Results of Rapid Needs Assessments in Rural and Urban Iowa Following Large-scale Flooding Events in 2008

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 287-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Quinlisk ◽  
Mary J. Jones ◽  
Nathan A. Bostick ◽  
Lauren E. Walsh ◽  
Rebecca Curtiss ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackground: On June 8 and 9, 2008, more than 4 inches of rain fell in the Iowa-Cedars River Basin causing widespread flooding along the Cedar River in Benton, Linn, Johnson, and Cedar Counties. As a result of the flooding, there were 18 deaths, 106 injuries, and over 38 000 people displaced from their homes; this made it necessary for the Iowa Department of Health to conduct a rapid needs assessment to quantify the scope and effect of the floods on human health.Methods: In response, the Iowa Department of Public Health mobilized interview teams to conduct rapid needs assessments using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based cluster sampling techniques. The information gathered was subsequently employed to estimate the public health impact and significant human needs that resulted from the flooding.Results: While these assessments did not reveal significant levels of acute injuries resulting from the flood, they did show that many households had been temporarily displaced and that future health risks may emerge as the result of inadequate access to prescription medications or the presence of environmental health hazards.Conclusions: This exercise highlights the need for improved risk communication measures and ongoing surveillance and relief measures. It also demonstrates the utility of rapid needs assessment survey tools and suggests that increasing use of such surveys can have significant public health benefits.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2011;5:287–292)

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (02) ◽  
pp. 133-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rajesh Yadav ◽  
Dundaiah Somashekar ◽  
Samir V. Sodha ◽  
Kayla F. Laserson ◽  
Srinivasa Venkatesh ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectivesTorrential rainfall and flooding from September 2-6, 2014 submerged >350 villages in Jammu and Kashmir state. We conducted rapid needs assessment in capital Srinagar from 27 September to 1 October to assess population health and safety needs.MethodsBased on Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) methodology, we selected 7 households each from 30 census blocks using 2-stage cluster sampling. We collected information on demographics, needs, and illnesses using structured questionnaire.ResultsOf the 210 households surveyed, an estimated 57% (CI: 41%-73%) reported significant damage, 50% (CI: 36%-63%) were evacuated, and 16% (CI: 10%-22%) reported injuries. Households lacked electricity (22%; CI: 8.8%-36%), tap water (13%; CI: 5%-21%), working toilets (11%; CI: 4%-19%), and adequate food supply (14%; CI: 8%-20%). Moreover, 55% (CI: 45%-64%) of households reported cough, cold, fever, rashes, or diarrhea; 68% (CI: 59%-77%) experienced agitation, anxiety, depression, or nightmares since the flooding. Of the households with a member on medicines for non-communicable diseases, 40% did not have a week’s supply. Restoring basic essentials (30%; CI: 22%-37%) and repairing houses (30%; CI: 19%-40%) were the most urgent needs expressed.ConclusionsFloods damaged >1/2 of households in Srinagar, disrupting basic essentials, and causing mental trauma. These findings helped authorities prioritize assistance with psychological symptoms and availability of prescription medicines. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:133–137)


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (9) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ehud Elnekave ◽  
Samuel L. Hong ◽  
Seunghyun Lim ◽  
Timothy J. Johnson ◽  
Andres Perez ◽  
...  

Serotyping has traditionally been used for subtyping of non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS) isolates. However, its discriminatory power is limited, which impairs its use for epidemiological investigations of source attribution. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analysis allows more accurate subtyping of strains. However, because of the relative newness and cost of routine WGS, large-scale studies involving NTS WGS are still rare. We aimed to revisit the big picture of subtyping NTS with a public health impact by using traditional serotyping (i.e. reaction between antisera and surface antigens) and comparing the results with those obtained using WGS. For this purpose, we analysed 18 282 sequences of isolates belonging to 37 serotypes with a public health impact that were recovered in the USA between 2006 and 2017 from multiple sources, and were available at the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Phylogenetic trees were reconstructed for each serotype using the core genome for the identification of genetic subpopulations. We demonstrated that WGS-based subtyping allows better identification of sources potentially linked with human infection and emerging subpopulations, along with providing information on the risk of dissemination of plasmids and acquired antimicrobial resistance genes (AARGs). In addition, by reconstructing a phylogenetic tree with representative isolates from all serotypes (n=370), we demonstrated genetic variability within and between serotypes, which formed monophyletic, polyphyletic and paraphyletic clades. Moreover, we found (in the entire data set) an increased detection rate for AARGs linked to key antimicrobials (such as quinolones and extended-spectrum cephalosporins) over time. The outputs of this large-scale analysis reveal new insights into the genetic diversity within and between serotypes; the polyphyly and paraphyly of certain serotypes may suggest that the subtyping of NTS to serotypes may not be sufficient. Moreover, the results and the methods presented here, leading to differentiation between genetic subpopulations based on their potential risk to public health, as well as narrowing down the possible sources of these infections, may be used as a baseline for subtyping of future NTS infections and help efforts to mitigate and prevent infections in the USA and globally.


2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 351-370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanjay Basu ◽  
Ankita Meghani ◽  
Arjumand Siddiqi

Large-scale public policy changes are often recommended to improve public health. Despite varying widely—from tobacco taxes to poverty-relief programs—such policies present a common dilemma to public health researchers: how to evaluate their health effects when randomized controlled trials are not possible. Here, we review the state of knowledge and experience of public health researchers who rigorously evaluate the health consequences of large-scale public policy changes. We organize our discussion by detailing approaches to address three common challenges of conducting policy evaluations: distinguishing a policy effect from time trends in health outcomes or preexisting differences between policy-affected and -unaffected communities (using difference-in-differences approaches); constructing a comparison population when a policy affects a population for whom a well-matched comparator is not immediately available (using propensity score or synthetic control approaches); and addressing unobserved confounders by utilizing quasi-random variations in policy exposure (using regression discontinuity, instrumental variables, or near-far matching approaches).


Author(s):  
Emilda Emilda

The limitations of waste management in the Cipayung Landfill (TPA) causing a buildup of garbage up to more than 30 meters. This condition has a health impact on people in Cipayung Village. This study aims to analyze the impact of waste management at Cipayung Landfill on public health in Cipayung Village, Depok City. The research is descriptive qualitative. Data obtained by purposive sampling. Data was collected by interviews, observation and documentation. Based on interviews with 30 respondents, it was found that the most common diseases were diarrhea, then other types of stomach ailments, subsequent itching on the skin and coughing. This is presumably because the environmental conditions in the form of unhealthy air and water and clean and healthy living behaviors (PHBS) have not become the habit of the people. The results indicated that there were no respondents who had implemented all of these criteria. In general respondents have implemented  3 criteria, namely maintaining hair hygiene, maintaining skin cleanliness, and maintaining hand hygiene. While maintaining clean water storage is the most often overlooked behavior. To minimize this health impact, improvements in waste management in Cipayung landfill are needed along with continuous socialization and education to develop PHBS habits and the importance of maintaining a clean environment.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Hunold

City-scale urban greening is expanding wildlife habitat in previously less hospitable urban areas. Does this transformation also prompt a reckoning with the longstanding idea that cities are places intended to satisfy primarily human needs? I pose this question in the context of one of North America's most ambitious green infrastructure programmes to manage urban runoff: Philadelphia's Green City, Clean Waters. Given that the city's green infrastructure plans have little to say about wildlife, I investigate how wild animals fit into urban greening professionals' conceptions of the urban. I argue that practitioners relate to urban wildlife via three distinctive frames: 1) animal control, 2) public health and 3) biodiversity, and explore the implications of each for peaceful human-wildlife coexistence in 'greened' cities.


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