scholarly journals Responder Safety, Tracking, and Resilience — Georgia, 2016 –2017

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Grippo ◽  
Laura Edison ◽  
Karl Soetebier ◽  
Cherie Drenzek
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Health Checks ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Centers For Disease Control ◽  
Health Districts ◽  
Hurricane Irma

ObjectiveTo better understand the importance of monitoring responders during public health emergencies and to learn how the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) developed and deployed an electronic responder monitoring tool.IntroductionDuring an emergency, the state of Georgia depends on public health staff and volunteers to respond. It is imperative that staff are safe before, during and after deployment. Emergency response workers must be protected from the hazardous conditions that disasters and other emergencies create1. In October 2016 and September 2017, Hurricanes Matthew and Irma caused widespread evacuation of Georgia residents, initiating a tremendous sheltering effort. Hundreds of public health responders were deployed to assist with sheltering and other aspects of the response. DPH rapidly developed a novel electronic Responder Safety, Tracking and Resilience module, which was used to track public health responders and monitor their health and safety while deployed.MethodsDPH rapidly developed a novel electronic Responder Safety, Tracking, and Resilience module (R-STaR), within the existing State Electronic Notifiable Disease Surveillance System to monitor the health and safety of responders. R-STaR was originally used during Hurricane Matthew, where it was launched the day of the storm, and was launched again four days before Hurricane Irma made landfall. Responders were emailed a web-based link to register, indicating demographic information, contact information, work location, subject area, vaccination status, and whether they considered themselves mentally and physically fit to deploy. Responders then received a daily email with a link to document their daily deployment location, duties, and whether they had any hazardous exposures, illness, or injuries while deployed. A post-deployment survey was sent to responders after Hurricane Matthew to solicit feedback about the responder safety module.ResultsDuring Hurricane Matthew, 128 responders representing 11 Georgia Public Health Districts registered in R-STaR. Seven responders reported illness or injury and were contacted to determine if medical services were needed; all remained healthy post-deployment. During Hurricane Irma, 1240 responders representing DPH and 16 Public Health Districts, and other employers, including law enforcement, fire, and education, registered in R-STaR. Of 472 responders completing daily health checks during their Irma deployment, 48 reported an injury, illness, or exposure, and were contacted to determine if services were needed. The daily health checks led to the identification of an outbreak of influenza in one of the shelters and resulted in vaccination or antiviral prophylaxis administration to 76 responders. Fifty responders to Hurricane Matthew completed the post-deployment survey; 95% found R-STaR easy to use, and 92% indicated that they liked being monitored. Supervisors indicated that the module could be used to: 1) roster and credential responders prior to an event; 2) track where responders are, monitor their health and safety during an event, and quantify the human resources deployed during a declared emergency; and, 3) to distribute post-response responder resources, monitor responder health, and gather information for after-action reports.ConclusionsR-STaR was widely used and well received despite being implemented with no prior training, with a dramatic increase in the number of responders registering from the first implementation in 2016 to the second implementation in September 2017. Monitoring responder health and safety is crucial to responding to and preventing outbreaks during a response, and ensuring responders get appropriate mental and physical support after a deployment. Lessons learned from both events will be used to create a just-in-time training curriculum, and develop a more robust R-STaR, which will enable responder rostering, credentialing, tracking and monitoring before, during, and after an event to ensure the health and safety of our responders as well as for future planning.References1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2017). EMERGENCY RESPONDER HEALTH MONITORING AND SURVEILLANCE (ERHMS). Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/erhms/default.html.

Communications and Politics

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua M. Sharfstein
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Accurate Information ◽  
Political Judgment ◽  
Political Leaders ◽  
Health Crisis ◽  
Public Health Crisis ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Public Health Officials ◽  
Centers For Disease Control

An effective communications approach starts with a basic dictum set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Be first, be right, be credible.” Agencies must establish themselves as vital sources of accurate information to maintain the public’s trust. At the same time, public health officials must recognize that communications play out in the context of ideological debates, electoral rivalries, and other political considerations. During a public health crisis, this means that health officials often need to constructively engage political leaders in communications and management. Navigating these waters in the middle of a crisis can be treacherous. Figuring out the best way to engage elected leaders is a core aspect of political judgment.

scholarly journals Executive Summary: Official American Thoracic Society/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention/Infectious Diseases Society of America Clinical Practice Guidelines: Treatment of Drug-Susceptible Tuberculosis

2016 ◽  
Vol 63 (7) ◽  
pp. 853-867 ◽  
Author(s):  
Payam Nahid ◽  
Susan E. Dorman ◽  
Narges Alipanah ◽  
Pennan M. Barry ◽  
Jan L. Brozek ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
American Thoracic Society ◽  
World Health ◽  
Evaluation Methodology ◽  
Diagnostic Tools ◽  
Expert Committee ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Centers For Disease Control

Abstract The American Thoracic Society, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Infectious Diseases Society of America jointly sponsored the development of this guideline for the treatment of drug-susceptible tuberculosis, which is also endorsed by the European Respiratory Society and the US National Tuberculosis Controllers Association. Representatives from the American Academy of Pediatrics, the Canadian Thoracic Society, the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease, and the World Health Organization also participated in the development of the guideline. This guideline provides recommendations on the clinical and public health management of tuberculosis in children and adults in settings in which mycobacterial cultures, molecular and phenotypic drug susceptibility tests, and radiographic studies, among other diagnostic tools, are available on a routine basis. For all recommendations, literature reviews were performed, followed by discussion by an expert committee according to the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation methodology. Given the public health implications of prompt diagnosis and effective management of tuberculosis, empiric multidrug treatment is initiated in almost all situations in which active tuberculosis is suspected. Additional characteristics such as presence of comorbidities, severity of disease, and response to treatment influence management decisions. Specific recommendations on the use of case management strategies (including directly observed therapy), regimen and dosing selection in adults and children (daily vs intermittent), treatment of tuberculosis in the presence of HIV infection (duration of tuberculosis treatment and timing of initiation of antiretroviral therapy), as well as treatment of extrapulmonary disease (central nervous system, pericardial among other sites) are provided. The development of more potent and better-tolerated drug regimens, optimization of drug exposure for the component drugs, optimal management of tuberculosis in special populations, identification of accurate biomarkers of treatment effect, and the assessment of new strategies for implementing regimens in the field remain key priority areas for research. See the full-text online version of the document for detailed discussion of the management of tuberculosis and recommendations for practice.

Communicating Public Health Preparedness Information to Pregnant and Postpartum Women: An Assessment of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web Pages

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 134-137
Author(s):  
Brianna McDonough ◽  
Elizabeth Felter ◽  
Amia Downes ◽  
Jeanette Trauth
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Postpartum Women ◽  
Web Pages ◽  
Low Literacy ◽  
Public Health Preparedness ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Centers For Disease Control

AbstractPregnant and postpartum women have special needs during public health emergencies but often have inadequate levels of disaster preparedness. Thus, improving maternal emergency preparedness is a public health priority. More research is needed to identify the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to how preparedness information is communicated to these women. A sample of web pages from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention intended to address the preparedness needs of pregnant and postpartum populations was examined for suitability for this audience. Five of the 7 web pages examined were considered adequate. One web page was considered not suitable and one the raters split between not suitable and adequate. None of the resources examined were considered superior. If these resources are considered some of the best available to pregnant and postpartum women, more work is needed to improve the suitability of educational resources, especially for audiences with low literacy and low incomes. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:134-137)

scholarly journals The Necessity to Keep Taking Health Protocols in People Receiving the Covid-19 Vaccine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mina Aghaei ◽  
Masud Yunesian
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
The World ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Centers For Disease Control

Although the vaccination has begun in many countries around the world, experts declare that there is a long way to go in coronavirus battle, and it will take a long time for the vaccine to have a significant effect.  Therefore many questions have arisen about “the necessity to keep taking health protocols” and “how long does it take for people to return to normal activities and reduce or even abandon health protocols after receiving the Covid-19 vaccine”. According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and prevention) reports, significant immunity is expected to occur approximately 2 weeks after receiving the second dose of the vaccine, however getting the vaccine does not mean the end of public health and preventive measures, and all full vaccinated people need to keep taking all health protocols and precautions for the reasons discussed in this letter to editor.

scholarly journals Presenting or Spinning Facts? Deconstructing the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Statement on the Importance of Reopening Schools Under COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Habib Benzian ◽  
Marilyn Johnston ◽  
Nicole Stauf ◽  
Richard Niederman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
Public Perception ◽  
Political Influence ◽  
Analysis Tool ◽  
Word Choice ◽  
The Public ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Centers For Disease Control ◽  
The U.S

Credible, reliable and consistent information to the public, as well as health professionals and decision makers, is crucial to help navigate uncertainty and risk in times of crisis and concern. Traditionally, information and health communications issued by respected and established government agencies have been regarded as factual, unbiased and credible. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is such an agency that addresses all aspects of health and public health on behalf of the U.S Government for the benefit of its citizens. In July 2020, the CDC issued guidelines on reopening schools which resulted in open criticism by the U.S. President and others, prompting a review and publication of revised guidelines together with a special “Statement on the Importance of Reopening Schools under COVID-19.” We hypothesize that this statement introduced bias with the intention to shift the public perception and media narrative in favor of reopening of schools. Using a mixed methods approach, including an online text analysis tool, we demonstrate that document title and structure, word frequencies, word choice, and website presentation did not provide a balanced account of the complexity and uncertainty surrounding school reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite available scientific guidance and practical evidence-based advice on how to manage infection risks when reopening schools, the CDC Statement was intentionally overriding possible parent and public health concerns. The CDC Statement provides an example of how political influence is exercised over the presentation of science in the context of a major pandemic. It was withdrawn by the CDC in November 2020.

scholarly journals Understanding the Public Discussion About the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention During the COVID-19 Pandemic Using Twitter Data: Text Mining Analysis Study

10.2196/25108 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. e25108
Author(s):  
Joanne Chen Lyu ◽  
Garving K Luli
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disease Control ◽  
The United States ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Public Discussion ◽  
The Public ◽  
Twitter Data ◽  
The World ◽  
Control And Prevention ◽  
Centers For Disease Control

Background The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is a national public health protection agency in the United States. With the escalating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on society in the United States and around the world, the CDC has become one of the focal points of public discussion. Objective This study aims to identify the topics and their overarching themes emerging from the public COVID-19-related discussion about the CDC on Twitter and to further provide insight into public's concerns, focus of attention, perception of the CDC's current performance, and expectations from the CDC. Methods Tweets were downloaded from a large-scale COVID-19 Twitter chatter data set from March 11, 2020, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic, to August 14, 2020. We used R (The R Foundation) to clean the tweets and retain tweets that contained any of five specific keywords—cdc, CDC, centers for disease control and prevention, CDCgov, and cdcgov—while eliminating all 91 tweets posted by the CDC itself. The final data set included in the analysis consisted of 290,764 unique tweets from 152,314 different users. We used R to perform the latent Dirichlet allocation algorithm for topic modeling. Results The Twitter data generated 16 topics that the public linked to the CDC when they talked about COVID-19. Among the topics, the most discussed was COVID-19 death counts, accounting for 12.16% (n=35,347) of the total 290,764 tweets in the analysis, followed by general opinions about the credibility of the CDC and other authorities and the CDC's COVID-19 guidelines, with over 20,000 tweets for each. The 16 topics fell into four overarching themes: knowing the virus and the situation, policy and government actions, response guidelines, and general opinion about credibility. Conclusions Social media platforms, such as Twitter, provide valuable databases for public opinion. In a protracted pandemic, such as COVID-19, quickly and efficiently identifying the topics within the public discussion on Twitter would help public health agencies improve the next-round communication with the public.

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