US Screening of International Travelers for Radioactive Contamination After the Japanese Nuclear Plant Disaster in March 2011

2012 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 291-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Todd Wilson ◽  
Arthur Chang ◽  
Andre Berro ◽  
Aaron Still ◽  
Clive Brown ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Policy Development ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Development Planning ◽  
Radioactive Material ◽  
Screening Methods ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
State And Local

ABSTRACTOn March 11, 2011, a magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami damaged nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi complex in Japan, resulting in radionuclide release. In response, US officials augmented existing radiological screening at its ports of entry (POEs) to detect and decontaminate travelers contaminated with radioactive materials. During March 12 to 16, radiation screening protocols detected 3 travelers from Japan with external radioactive material contamination at 2 air POEs. Beginning March 23, federal officials collaborated with state and local public health and radiation control authorities to enhance screening and decontamination protocols at POEs. Approximately 543 000 (99%) travelers arriving directly from Japan at 25 US airports were screened for radiation contamination from March 17 to April 30, and no traveler was detected with contamination sufficient to require a large-scale public health response. The response highlighted synergistic collaboration across government levels and leveraged screening methods already in place at POEs, leading to rapid protocol implementation. Policy development, planning, training, and exercising response protocols and the establishment of federal authority to compel decontamination of travelers are needed for future radiological responses. Comparison of resource-intensive screening costs with the public health yield should guide policy decisions, given the historically low frequency of contaminated travelers arriving during radiological disasters.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2012;6:291–296)

Different Responses to COVID-19 in Four US States: Washington, New York, Missouri, and Alabama

2021 ◽  
pp. e1-e5
Author(s):  
Paul C. Erwin ◽  
Kenneth W. Mucheck ◽  
Ross C. Brownson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
New York ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
United States Public Health ◽  
H1n1 Influenza ◽  
The United States ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
The Us ◽  
Us Constitution ◽  
State And Local

In the United States, public health is largely the responsibility of state governments’ implementing authority specified in their constitutions or reserved to states under the 10th Amendment to the US Constitution. The public health–related powers granted to the federal government are substantially less and derive primarily from the Commerce Clause (Article 1, Section 8) of the US Constitution. In public health emergencies over the past several decades, however, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has played a major role in providing guidance, resources, and other support to state and local public health departments, for example, in large foodborne disease outbreaks, in response to major natural disasters, and especially in response to large-scale infectious disease threats (e.g., West Nile virus, severe acute respiratory syndrome, and H1N1 influenza).1 (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print January 28, 2021: e1–e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306111 )

scholarly journals The Public Health Road Map to Respond to the Growing Dementia Crisis

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin S Olivari ◽  
Molly E French ◽  
Lisa C McGuire
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Early Detection ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Cognitive Health ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Health Response ◽  
State And Local

Abstract As the proportion of older adults in the United States is projected to increase dramatically in the coming decades, it is imperative that public health address and maintain the cognitive health of this growing population. More than 5 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) today, and this number is projected to more than double by 2050. The public health community must be proactive in outlining the response to this growing crisis. Promoting cognitive decline risk reduction, early detection and diagnosis, and increasing the use and availability of timely data are critical components of this response. To prepare state, local, and tribal organizations, CDC and the Alzheimer’s Association have developed a series of Road Maps that chart the public health response to dementia. Since the initial Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) Road Map release in 2007, the Road Map has undergone two new iterations, with the most recent version, The HBI’s State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018–2023 Road Map, released in late 2018. Over the past several years, significant advances were made in the science of risk reduction and early detection of ADRD. As a result, the public health response requires a life-course approach that focuses on reducing risk and identifying memory issues earlier to improve health outcomes. The most recent Road Map was revised to accommodate these strides in the science and to effect change at the policy, systems, and environment levels. The 2018–2023 Road Map identifies 25 actions that state and local public health agencies and their partners can implement to promote cognitive health and address cognitive impairment and the needs of caregivers. The actions are categorized into four traditional domains of public health, and the Road Map can help public health and its partners chart a course for a dementia-prepared future.

scholarly journals Public Health Workforce Burnout in the COVID-19 Response in the U.S.

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4369
Author(s):  
Kahler W. Stone ◽  
Kristina W. Kintziger ◽  
Meredith A. Jagger ◽  
Jennifer A. Horney
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Workforce ◽  
Work Experience ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The U.S

While the health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline health care workers have been well described, the effects of the COVID-19 response on the U.S. public health workforce, which has been impacted by the prolonged public health response to the pandemic, has not been adequately characterized. A cross-sectional survey of public health professionals was conducted to assess mental and physical health, risk and protective factors for burnout, and short- and long-term career decisions during the pandemic response. The survey was completed online using the Qualtrics survey platform. Descriptive statistics and prevalence ratios (95% confidence intervals) were calculated. Among responses received from 23 August and 11 September 2020, 66.2% of public health workers reported burnout. Those with more work experience (1–4 vs. <1 years: prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.90, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08−3.36; 5–9 vs. <1 years: PR = 1.89, CI = 1.07−3.34) or working in academic settings (vs. practice: PR = 1.31, CI = 1.08–1.58) were most likely to report burnout. As of September 2020, 23.6% fewer respondents planned to remain in the U.S. public health workforce for three or more years compared to their retrospectively reported January 2020 plans. A large-scale public health emergency response places unsustainable burdens on an already underfunded and understaffed public health workforce. Pandemic-related burnout threatens the U.S. public health workforce’s future when many challenges related to the ongoing COVID-19 response remain unaddressed.

scholarly journals The Evolution of the Healthy Brain Initiative

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 720-720
Author(s):  
Lisa McGuire
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Success Stories ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Indian Country ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Map Series

Abstract The Healthy Brain Initiative (HBI) seeks to advance public health awareness of and action on ADRD as a public health issue. The HBI Road Map Series, State and Local Public Health Partnerships to Address Dementia: The 2018–2023 Road Map (S&L RM) and Road Map for Indian Country (RMIC), provide the public health with concrete steps to respond to the growing burden of ADRD in communities, consistent with the aim of the Building Our Largest Dementia (BOLD) Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act (P.L. 115-406). This series of RMs for state, local, and tribal public health provide flexible menus of actions to address cognitive health, including ADRD, and support for dementia caregivers with population-based approaches. This session will describe how the initiative evolved over the past 15 years including policy and implementation success stories.

Toolkit for Epidemiologic Response to an Acute Chemical Release

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 631-632 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Anne Duncan ◽  
Maureen F. Orr
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Toxic Substances ◽  
Public Health Action ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Chemical Release ◽  
State And Local ◽  
The Many

AbstractWhen a large chemical incident occurs and people are injured, public health agencies need to be able to provide guidance and respond to questions from the public, the media, and public officials. Because of this urgent need for information to support appropriate public health action, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) of the US Department of Health and Human Services has developed the Assessment of Chemical Exposures (ACE) Toolkit. The ACE Toolkit, available on the ATSDR website, offers materials including surveys, consent forms, databases, and training materials that state and local health personnel can use to rapidly conduct an epidemiologic investigation after a large-scale acute chemical release. All materials are readily adaptable to the many different chemical incident scenarios that may occur and the data needs of the responding agency. An expert ACE team is available to provide technical assistance on site or remotely. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:631–632)

Cross-contamination in molecular laboratories: A challenge to COVID-19 testing in Bangladesh

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Jahidur Rahman Khan ◽  
◽  
Selim Reza ◽  
Farzana Mim ◽  
Md Abdullah Rumman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Diagnostic Testing ◽  
Diagnostic Errors ◽  
Laboratory Diagnosis ◽  
Cross Contamination ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Surveillance Programs ◽  
The Government

Rapid and accurate laboratory diagnosis of SARS-CoV-2 infection is crucial for the management of COVID-19 patients and control of the spread of the virus. At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bangladesh had only one government molecular laboratory where real-time RT-PCR will be performed to diagnose SARS-CoV-2 infection. With the increasing number of suspected cases requiring confirmation diagnostic testing, there was a requirement to quickly expand capacity for large-scale testing. The government of Bangladesh established over 100 molecular laboratories within one year to test COVID-19. To fulfil the requirement for expanded testing, the government was compelled to recruit laboratory employees with inadequate experience, technical knowledge, and skills in molecular assays, particularly in processing specimens, interpreting results, recognizing errors, and troubleshooting. As a result, the risk of diagnostic errors, such as cross-contamination, is increased, as is that the risk of false-positive results, which might risk the patient’s health and undermine the efficacy of public health policies, public health response, surveillance programs, and restrictive measures aimed toward containing the outbreak. This review article aims to explain different sources of crosscontamination in the COVID-19 RT-PCR laboratories and the way to forestall them in efficient and practical ways.

Use of syndromic surveillance data to monitor poisonings and drug overdoses in state and local public health agencies

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. i43-i49 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Ising ◽  
Scott Proescholdbell ◽  
Katherine J Harmon ◽  
Nidhi Sachdeva ◽  
Stephen W Marshall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Syndromic Surveillance ◽  
Surveillance Data ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
Drug Overdoses ◽  
State And Local

Opportunities to Improve Employee Satisfaction Within State and Local Public Health Agencies

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 440-447
Author(s):  
Janna M. Wisniewski ◽  
Corey Jacinto ◽  
Valerie A. Yeager ◽  
Brian Castrucci ◽  
Theresa Chapple-McGruder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Employee Satisfaction ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Public Health Agencies ◽  
Health Agencies ◽  
State And Local
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