Understanding Community-Level Disaster and Emergency Response Preparedness

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 239-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
Crystal Shannon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Community Health Promotion ◽  
Emergency Systems

AbstractObjectiveCommunity-level disaster readiness is a major component of community health promotion. However, many readiness programs are focused on the response of emergency and health care personnel and not on the preparedness levels of local citizens. This potentially leaves the public unready and unprepared for emergency event response.MethodsA 20-item survey on general states of disaster preparedness was delivered to the residents of a midsized midwestern county. The residents were asked to share their knowledge of local hazards, emergency systems, and personal preparedness.ResultsA convenience sample of 423 residents responded to the survey. Fifty-seven percent (n=241) reported limited personal preparedness. Seventy-six percent (n=321) acknowledged little to no familiarity with residential emergency systems, and 52% (n=220) reported that they did not know how to gain information on public health emergencies, such as pandemic flu and evacuation response.ConclusionsLocal citizens should become educated on the methods to support personal disaster and emergency readiness. Health care and emergency management organizations are encouraged to include these concepts in routine community health promotion activities and to pay special attention to known areas of community vulnerability. Failure to do so creates a population unable to support themselves in the provision of basic health and safety measures. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:239-244)

Strengthening of occupational health promotion by the German Prevention Health Care Act

2019 ◽  
pp. 188-190
Author(s):  
Diana Hart
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Primary Prevention ◽  
Occupational Health ◽  
Life Expectancy ◽  
Prevention And Control ◽  
Occupational Health Promotion ◽  
And Control

All countries are faced with the problem of the prevention and control of non-communicable diseases (NCD): implement prevention strategies eff ectively, keep up the momentum with long term benefi ts at the individual and the population level, at the same time tackling hea lth inequalities. Th e aff ordability of therapy and care including innovative therapies is going to be one of the key public health priorities in the years to come. Germany has taken in the prevention and control of NCDs. Germany’s health system has a long history of guaranteeing access to high-quality treatment through universal health care coverage. Th r ough their membership people are entitled to prevention and care services maintaining and restoring their health as well as long term follow-up. Like in many other countries general life expectancy has been increasing steadily in Germany. Currently, the average life expectancy is 83 and 79 years in women and men, respectively. Th e other side of the coin is that population aging is strongly associated with a growing burden of disease from NCDs. Already over 70 percent of all deaths in Germany are caused by four disease entities: cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory disease and diabetes. Th ese diseases all share four common risk factors: smoking, alcohol abuse, lack of physical activity and overweight. At the same time, more and more people become long term survivors of disease due to improved therapy and care. Th e German Government and public health decision makers are aware of the need for action and have responded by initiating and implementing a wide spectrum of activities. One instrument by strengthening primary prevention is the Prevention Health Care Act. Its overarching aim is to prevent NCDs before they can manifest themselves by strengthening primary prevention and health promotion in diff erent sett ings. One of the main emphasis of the Prevention Health Care Act is the occupational health promotion at the workplace.

Dance for Your Health: Exploring Social Latin Dancing for Community Health Promotion

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 142-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph E. Iuliano ◽  
Karen Lutrick ◽  
Paula Maez ◽  
Erika Nacim ◽  
Kerstin Reinschmidt
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Community Health Promotion

scholarly journals Implementation of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's Community Health Promotion Grant Program: A Process Evaluation

1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas M. Wickizer ◽  
Edward Wagner ◽  
Allen Cheadle ◽  
David Pearson ◽  
William Beery ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Process Evaluation ◽  
Community Health Promotion ◽  
Grant Program

scholarly journals Translating Social Ecological Theory into Guidelines for Community Health Promotion

1996 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 282-298 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Stokols
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Community Health ◽  
Lifestyle Modification ◽  
Ecological Theory ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Health ◽  
Community Health Promotion ◽  
Social Ecological ◽  
Health Promotion Programs ◽  
Social Ecological Theory

Health promotion programs often lack a clearly specified theoretical foundation or are based on narrowly conceived conceptual models. For example, lifestyle modification programs typically emphasize individually focused behavior change strategies, while neglecting the environmental underpinnings of health and illness. This article compares three distinct, yet complementary, theoretical perspectives on health promotion: behavioral change, environmental enhancement, and social ecological models. Key strengths and limitations of each perspective are examined, and core principles of social ecological theory are used to derive practical guidelines for designing and evaluating community health promotion programs. Directions for future health promotion research are discussed, including studies examining the role of intermediaries (e.g., corporate decision-makers, legislators) in promoting the well-being of others, and those evaluating the duration and scope of intervention outcomes.

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