Background: Major incidents continue to pose a threat to health care systems by overwhelming them with a sudden surge of patients. A major factor impacting a hospital's surge capacity is the skills, abilities, and knowledge of emergency department (ED) registered nurses (RN). The level of disaster nursing competency they possess affects patient safety and outcome. ED RNs' ability to accurately assess their competency and knowledge is imperative for mitigating the effect of major incidents. ED RN's perception of overall disaster preparedness has not been thoroughly addressed. The aim of this study was to assess emergency department registered nurses' self-perceived disaster preparedness.
Method: The study was a cross-sectional study per the STROBE checklist. A self-assessment questionnaire based on the results of a study identifying specific disaster nursing competencies for ED RNs was distributed to all ED RNs at six participating hospitals between January 10th to February 19th of 2019. A five-point Likert-type scale was used to assess competency.
Results: ED RNs' disaster preparedness according to the Total Disaster Competency mean was low. Furthermore, the results indicate that ED RNs' significantly overestimate their disaster nursing competency when compared to the Total Disaster Competency mean. Additionally, this study identified factors such as experience and education were positively associated with disaster preparedness and self-assessment ability.
Conclusion: ED RNs' overestimate their disaster preparedness. However, ED RNs with experience and education may be better prepared. ED RNs with formal disaster education appeared to have better insight concerning their preparedness. Clinical experience, advanced levels of education, and training were positively associated with preparedness. Overestimating disaster competencies may negatively impact patient outcomes during a major incident.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ienj.2021.101019 | DOI Listing |
Parasitol Int
December 2024
Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Agadir, Morocco. Electronic address:
The recent floods in Morocco, occurring from September 16 to September 30, 2024, have created significant public health challenges, particularly in the regions of Tata, Ouarzazate, and Errachidia. These flooding events have heightened the risk of epidemic diseases, including vector-borne diseases like malaria and leishmaniasis, as well as waterborne infections. This letter outlines critical recommendations to mitigate these risks, including enhanced epidemiological surveillance, distribution of insecticidetreated nets, targeted vector control programs, and community engagement.
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December 2024
College of Jilin Emergency Management, Changchun Institute of Technology, Changchun, 130012, China.
In the context of rapid urbanization, the proliferation of high-density residential zones and intricate infrastructure networks markedly amplifies a city's susceptibility to natural calamities, notably seismic events. Thus, a precise evaluation of a city's emergency capability for seismic events is imperative. This research proposes a novel and all-encompassing evaluation framework for indicators, grounded in crisis management theory, covering the entire spectrum of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.
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December 2024
Department of Civil, Construction and Environmental Engineering (Dept 2470), North Dakota State University, PO Box 6050, Fargo, ND, 58108-6050, USA.
A precise streamflow forecast is crucial in hydrology for flood alerts, water quantity and quality management, and disaster preparedness. Machine learning (ML) techniques are commonly employed for hydrological prediction; however, they still face certain drawbacks, such as the need to optimize the appropriate predictors, the ability of the models to generalize across different time horizons, and the analysis of high-dimensional time series. This research aims to address these specific drawbacks by developing a novel framework for streamflow forecasting.
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December 2024
School of Nursing, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Introduction: Emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases continue to pose a severe threat to public health in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and globally. Community-related interventions, such as community e-Health literacy, can contribute to the preparedness to respond effectively to emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases. This study investigated the relationship between e-Health literacy and SSA countries' perceptions of the importance of readiness for potential pandemics.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPrehosp Disaster Med
December 2024
Medicine and Surgery, The Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan.
In the aftermath of the 2022 Pakistan flooding, disaster management faced critical challenges, particularly in mental health support. This study analyzed an incident where eighteen internally displaced individuals lost their lives in a bus fire. The current approach involves a comprehensive analysis of the incident, exploring the difficulties encountered in managing relief efforts, and providing mental health support.
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