The Japan Medical Association's Disaster Preparedness: Lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (5) ◽  
pp. 507-512 ◽  
Author(s):  
Masami Ishii ◽  
Takashi Nagata
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Medical Association ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Complete Recovery ◽  
Great East Japan Earthquake ◽  
Medical Organization ◽  
Medical Response

AbstractA complex disaster, the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, 2011, consisted of a large-scale earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear accident, resulting in more than 15 000 fatalities, injuries, and missing persons and damage over a 500-km area. The entire Japanese public was profoundly affected by “3/11.” The risk of radiation exposure initially delayed the medical response, prolonging the recovery efforts. Japan's representative medical organization, the Japan Medical Association (JMA), began dispatching Japan Medical Association Teams (JMATs) to affected areas beginning March 15, 2011. About 1400 JMATs comprising nearly 5500 health workers were launched. The JMA coordinated JMAT operations and cooperated in conducting postmortem examination, transporting large quantities of medical supplies, and establishing a multiorganizational council to provide health assistance to disaster survivors. Importantly, these response efforts contributed to the complete recovery of the health care system in affected areas within 3 months, and by July 15, 2011, JMATs were withdrawn. Subsequently, JMATs II have been providing long-term continuing medical support to disaster-affected areas. However, Japan is at great risk for future natural disasters because of its Pacific Rim location. Also, its rapidly aging population, uneven distribution of and shortage of medical resources in regional communities, and an overburdened public health insurance system highlight the need for a highly prepared and effective disaster response system. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;7:507-512)

scholarly journals (A105) A Core Curriculum for Nurses in Disaster Preparedness and Response

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s29-s29 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Chang ◽  
S.M. Briggs
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Core Curriculum ◽  
Massachusetts General Hospital ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Incident Command ◽  
Medical Response ◽  
Field Triage ◽  
Disaster Preparedness And Response

BackgroundNurses play an essential role in disaster response. All health care responders, including nurses, must have knowledge of the key principles of disaster medicine. The International Trauma and Disaster Institute (ITDI) at Massachusetts General Hospital has developed a core curriculum for Mass Casualty Incident (MCI) management. The curriculum provides all members of the multidisciplinary disaster team with the fundamentals of the MCI response. The proposed concurrent session will report on understanding of the fundamental knowledge in disaster medicine and preparedness for nurses in local and international disaster responses.Discussion and ObservationsDisasters follow no rules. Traditionally, medical providers have held the erroneous belief that all disasters are different, especially those involving terrorism. In reality, all disasters, regardless of etiology, have similar medical and public health consequences. A consistent medical approach to disasters, based on an understanding of their common features and the response they require, is becoming the accepted practice throughout the world. This strategy, called the MCI response, has the primary objective of reducing the mortality/morbidity caused by the disaster. The Advanced Disaster Medical Response (ADMR) Course, available in eight languages, including Chinese, is designed to train nurses in the ABC's of basic medical and public health disaster care. The delivery of optimal care in a disaster relies on a common understanding of each health professional's role and common mastery of defined essentials of disaster response such as the Incident Command System, field triage, decontamination, care of specific injuries, environmental considerations, psychological response to disasters, and care of the dead and their families. Understanding key principles and training in medical disaster response will guide nurses in disaster preparedness and response to future disasters.

(P1-111) Japan Medical Association Team (JMAT)

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s135-s136
Author(s):  
T. Nagata ◽  
T. Ishihara ◽  
H. Inasaka ◽  
T. Sakamoto ◽  
M. Akashi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medical Association ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Disaster Relief ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Team Building ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Training And Education ◽  
Disaster Victims ◽  
Medical Response

Disaster preparedness is one of the national priorities. In Japan, disaster medicine is defined as a part of the national medical plan initiated by Ministry of Health, Welfare and Labor. The Japan Medical Association is the largest professional physicians' group in Japan, and has contributed to all kinds of disaster relief work regionally and nation-wide for years. Based on past successes, the Japan Medical Association proposes a new disaster action plan named Japan Medical Association Team (JMAT). The primary mission of JMAT is to deploy to the disaster scene requested and work for disaster relief. JMAT covers the acute to sub-acute phase of disaster response, and also collaborate with other agencies. In the preparation and mitigation phases, the Japan Medical Association work for establishing mutual disaster aid partnerships, disaster plans, networks with other agencies, team building, disaster medicine training and education, etc. In Japan, the Disaster Medical Assistant Team (DMAT) has been established based on the experience of the 1995 Kobe Earthquake, when lots of preventable trauma deaths occurred because of delayed medical response. The mission of DMAT is to deploy to the scene immediately and triage/transfer the most serious disaster victims outside the scene for advanced medical care. DMAT covers the first 48 hours of disaster response phase, and then JMAT takes charge of the work. JMAT will also respond to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear disasters, and international humanitarian work. The present issues of establishing JMAT are 1.training and education for Japan Medical Association members, 2.establising cooperation with other agencies, and 3.having presence at the Central Disaster Committee, Cabinet Office, Government of Japan.

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.

Use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) in the Medical Response to the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster in Japan

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 213-215 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Nagata ◽  
Yoshinari Kimura ◽  
Masami Ishii
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
Geographic Information System ◽  
Medical Association ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Geographic Information ◽  
Nuclear Disaster ◽  
Medical Response ◽  
Event Information ◽  
Fukushima Daiichi ◽  
Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

AbstractThe Great East Japan Earthquake occurred on March 11, 2011. In the first 10 days after the event, information about radiation risks from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant was unavailable, and the disaster response, including deployment of disaster teams, was delayed. Beginning on March 17, 2011, the Japan Medical Association used a geographic information system (GIS) to visualize the risk of radiation exposure in Fukushima. This information facilitated the decision to deploy disaster medical response teams on March 18, 2011.Nagata T, Kimura Y, Ishii M. Use of a geographic information system (GIS) in the medical response to the Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(2):1-3.

scholarly journals (P1-54) Healthcare Worker's Perception towards Individual and Institution Disaster Preparedness

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s116-s116
Author(s):  
G.H. Lim
Keyword(s):  
Family Support ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Response Training ◽  
The Family ◽  
Training Opportunities ◽  
H1n1 Outbreak

Background and AimDisaster and MCI events are occurrences that healthcare institutions must be prepared to respond to at all times. The events of September 11 2001 have rekindled our attention to this aspect of preparedness amongst our healthcare institutions. In Singapore, the SARS experience in 2003 and the recent H1N1 outbreak have thrust emergency preparedness further into the limelight. While priorities had been re-calibrated, we feel that we still lack far behind in our level of preparedness. This study is conducted to understand the perception of our healthcare workers towards their individual and the institution preparedness towards a disaster incident.MethodA questionnaire survey was done for this study for the doctors, nurses and allied health workers in our hospital. Questions measuring perception of disaster preparedness for themselves, their colleagues and that of the institution were asked. This was done using a 5-point likert scale.ResultsThe study was conducted over a 2-month period from 1st August 2010 till 30th September 2010. 1534 healthcare workers participated in the study. 75.3% felt that the institution is ready to respond to a disaster incident; but only 36.4% felt that they were ready. 12.6% had previous experience in disaster response. They were more likely to be ready to respond to future incidents (p = 0.00). Factors that influenced perception of readiness included leadership (p = 0.00), disaster drills (p = 0.02), access to disaster plans (p = 0.04), family support. 80.7% were willing to participate in future disaster incident response training. 74.5% felt that being able to respond to a disaster incident constitute part of their professional competency. However, only 31% of the respondents agreed that disaster response training was readily available and only 27.8% knew where to go to look for these training opportunities.ConclusionThere is an urgent need to train the healthcare workers to enhance their capability to respond to a disaster incident. While they have confidence in the institutions capability they were not sure of their own capability. Training opportunities should be made more accessible. We should also do more to harvest the family support that these worker value in order for them to be able to perform their roles in a disaster incident.

The complication of cyber manhunt: How cyber manhunt further complicated the ethical conflict between breaching the confidentiality and endangering the society in face of the COVID-19 pandemic (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yen-Chang Chen ◽  
Yen-Yuan Chen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Personal Information ◽  
Public Health Intervention ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Online Activity ◽  
Contact Investigation ◽  
The Impact

UNSTRUCTURED While health care and public health workers are working on measures to mitigate the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an unprecedentedly large number of people spending much more time indoors, and relying heavily on the Internet as their lifeline. What has been overlooked is the influence of the increasing online activities on public health issues. In this article, we pointed out how a large-scale online activity called cyber manhunt may threaten to offset the efficacy of contact tracing investigation, a public health intervention considered highly effective in limiting further transmission in the early stage of a highly contagious disease outbreak such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first section, we presented a case to show how personal information obtained from contact investigation and disclosed in part on the media provoked a vehement cyber manhunt. We then discussed the possible reasons why netizens collaborate to reveal anonymized personal information about contact investigation, and specify, from the perspective of public health and public health ethics, four problems of cyber manhunt, including the lack of legitimate public health goals, the concerns about privacy breach, the impact of misinformation, and social inequality. Based on our analysis, we concluded that more moral weight may be given to protecting one's confidentiality, especially in an era with the rapid advance of digital and information technologies.

Disaster preparedness: Are retired physicians willing to help?

2009 ◽  
Vol 4 (5) ◽  
pp. 279-286
Author(s):  
Elena M. Shephard, MD, MPH ◽  
Eileen J. Klein, MD, MPH ◽  
Kathryn G. Koelemay, MD, MPH ◽  
Jack Thompson, MSW
Keyword(s):  
Medical Association ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Community Education ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Wound Care ◽  
Washington State ◽  
Healthcare Facilities ◽  
Medical Response ◽  
Response Plan ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

Objective: To identify the proportion of retired physicians belonging to a state-wide professional association who would be willing to volunteer in the event of a disaster.Methods: A paper-based, self-administered questionnaire sent to all physicians listed as retired members of the Washington State Medical Association (WSMA). The main questions included whether subjects would be willing to volunteer during a disaster, which tasks they would be most willing to perform, and whether they would be willing to participate in disaster preparedness training.Results: A total of 2,443 surveys were mailed, 2,274 arrived at their destination (169 were undeliverable), and 1,447 were returned (response rate 64 percent). Fifty-four percent of respondents reported they would be willing to perform healthcare tasks during a disaster and 24 percent of respondents said they would possibly be willing to help. Tasks retired physicians were most willing to assist with included minor wound care (85 percent), vaccine administration (74 percent), and starting intravenous lines (71 percent). Fewer respondents indicated willingness to assist with community education (60 percent) or staffing ambulatory clinics (48 percent). Seventy-eight percent indicated they would attend disaster preparedness training.Conclusions: Healthcare facilities must be prepared to cope with staffing shortages in the event of a disaster and volunteers such as retired physicians could fill crucial roles in a medical response plan. The majority of retired physicians surveyed would be willing to participate. They would be most willing to perform well-defined tasks directly related to patient care. Most would be willing to participate in preparatory training.

Role of Academic Institutions in Community Disaster Response Since September 11, 2001

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 218-226 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne L. Dunlop ◽  
Kristi M. Logue ◽  
Gerald Beltran ◽  
Alexander P. Isakov
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
September 11 ◽  
Community Response ◽  
Disaster Resilience ◽  
Academic Institutions ◽  
Disaster Preparedness And Response

ABSTRACTObjective: To describe the role of academic institutions in the community response to Federal Emergency Management Agency–declared disasters from September 11, 2001, to February 1, 2009.Methods: We conducted a review of the published literature and Internet reports to identify academic institutions that participated in the community response to disaster events between September 11, 2001, to February 1, 2009, inclusive. From retrieved reports, we abstracted the identity of the academic institutions and the resources and services each provided. We characterized the resources and services in terms of their contribution to established constructs of community disaster resilience and disaster preparedness and response.Results: Between September 11, 2001, and February 1, 2009, there were 98 published or Internet-accessible reports describing 106 instances in which academic institutions participated in the community response to 11 Federal Emergency Management Agency–declared disaster events that occurred between September 11, 2001, and February 1, 2009. Academic institutions included academic health centers and community teaching hospitals; schools of medicine, nursing, and public health; schools with graduate programs such as engineering and psychology; and 4-year programs. The services and resources provided by the academic institutions as part of the community disaster response could be categorized as contributing to community disaster resilience by reducing the consequences or likelihood of an event or to specific dimensions of public health preparedness and response, or both. The most common dimensions addressed by academic institutions (in order of occurrence) were resource management, enabling and sustaining a public health response, information capacity management, and performance evaluation.Conclusions: Since September 11, 2001, the participation of academic institutions in community disaster response has contributed to community resilience and the achievement of specific dimensions of disaster preparedness and response.(Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2011;5:218–226)

scholarly journals Simulating Complex Community Disaster Preparedness: Collaboration for Point of Distribution

2017 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Pamela Rafferty-Semon ◽  
Jeremy Jarzembak ◽  
Jennifer Shanholtzer
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Nursing Students ◽  
Emergency Management ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Public Health Department ◽  
Learning Approaches ◽  
Preparedness Planning ◽  
Undergraduate Nursing

Disasters are increasing at local, national, and global levels, as is the need for all nurses and communities to be prepared. Since 2003, decreased funds for disaster preparedness has meant less opportunity for public health departments and emergency management agencies to test disaster response plans. Today’s graduating nurses need strong skills in disaster nursing to manage a variety of disasters in a local to global context. One aim of this article is to briefly describe preparedness planning using a Point of Distribution/Dispensation (POD) and teaching competencies for disaster nursing. We discuss in detail an exemplar about a simulation developed with collaboration among university faculty, the county public health department, and the local emergency management agency (EMA). The article considers insufficient funds for drills and exercises; strategies to increase disaster knowledge and competency of undergraduate nursing students; and realistic, hands-on active learning approaches to disaster response at all levels, including implications for practice.

scholarly journals Chemical Weapon Functional Exercise—Cincinnati: Observations and Lessons Learned from a “Typical Medium-Sized” City's Response to Simulated Terrorism Utilizing Weapons of Mass Destruction

2003 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denis J. FitzGerald ◽  
Matthew D. Sztajnkrycer ◽  
Todd J. Crocco
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Weapons Of Mass Destruction ◽  
Chemical Weapon ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Mass Destruction ◽  
Public Health Departments ◽  
Medical Response

In the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks and the subsequent anthrax scare, there is growing concern about the United States' vulnerability to terrorist use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD). As part of ongoing preparation for this terrible reality, many jurisdictions have been conducting simulated terrorist incidents to provide training for the public safety community, hospitals, and public health departments. As an example of this national effort to improve domestic preparedness for such events, a large scale, multi-jurisdictional chemical weapons drill was conducted in Cincinnati, Ohio, on May 20, 2000. This drill depicted the components of the early warning system for hospitals and public health departments, the prehospital medical response to terrorism. Over the course of the exercise, emergency medical services personnel decontaminated, triaged, treated, and transported eighty-five patients. Several important lessons were learned that day that have widespread applicability to health care delivery systems nationwide, especially in the areas of decontamination, triage, on-scene medical care, and victim transportation. As this training exercise helped Cincinnati to prepare for dealing with future large scale WMD incidents, such drills are invaluable preparation for all communities in a world increasingly at risk from terrorist attacks.

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