Florida Department of Health workers' response to 2004 hurricanes: a qualitative analysis.

Objective: Examinations of the demands on public health workers after disaster exposure have been limited. Workers provide emergency care while simultaneously risking injury, damage to personal property, and threats to their own and their family's safety. We examined the disaster management experiences of 4323 Florida Department of Health workers 9 months after their response to 4 hurricanes and 1 tropical storm during a 7-week period in August and September of 2004.

Posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and alcohol and tobacco use in public health workers after the 2004 Florida hurricanes.

Objective: We examined the relationship of probable posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), probable depression, and increased alcohol and/or tobacco use to disaster exposure and work demand in Florida Department of Health workers after the 2004 hurricanes.

Methods: Participants (N = 2249) completed electronic questionnaires assessing PTSD, depression, alcohol and tobacco use, hurricane exposure, and work demand.

Results: Total mental and behavioral health burden (probable PTSD, probable depression, increased alcohol and/or tobacco use) was 11%.

Sleep and arousal as risk factors for adverse health and work performance in public health workers involved in the 2004 Florida hurricane season.

Background: We examined the relation of sleep disturbance and arousal to work performance, mental and physical health, and day-to-day functioning in Florida Department of Health (FDOH) employees 9 months after the 2004 Florida hurricane season.

Methods: FDOH employees were contacted via e-mail 9 months after the 2004 hurricanes. Participants (N = 2249) completed electronic questionnaires including measures of sleep disturbance, arousal, work performance, physical health, mental health, day-to-day function, hurricane injury, and work demand.

Expectations training for miners using self-contained self-rescuers in escapes from underground coal mines.

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health researchers conducted a study to investigate the human response issues related to wearing a self-contained self-rescuer (SCSR). The goal was to develop training to educate miners on what they could expect from their units during an escape. Subjects included miners who had experience wearing SCSRs, manufacturers, and researchers.

Reducing non-contact electric arc injuries: an investigation of behavioral and organizational issues.

Problem: It is estimated that 5 to 10 arc flash explosions occur in electric equipment every day in the United States. In the mining industry the largest single injury category of electrical injuries are caused by non-contact electrical arcs.

Method: This investigation progressed in two phases: (a) 836 Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reports of electric arcing incidents that occurred over a period of 11 years were reviewed, and (b) personal interviews were conducted with 32 individuals.

The virtual network supporting the front lines: addressing emerging behavioral health problems following the tsunami of 2004.

The devastation wreaked by the 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean required extensive multinational and nongovernmental relief efforts to address the massive loss of infrastructure, people, and society. This article addresses approaches to behavioral incident management from a process perspective, through the lens of one official stateside channel of emergency operations. The process highlights the formation and connectivity of multidisciplinary teams that virtually supported the efforts of a seven-person, on-scene, behavioral health team aboard the USNS Mercy as part of Operation Unified Assistance in the Indian Ocean.

The concept of degraded images applied to hazard recognition training in mining for reduction of lost-time injuries.

Introduction: This paper discusses the application of a training intervention that uses degraded images for improving the hazard recognition skills of miners.

Method: NIOSH researchers, in an extensive literature review, identified fundamental psychological principles on perception that may be employed to enhance the ability of miners to recognize and respond to hazards in their dangerous work environment. Three studies were conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of the degraded image training intervention.