Factors That Affect Emergency Responder Wellbeing: Considerations for Public Health Responders

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Tsega Gebreyesus ◽  
Julia Cohen ◽  
Bobby Rasulnia ◽  
Sachiko Kuwabara
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
The Body ◽  
Factors Associated ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Emergency Responder ◽  
Public Health Emergency Response

Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify key risk factors that could negatively affect public health emergency responders’ health and wellbeing. We seek to use this information to provide recommendations and strategies to mitigate such risks. Design/Methodology/Approach: A narrative review of the peer-reviewed literature on wellbeing of military personnel and other responders was conducted. Data was grouped and categorized according to overarching domains. Findings: Factors associated with wellbeing were categorized into 5 domains: (1) demographics; (2) mental health concerns; (3) social networks; (4) work environment; and (5) postdeployment life. The strategies identified to promote wellbeing included mental health assessments, preparedness trainings, debriefs in the field, postdeployment debriefs, resources in the field, and further postdeployment decompression strategies. Originality/Value: This study provides a unique understanding of the risk factors associated with poor health and wellbeing outcomes in public health emergency response work by extending the body of knowledge that focuses on other types of emergency and military response.

Transpositions in Configurable Virtual Storyworlds

2010 ◽  
pp. 72-94
Author(s):  
James J. Sosnoski ◽  
Kevin Q. Harvey ◽  
Jordan Stalker ◽  
Colleen Monahan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Second Life ◽  
Professional Training ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
University Of Illinois ◽  
Emergency Responders ◽  
Collaborative Environment ◽  
Public Health Emergency Response ◽  
The University

BACKGROUND: The Center for the Advancement of Distance Education (CADE) is a self-supporting unit within the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. The center’s services range from online continuing education and professional training to multimedia Web-casting and research data management, analysis and presentation. TECHNOLOGY USED: In public health emergency response training, an isolation and quarantine situation is one of the most challenging. Second Life has the capability and potential to address many of the training and planning challenges associated with such a sensitive topic. It enables public health emergency responders to test and refine existing plans and procedures in a safe, controllable, immersive and repeatable environment. CASE STUDY: A quarantine scenario designed for emergency training. The authors designed “The Canyon Crossroads” as a key transit point between two quarantine areas and two uninfected areas. They placed a state border to divide the crossroads leaving quarantine zones in each jurisdiction. The local hospital was located in one of the quarantine zones and it is an official holding and treatment location for infected victims. The exercise involves transmitting persons in and out of the four areas. CHALLENGES: There are three challenges the authors are currently addressing: (a) how to increase the levels of engagement in the training process, (b) how to construct a virtual world that fosters collaboration, and (c) how to measure the levels of engagement in this collaborative environment.

scholarly journals Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) One Year Following the Gulf Coast Oil Spill: Alabama and Mississippi, 2011

2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 496-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Buttke ◽  
Sara Vagi ◽  
Amy Schnall ◽  
Tesfaye Bayleyegn ◽  
Melissa Morrison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Oil Spill ◽  
Gulf Coast ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Community Assessment ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Public Health Emergency Response ◽  
One Year

AbstractBackgroundOn April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon drilling unit exploded off the coast of Louisiana, resulting in 11 deaths and the largest marine petroleum release in history. Previous oil spill disasters have been associated with negative mental health outcomes in affected communities. In response to requests from Mississippi and Alabama, potential mental health issues resulting from this event were identified by implementing a novel use of a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) in the months immediately following the Gulf Coast oil spill.PurposeThis assessment was repeated one year later to determine long-term mental health needs and changes.MethodsA two-stage sampling method was used to select households, and a questionnaire including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) questions was administered. Weighted cluster analysis was conducted, and BRFSS questions were compared to the most recent BRFSS reports and the 2010 results.ResultsIn 2011, 8.8%-15.1% of individuals reported depressive symptoms compared to 15.4%–24.5% of individuals in 2010, with 13.2%-20.3% reporting symptoms consistent with an anxiety disorder compared to 21.4%-31.5% of individuals in 2010. Respondents reporting decreased income following the oil spill were more likely to report mental health symptoms compared to respondents reporting no change in income.ConclusionsOverall, mental health symptoms were higher in the three assessment areas compared to BRFSS reports, but lower than 2010 surveys. These results suggest that mental health services are still needed, particularly in households experiencing decreased income since the oil spill.ButtkeD, VagiS, SchnallA, BayleyegnT, MorrisonM, AllenM, WolkinA. Community assessment for public health emergency response (CASPER) one year following the Gulf Coast oil spill: Alabama and Mississippi, 2011. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(6):1-7.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Risk Factors Associated With Mental Health Symptoms Among the Outpatient Psychiatric Patients and Their Family Members in China During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Qiu ◽  
Jing Huang ◽  
Jinghui Sun ◽  
Jiaxu Zhao ◽  
Apian Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Mental Health Problems ◽  
Acute Stress ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Mental Health Symptoms ◽  
Health Symptoms ◽  
Factors Associated

Objective: To investigate the prevalence of and risk factors associated with mental health symptoms in psychiatric outpatients and their family members in China during the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: This cross-sectional, survey-based, region-stratified study collected demographic data and mental health measurements for depression, anxiety and acute stress from 269 psychiatric patients and 231 family members in the Second Xiangya Hospital in China from April 27, 2020 to May 8, 2020. Binary logistic regression analysis was performed to identify risk factors associated with mental health outcomes.Result: The results of this survey revealed that symptoms of depression, anxiety, and acute stress were highly prevalent symptoms in the psychiatric patient group. Respondents who were female, unmarried or highly educated were significantly more likely to have the above symptoms. In the family member group, more than half of them felt that the burden of nursing had increased during the epidemic. Subjects with a high degree of burden of care were significantly more likely to exhibit the above mental health symptoms, while females were significantly more likely to have acute stress.Conclusions: The results of this survey revealed a high prevalence of mental health disorder symptoms among psychiatric patients and an increased burden of nursing among their family members after the COVID-19 outbreak in China. Understanding the risk factors in those particular groups of people help improve the public health service system for mental health problems during public health events. For further study, exploration of the needs of mental health services and dynamic change tracking will be needed.

scholarly journals Factors Associated with Nonfatal Overdose During a Public Health Emergency

2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce Wallace ◽  
Mary Clare Kennedy ◽  
Thomas Kerr ◽  
Bernie Pauly
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Emergency ◽  
Factors Associated

scholarly journals Toxocara cati and other parasitic enteropathogens: more commonly found in owned cats with gastrointestinal signs than in clinically healthy ones

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aurora L. Ursache ◽  
Adriana Györke ◽  
Viorica Mircean ◽  
Mirabela Oana Dumitrache ◽  
Andrei Răzvan Codea ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Giardia Duodenalis ◽  
Gastrointestinal Parasites ◽  
Parasitic Infections ◽  
Toxocara Cati ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health And Wellbeing ◽  
Faecal Samples ◽  
Flotation Method

Abstract Gastrointestinal parasites are involved in the health and wellbeing of cats and some of them, due to their zoonotic character represent a problem for the public health. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of parasitic infections in cats with digestive symptoms. Faecal samples collected from 137 cats were analysed by the flotation method using sodium chloride saturated solution. The overall prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) parasites was 56.6%. GI parasites were significantly (p=0.005) more common in cats with digestive symptoms (69.8%) than in clinically healthy ones (23.0%). Toxocara cati (40.2%) was the most frequently identified GI parasite, followed by Cystoisospora spp. (10.2%), Ancylostoma tubaeforme (3.7%), Taenia spp. (2.2), Giardia duodenalis (2.2%), and Toxoplasma gondii-like oocysts (0.7%). T. cati (53.3%, p<0.0001) and Cystoisospora spp. (15.6%, p<0.001) were significantly more frequently diagnosed in cats with digestive symptoms. Lack of deworming in the last three months (OR: 15.9), outdoor access (OR: 13.8), the presence of digestive symptoms (OR: 5.4), and young age (OR: 4.2) were identified as risk factors for T. cati infection by logistic regression analysis. Regardless of the age, symptoms like vomiting, diarrhoea, and inappetence were positively associated with T. cati.

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