Baltimore’s Unrest: Perspectives From Public Health and Emergency Physician Leaders

2015 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 293-295 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joneigh S. Khaldun ◽  
Katherine E. Warren ◽  
Leana S. Wen
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Baltimore City ◽  
Police Custody ◽  
Lead Agency ◽  
Civil Unrest ◽  
Physician Leaders ◽  
Response And Recovery ◽  
Medical Situation

AbstractThe tragic April 19, 2015, death of an African American man injured while in police custody spurred several days of protest and civil unrest in Baltimore City. This article outlines the opportunity and role for a local health department during civil unrest, from the perspective of 2 emergency physicians who also led the Baltimore City Health Department through these recent events. Between April 27 and May 8, 2015, the Health Department was a lead agency in the unrest response and recovery activities. Similar to an emergency medical situation, a “public health code” is proposed as a model for centralizing, reacting to, and debriefing after situations of civil unrest. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:293–295)

scholarly journals Practical implications of naloxone knowledge among suburban people who use opioids

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin E. Schneider ◽  
Glenna J. Urquhart ◽  
Saba Rouhani ◽  
Ju Nyeong Park ◽  
Miles Morris ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Washington Dc ◽  
Multiple Sources ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Baltimore City ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Practical Implications

Abstract Background Naloxone distribution programs have been a cornerstone of the public health response to the overdose crisis in the USA. Yet people who use opioids (PWUO) continue to face a number of barriers accessing naloxone, including not knowing where it is available. Methods We used data from 173 PWUO from Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which is located between Baltimore City and Washington, DC. We assessed the prevalence of recently (past 6 months) receiving naloxone and currently having naloxone, the type(s) of the naloxone kits received, and the perceived ease/difficultly of accessing naloxone. We also assessed participants knowledge of where naloxone was available in the community. Results One third (35.7%) of participants had recently received naloxone. Most who had received naloxone received two doses (72.1%), nasal naloxone (86.9%), and education about naloxone use (72.1%). Most currently had naloxone in their possession (either on their person or at home; 78.7%). One third (34.4%) believed naloxone was difficult to obtain in their community. Only half (56.7%) knew of multiple locations where they could get naloxone. The health department was the most commonly identified naloxone source (58.0%). Identifying multiple sources of naloxone was associated with being more likely to perceive that naloxone is easy to access. Discussion Our results suggest that additional public health efforts are needed to make PWUO aware of the range of sources of naloxone in their communities in order to ensure easy and continued naloxone access to PWUO.

scholarly journals A Web-Based Tool for Quantification of Potential Gains in Life Expectancy by Preventing Cause-Specific Mortality

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aruna Chandran ◽  
Churong Xu ◽  
Jonathan Gross ◽  
Kathryn M. Leifheit ◽  
Darcy Phelan-Emrick ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Heart Disease ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Baltimore City ◽  
Scarce Resources ◽  
Disease Mortality ◽  
Specific Mortality ◽  
Neighborhood Level

Introduction: Local health departments are currently limited in their ability to use life expectancy (LE) as a benchmark for improving community health. In collaboration with the Baltimore City Health Department, our aim was to develop a web-based tool to estimate the potential lives saved and gains in LE in specific neighborhoods following interventions targeting achievable reductions in preventable deaths.Methods: The PROLONGER (ImPROved LONGEvity through Reductions in Cause-Specific Deaths) tool utilizes a novel Lives Saved Simulation model to estimate neighborhood-level potential change in LE after specified reduction in cause-specific mortality. This analysis uses 2012–2016 deaths in Baltimore City residents; a 20% reduction in heart disease mortality is shown as a case study.Results: According to PROLONGER, if heart disease deaths could be reduced by 20% in a given neighborhood in Baltimore City, there could be up to a 2.3-year increase in neighborhood LE. The neighborhoods with highest expected LE increase are not the same as those with highest heart disease mortality burden or lowest overall life expectancies.Discussion: PROLONGER is a practical resource for local health officials in prioritizing scarce resources to improve health outcomes. Focusing programs based on potential LE impact at the neighborhood level could lend new information for targeting of place-based public health interventions.

The Role of EMS Systems in Public Health Emergencies

1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara A. McIntosh ◽  
Patricia Hinds ◽  
Lorraine M. Giordano
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Definitive Treatment ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Pneumonic Plague ◽  
Notification System ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public Health Emergencies ◽  
Isolation Facilities

AbstractIntroduction:Until now, the public health response to the threat of an epidemic has involved coordination of efforts between federal agencies, local health departments, and individual hospitals, with no defined role for prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) providers.Methods:Representatives from the local health department, hospital consortium, and prehospital EMS providers developed an interim plan for dealing with an epidemic alert. The plan allowed for the prehospital use of appropriate isolation procedures, prophylaxis of personnel, and predesignation of receiving hospitals for patients suspected of having infection. Additionally, a dual notification system utilizing an EMS physician and a representative from the Office of Infectious Diseases from the hospital group was implemented to ensure that all potential cases were captured. Initially, the plan was employed only for those cases arising from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCJ/Public Health Service (PHS) quarantine unit at the airport, but its use later was expanded to include all potential cases within the 9–1–1 system.Results:In the two test situations in which it was employed, the plan incorporating the prehospital EMS sector worked well and extended the “surveillance net” further into the community. During the Pneumonic Plague alert, EMS responded to the quarantine facilities at the airport five times and transported two patients to isolation facilities. Two additional patients were identified and transported to isolation facilities from calls within the 9–1–1 system. In all four isolated cases, Pneumonic Plague was ruled out. During the Ebola alert, no potential cases were identified.Conclusion:The incorporation of the prehospital sector into an already existing framework for public health emergencies (i.e., epidemics), enhances the reach of the public safety surveillance net and ensure that proper isolation is continued from identification of a possible case to arrival at a definitive treatment facility.

How Community and Public Health Partnerships Contribute to Disaster Recovery and Resilience

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 635-643 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joie D. Acosta ◽  
Lane Burgette ◽  
Anita Chandra ◽  
David P. Eisenman ◽  
Ingrid Gonzalez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
New York ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Hurricane Sandy ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Storm Damage ◽  
Public Health Services ◽  
Role Of Government ◽  
Community Needs

AbstractObjectiveTo summarize ways that networks of community-based organizations (CBO), in partnership with public health departments, contribute to community recovery from disaster.MethodsThe study was conducted using an online survey administered one and 2 years after Hurricane Sandy to the partnership networks of 369 CBO and the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The survey assessed the structure and durability of networks, how they were influenced by storm damage, and whether more connected networks were associated with better recovery outcomes.ResultsDuring response and recovery, CBOs provide an array of critical public health services often outside their usual scope. New CBO partnerships were formed to support recovery, particularly in severely impacted areas. CBOs that were more connected to other CBOs and were part of a long-term recovery committee reported greater impacts on the community; however, a partnership with the local health department was not associated with recovery impacts.ConclusionCBO partners are flexible in their scope of services, and CBO partnerships often emerge in areas with the greatest storm damage, and subsequently the greatest community needs. National policies will advance if they account for the dynamic and emergent nature of these partnerships and their contributions, and clarify the role of government partners. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:635–643)

scholarly journals Participation in local health department investigations by public health student teams.

1988 ◽  
Vol 78 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-717
Author(s):  
H S Teitelbaum ◽  
J McLaughlin ◽  
L Barnaby ◽  
A Paskilas ◽  
S Helgerson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Local Health Department ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Student Teams

scholarly journals An Approach to Developing Local Climate Change Environmental Public Health Indicators in a Rural District

2017 ◽  
Vol 2017 ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adele Houghton ◽  
Jessica Austin ◽  
Abby Beerman ◽  
Clayton Horton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Health Indicators ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Public Health Department ◽  
Environmental Public Health ◽  
Vulnerability Indicators ◽  
Public Health Indicators ◽  
Climate And Health

Climate change represents a significant and growing threat to population health. Rural areas face unique challenges, such as high rates of vulnerable populations; economic uncertainty due to their reliance on industries that are vulnerable to climate change; less resilient infrastructure; and lower levels of access to community and emergency services than urban areas. This article fills a gap in public health practice by developing climate and health environmental public health indicators for a local public health department in a rural area. We adapted the National Environmental Public Health Tracking Network’s framework for climate and health indicators to a seven-county health department in Western Kentucky. Using a three-step review process, we identified primary climate-related environmental public health hazards for the region (extreme heat, drought, and flooding) and a suite of related exposure, health outcome, population vulnerability, and environmental vulnerability indicators. Indicators that performed more poorly at the county level than at the state and national level were defined as “high vulnerability.” Six to eight high vulnerability indicators were identified for each county. The local health department plans to use the results to enhance three key areas of existing services: epidemiology, public health preparedness, and community health assessment.

Legal Protections to Promote Response Willingness Among the Local Public Health Workforce

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 98-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lainie Rutkow ◽  
Jon S. Vernick ◽  
Carol B. Thompson ◽  
Rachael Piltch-Loeb ◽  
Daniel J. Barnett
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Health Department ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Attitudes And Beliefs ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Emergency Scenarios

AbstractObjectiveThe legal environment may improve response willingness among local health department (LHD) workers. We examined whether 3 hypothetical legal protections influence LHD workers’ self-reported response willingness for 4 emergency scenarios and whether specific demographic factors are associated with LHD workers’ response willingness given these legal protections.MethodsOur 2011–2012 survey included questions on demographics and about attitudes and beliefs regarding LHD workers’ willingness to respond to 4 emergency scenarios given specific legal protections (i.e., ensuring priority health care for workers’ families, granting workers access to mental health services, and guaranteeing access to personal protective equipment). Data were collected from 1238 LHD workers in 3 states.ResultsAcross scenarios, between 60% and 83% of LHD workers agreed that they would be more willing to respond given the presence of 1 of the 3 hypothetical legal protections. Among the 3 legal protections, a guarantee of personal protective equipment elicited the greatest agreement with improved response willingness.ConclusionsSpecific legal protections augment a majority of LHD workers’ response willingness. Policymakers must, however, balance improved response willingness with other considerations, such as the ethical implications of prioritizing responders over the general public. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:98–102)

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