Safeguarding people living in vulnerable conditions in the COVID-19 era through universal health coverage and social protection.

The COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented. The pandemic not only induced a public health crisis, but has led to severe economic, social, and educational crises. Across economies and societies, the distributional consequences of the pandemic have been uneven.

Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) Science and the CBRNE Science Medical Operations Science Support Expert (CMOSSE).

A national need is to prepare for and respond to accidental or intentional disasters categorized as chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, or explosive (CBRNE). These incidents require specific subject-matter expertise, yet have commonalities. We identify 7 core elements comprising CBRNE science that require integration for effective preparedness planning and public health and medical response and recovery.

Missed opportunities: Do states require screening of children for health conditions that interfere with learning?

Methods: Investigators reviewed websites of state departments of health and education, and legislation for all 50 states and DC. For states with mandated screenings and a required form, investigators applied structured analysis to assess HBL inclusion.

Results: No state mandated that schools require screening for all 7 HBLs.

Acts of terrorism and mass violence targeting schools : Analysis and implications for preparedness in the USA.

To enhance the preparedness of US schools to acts of terrorism and mass violence, the landscape of threats against schools must first be understood. This includes exploring the global trends of acts of terrorism against schools, as well as looking specifically at the history of terrorism and acts of mass violence against schools domestically. This paper conducts a review of two databases in order to look at the trends in acts of terrorism and mass violence carried out against schools, and provides recommendations for domestic school preparedness based on this information.

Disaster prepared: How federal funding in the USA supports health system and public health readiness.

Federal funding for health and medical preparedness in the USA has created an important foundation for preparing the health and medical systems to respond to a wide range of hazards. A declining trend in funding for these preparedness activities threatens to undo the progress that has been made over the last decade and reduce the state of readiness to respond to the health and medical impacts of disasters.

Climate Change and Health on the U.S. Gulf Coast: Public Health Adaptation is Needed to Address Future Risks.

The impacts of climate change on human health have been documented globally and in the United States. Numerous studies project greater morbidity and mortality as a result of extreme weather events and other climate-sensitive hazards. Public health impacts on the U.

The Medical Home and Care Coordination in Disaster Recovery: Hypothesis for Interventions and Research.

In postdisaster settings, health care providers encounter secondary surges of unmet primary care and mental health needs that evolve throughout disaster recovery phases. Whatever a community's predisaster adequacy of health care, postdisaster gaps are similar to those of any underserved region. We hypothesize that existing practice and evidence supporting medical homes and care coordination in primary care for the underserved provide a favorable model for improving health in disrupted communities.

Coverage of the ebola virus disease epidemic in three widely circulated United States newspapers: implications for preparedness and prevention.

Background: Widespread media attention about Ebola influences public awareness and interest, yet there is limited research on what aspects of Ebola have and have not been communicated through the media.

Methods: We examined the nature and extent of coverage about Ebola in the three most widely circulated United States (U.S.

Disaster medicine and public health preparedness of health professions students: a multidisciplinary assessment of knowledge, confidence, and attitudes.

Objective: This study assessed disaster medicine knowledge and competence and perceived self-efficacy and motivation for disaster response among medical, nursing, and dental students.

Methods: Survey methodology was used to evaluate knowledge, comfort, perceived competency, and motivation. Also, a nonresponder survey was used to control for responder bias.

Medical planning and response for a nuclear detonation: a practical guide.

This article summarizes major points from a newly released guide published online by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The article reviews basic principles about radiation and its measurement, short-term and long-term effects of radiation, and medical countermeasures as well as essential information about how to prepare for and respond to a nuclear detonation. A link is provided to the manual itself, which in turn is heavily referenced for readers who wish to have more detail.

Medical response to a nuclear detonation: creating a playbook for state and local planners and responders.

For efficient and effective medical responses to mass casualty events, detailed advanced planning is required. For federal responders, this is an ongoing responsibility. The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) prepares playbooks with formal, written plans that are reviewed, updated, and exercised regularly.

Health care system planning for and response to a nuclear detonation.

The hallmark of a successful response to a nuclear detonation will be the resilience of the community, region, and nation. An incident of this magnitude will rapidly become a national incident; however, the initial critical steps to reduce lives lost, save the lives that can be saved with the resources available, and understand and apply resources available to a complex and dynamic situation will be the responsibility of the local and regional responders and planners. Expectations of the public health and health care systems will be met to the extent possible by coordination, cooperation, and an effort to produce as consistent a response as possible for the victims.

Rural and suburban population surge following detonation of an improvised nuclear device: a new model to estimate impact.

Background: The objective of the study was to model urban evacuation into surrounding communities after the detonation of an improvised nuclear device (IND) to assist rural and suburban planners in understanding and effectively planning to address the effects of population surges.

Methods: Researchers developed parameters for how far evacuees would travel to escape disasters and factors that would influence choice of destination from studies of historical evacuations, surveys of citizens' evacuation intentions in hypothetical disasters, and semistructured interviews with key informants and emergency preparedness experts. Those parameters became the inputs to a "push-pull" model of how many people would flee in the 4 scenarios and where they would go.

Children as bellwethers of recovery: dysfunctional systems and the effects of parents, households, and neighborhoods on serious emotional disturbance in children after Hurricane Katrina.

Background: Over 160,000 children were displaced from their homes after Hurricane Katrina. Tens of thousands of these children experienced the ongoing chaos and uncertainty of displacement and transiency, as well as significant social disruptions in their lives. The objectives of this study were to estimate the long-term mental health effects of such exposure among children, and to elucidate the systemic pathways through which the disaster effect operates.

Health care savings attributable to integrating guidelines-based asthma care in the pediatric medical home.

Objective: To estimate savings to health care system of a best-practice asthma intervention in primary care for inner-city children.

Methods: Data were analyzed from National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Guidelines-based initial (n=244) and follow-up (n=202) asthma assessments of patients who received enhanced treatment in primary care. Savings were calculated using cost-of-illness model and compared with program cost.

Mitigating absenteeism in hospital workers during a pandemic.

Objectives: An influenza pandemic, as with any disaster involving contagion or contamination, has the potential to influence the number of health care employees who will report for duty. Our project assessed the uptake of proposed interventions to mitigate absenteeism in hospital workers during a pandemic.

Methods: Focus groups were followed by an Internet-based survey of a convenience sample frame of 17,000 hospital workers across 5 large urban facilities.

Prevalence and predictors of mental health distress post-Katrina: findings from the Gulf Coast Child and Family Health Study.

Background: Catastrophic disasters often are associated with massive structural, economic, and population devastation; less understood are the long-term mental health consequences. This study measures the prevalence and predictors of mental health distress and disability of hurricane survivors over an extended period of recovery in a postdisaster setting.

Methods: A representative sample of 1077 displaced or greatly affected households was drawn in 2006 using a stratified cluster sampling of federally subsidized emergency housing settings in Louisiana and Mississippi, and of Mississippi census tracts designated as having experienced major damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005.