency Response

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s93-s94
Author(s):  
H. Case
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Animal Shelter ◽  
Medical Response ◽  
Emergency Preparedness And Response

Social networking has been utilized for information sharing and communication since the beginning of time. Current communication technology allows for rapid information sharing across social networks through the increased utilization of social media—Facebook, Twitter, Flickr etc. Social media tools have been used increasingly in recent emergency response efforts including the response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti and the BP oil spill in the US Gulf Coast. Veterinarians have been engaged in emergency preparedness and response activities for many years. The American Veterinary Medical Association founded in 1863 and representing approximately 83% of United States veterinarians and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation, established by the AVMA in 1963, have been active in emergency preparedness and response including the development of a world class veterinary disaster response program (VMAT) since 1993. Animals and humans share a special bond in the United States. According to the 2007 AVMA U.S. Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook there are 72 million dogs, 81.7 million cats, 11.2 million birds and 7.3 million horses in U.S. households. Approximately 60 percent of all U.S. households own at least one pet and 64 percent own more than one pet. Following Hurricane Katrina in 2005 thousands of animals received veterinary medical care at the Lamar Dixon Animal Shelter in Baton Rouge, LA. Social networking was utilized by responders to obtain supplies yet current social media capabilities were not utilized to enhance veterinary medical response and care at the largest disaster animal shelter in US history. Several challenges (volunteer management, lack of veterinary supplies, and referral of critical veterinary patients etc.) in veterinary disaster response could be met through utilization of targeted social media messaging. Social media has the potential to enhance the efficiency and quality of disaster veterinary medical response now and into the future.

Driver Response Times to Side Road Path Intrusions from SHRP-2 Naturalistic Database

2020 ◽  
Vol 64 (1) ◽  
pp. 1525-1529
Author(s):  
Swaroop Dinakar ◽  
Jeffrey Muttart ◽  
Jeffrey Suway ◽  
J.S. Forensics ◽  
Jim Marr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Response Times ◽  
Driver Behavior ◽  
The Other ◽  
Response Behavior ◽  
Driver Response ◽  
Emergency Events ◽  
Behavior Systems

In an age where all major manufacturers are trying to get a better understanding of when an emergency response should be triggered, it becomes imperative to learn how humans respond to emergency events. If one can understand driver behavior, systems can be designed around the user to either assist drivers where they fail to perform well or completely eliminate them from the accident avoidance maneuver. In this study, 169 crash and near crash events from the SHRP2 dataset were analyzed. The response behavior of drivers was measured in events where the through drivers’ path was intruded upon by another vehicle perpendicular to its path. Overall, drivers responded significantly faster when the other vehicle failed to stop, and at intersection locations.

scholarly journals Responding to unforeseen disasters in a large health system

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan J Hannan ◽  
Margaret K Lundholm ◽  
Dennis Brierton ◽  
Noelle R M Chapman
Keyword(s):  
Supply Chain ◽  
Health System ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Strategic Decision ◽  
Pharmacy Services ◽  
Efficient System ◽  
Team Members

Abstract Purpose To describe how health systems may respond to sudden changes in operations by leveraging existing resources and to share one organization’s experience responding to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. Summary In a health system based in Illinois and Wisconsin, pharmacy services are provided by a single, integrated department responsible for all aspects of pharmaceutical care within the organization. Hospital, retail, ambulatory care, and population health services are all managed under one leadership team. All pertinent ancillary services are also managed within the department, including informatics, supply chain, and drug policy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the pharmacy services leadership has successfully managed volume and capacity challenges by redirecting resources to where they are needed. A disaster response framework based on Federal Emergency Management Agency guidance was put in place, and change management principles were used to rapidly operationalize change. Components of the nimble response have included quickly increasing capacity, thoughtful and timely communication to all team members, strategic decision making with available data, creating an agile pool of labor, and maintaining an efficient system supply chain. Well-being and resilience are emphasized alongside reflection on lessons learned. Some changes made in the urgent response to the pandemic are being considered for long-term implementation. Conclusion Organizations have the potential to respond to almost any situation if they are integrated and teams work together to build flexibility. The keys to success are thoughtful maximization of existing resources and strong communication.

scholarly journals (P1-54) Healthcare Worker's Perception towards Individual and Institution Disaster Preparedness

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s116-s116
Author(s):  
G.H. Lim
Keyword(s):  
Family Support ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Response Training ◽  
The Family ◽  
Training Opportunities ◽  
H1n1 Outbreak

Background and AimDisaster and MCI events are occurrences that healthcare institutions must be prepared to respond to at all times. The events of September 11 2001 have rekindled our attention to this aspect of preparedness amongst our healthcare institutions. In Singapore, the SARS experience in 2003 and the recent H1N1 outbreak have thrust emergency preparedness further into the limelight. While priorities had been re-calibrated, we feel that we still lack far behind in our level of preparedness. This study is conducted to understand the perception of our healthcare workers towards their individual and the institution preparedness towards a disaster incident.MethodA questionnaire survey was done for this study for the doctors, nurses and allied health workers in our hospital. Questions measuring perception of disaster preparedness for themselves, their colleagues and that of the institution were asked. This was done using a 5-point likert scale.ResultsThe study was conducted over a 2-month period from 1st August 2010 till 30th September 2010. 1534 healthcare workers participated in the study. 75.3% felt that the institution is ready to respond to a disaster incident; but only 36.4% felt that they were ready. 12.6% had previous experience in disaster response. They were more likely to be ready to respond to future incidents (p = 0.00). Factors that influenced perception of readiness included leadership (p = 0.00), disaster drills (p = 0.02), access to disaster plans (p = 0.04), family support. 80.7% were willing to participate in future disaster incident response training. 74.5% felt that being able to respond to a disaster incident constitute part of their professional competency. However, only 31% of the respondents agreed that disaster response training was readily available and only 27.8% knew where to go to look for these training opportunities.ConclusionThere is an urgent need to train the healthcare workers to enhance their capability to respond to a disaster incident. While they have confidence in the institutions capability they were not sure of their own capability. Training opportunities should be made more accessible. We should also do more to harvest the family support that these worker value in order for them to be able to perform their roles in a disaster incident.

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