A Brief History of Disaster Evaluation Studies

2019 ◽  
pp. 3-10
Author(s):  
Edmund M. Ricci ◽  
Ernesto A. Pretto ◽  
Knut Ole Sundnes
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Evaluation Research ◽  
Scientific Study ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Care Systems ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Impact

The scientific study of disasters has a long history, albeit limited in scope and structure. The first studies tended to focus on the societal and human impact of these horrific events and to report numbers of casualties. Later studies examined more deeply the impact and stresses disasters have placed upon the individuals and communities affected and upon the emergency public health and medical care systems in the affected geographic areas. The methodological challenges to conducting these studies have been great in that disasters are typically unexpected, and there is little time for recording and collecting data concurrently. However, a methodology for collecting data descriptive of the medical and public health response to disasters is evolving through much trial and error. This chapter is not intended to be a comprehensive review of disaster evaluation research and evaluation. It is, rather, a portrait of some highlights in the complex and difficult pathway traversed by those who have attempted to study disasters while using the methods of science.

Disaster Evaluation Research

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edmund M. Ricci ◽  
Ernesto A. Pretto, Jr. ◽  
Knut Ole Sundnes
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Evaluation Studies ◽  
Evaluation Research ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Scientific Evaluation ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Disaster Preparedness And Response

The ultimate hope and great challenge undertaken by the authors of this volume is to improve disaster preparedness and response efforts globally by providing a standardized way to conduct rigorous and comprehensive scientific evaluative studies of the medical and public health response to these horrific events. It is our strongly held belief that the framework for the conduct of evaluative studies, as developed by specialists in scientific evaluation, offers the most appropriate and comprehensive structure for such studies. Our ‘eight-step approach’ is based upon a conceptual framework that is now widely used by health organizations globally as a basis for the evaluation of community-based medical and public health programs. We contend that many more disaster-related injuries and deaths can be prevented if the concepts and methods of evaluation science are applied to disaster events. In Part 1 of this book we describe the basic concepts and scientific methods used by program evaluation scientists to assess the structure, process, and outcomes of medical and public health interventions. In addition, a detailed description of a comprehensive medical and public health response system is described. In Part 2 we present an eight-step model for conducting an evaluative study of the response, again with a focus on the medical and public health components. Ethical issues that come into play in the conduct of disaster evaluative disaster research, and how these should be addressed, are the focus of Chapter 13. The final chapter offers a look to the future as new technology for data collection becomes available. We are not so naïve as to believe that disaster preparedness and response will change as a direct result of the availability of scientifically conducted assessments. Change requires a double pronged commitment—leaders from both the ranks of government and of the health professions must carefully consider, fund, and adopt policy positions and programs that are based upon the findings and recommendations that emerge from scientific evaluation studies. That is the most certain pathway to a better future.

H1N1 in the ‘A1 Empire’: Pandemic Influenza, Military Medicine, and the British Transition from War to Peace, 1918–1920

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (2) ◽  
pp. 604-621
Author(s):  
James J Harris
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Influenza Pandemic ◽  
Military Medicine ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Leading Role ◽  
Health Response ◽  
War Effort ◽  
History Of ◽  
Post War ◽  
The Impact

Summary The article reexamines the history of the 1918–19 influenza pandemic to better place it in its war-time context. Using Britain as a case study, the essay examines how British military medicine took a leading role in studying and developing a (still largely ineffective) public health response to the epidemic, whereas domestic public health leaders did almost nothing to stem the spread of the pandemic due to the impact measures such as quarantine would have had on the war effort. The article ends by briefly considering how the pandemic affected efforts to restore Britain to ‘normalcy’ during the immediate post-war recovery. In so doing, this essay further argues how it is essential to consider the deep connections between the Great War and the influenza pandemic not simply as concurrent or consecutive crises, but more deeply intertwined.

scholarly journals Effect of COVID-19 on childhood Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection in Chengdu, China

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ying Zhang ◽  
Yijie Huang ◽  
Tao Ai ◽  
Jun Luo ◽  
Hanmin Liu
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mycoplasma Pneumoniae ◽  
Close Contact ◽  
Serum Antibody ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Western China ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a change in the incidence and transmission of respiratory pathogens was observed. Here, we retrospectively analyzed the impact of COVID-19 on the epidemiologic characteristics of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection among children in Chengdu, one of the largest cities of western China. Method M. pneumoniae infection was diagnosed in 33,345 pediatric patients with respiratory symptoms at the Chengdu Women’s & Children’s Central Hospital between January 2017 and December 2020, based on a serum antibody titer of ≥1:160 measured by the passive agglutination assay. Differences in infection rates were examined by sex, age, and temporal distribution. Results Two epidemic outbreaks occurred between October-December 2017 and April-December 2019, and two infection peaks were detected in the second and fourth quarters of 2017, 2018, and 2019. Due to the public health response to COVID-19, the number of positive M. pneumoniae cases significantly decreased in the second quarter of 2020. The number of M. pneumoniae infection among children aged 3–6 years was higher than that in other age groups. Conclusions Preschool children are more susceptible to M. pneumoniae infection and close contact appears to be the predominant factor favoring pathogen transmission. The public health response to COVID-19 can effectively control the transmission of M. pneumoniae.

scholarly journals Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Public Health Stages on Paediatric Emergency Attendance

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (18) ◽  
pp. 6719 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thérèse McDonnell ◽  
Emma Nicholson ◽  
Ciara Conlon ◽  
Michael Barrett ◽  
Fergal Cummins ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Chronic Conditions ◽  
Living Conditions ◽  
Response Strategy ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
The Public ◽  
Complex Chronic Conditions ◽  
Paediatric Emergency ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The Impact

This study outlines the impact of COVID-19 on paediatric emergency department (ED) utilisation and assesses the extent of healthcare avoidance during each stage of the public health response strategy. Records from five EDs and one urgent care centre in Ireland, representing approximately 48% of national annual public paediatric ED attendances, are analysed to determine changes in characteristics of attendance during the three month period following the first reported COVID-19 case in Ireland, with reference to specific national public health stages. ED attendance reduced by 27–62% across all categories of diagnosis in the Delay phase and remained significantly below prior year levels as the country began Phase One of Reopening, with an incident rate ratio (IRR) of 0.58. The decrease was predominantly attributable to reduced attendance for injury and viral/viral induced conditions resulting from changed living conditions imposed by the public health response. However, attendance for complex chronic conditions also reduced and had yet to return to pre-COVID levels as reopening began. Attendances referred by general practitioners (GPs) dropped by 13 percentage points in the Delay phase and remained at that level. While changes in living conditions explain much of the decrease in overall attendance and in GP referrals, reduced attendance for complex chronic conditions may indicate avoidance behaviour and continued surveillance is necessary.

scholarly journals The impact of the initial public health response to COVID-19 on swine health surveillance in Ontario

One Health ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 100338
Author(s):  
Tatiana Petukhova ◽  
David L. Pearl ◽  
Maria Spinato ◽  
Jim Fairles ◽  
Murray Hazlett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Surveillance ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals The impact of Thailand's public health response to the HIV epidemic 1984–2015: understanding the ingredients of success

2016 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 7-14 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taweesap Siraprapasiri ◽  
Sumet Ongwangdee ◽  
Patchara Benjarattanaporn ◽  
Wiwat Peerapatanapokin ◽  
Mukta Sharma
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Hiv Epidemic ◽  
Health Response ◽  
The Impact

scholarly journals First Local Transmission Cluster of COVID-19 in Malaysia: Public Health Response

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 124-130
Author(s):  
Noor Ani Ahmad ◽  
Chong Zhuo Lin ◽  
Sunita Abd Rahman ◽  
Muhammad Haikal bin Ghazali ◽  
Ezy Eriyani Nadzari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Index Case ◽  
Contact Tracing ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Imported Case ◽  
Health Response ◽  
History Of ◽  
Local Transmission ◽  
Close Contacts ◽  
Inter State

Introduction: Rapid public health response is important in controlling the transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). In this study, we described the public health response taken by the Ministry of Health of Malaysia in managing the first local transmission cluster of COVID-19 related to mass-gathering and inter-state traveling to celebrate a festival. Methods: We summarized strategies implemented by the Malaysia Crisis Preparedness and Response Centre (CPRC) in managing the first local transmission of COVID-19. We collected information related to the epidemiological investigation of this cluster and described the inter-state network in managing the outbreak. Results: This first local transmission of COVID-19 in Malaysia had a history of contact with her older brother, the index case, who was the first Malaysian imported case. Only two positive cases were detected out of 59 contacts traced from the index case. Close contacts with infected person/s, inter-state movement, and public/family gatherings were identified as the sources of transmission. A large number of contacts were traced from inter-state traveling, and family gatherings during the festive season, and health consultations and treatment. Conclusion: Close contacts from inter-state movement and public/family gatherings were identified as the source of transmission. Family or public gatherings during festivals or religious events should be prohibited or controlled in COVID-19 prevalent areas. A structured surveillance system with rapid contact tracing is significant in controlling the transmission of COVID-19 in the community.

scholarly journals Mental Health and the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Call for Action

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 411-412
Author(s):  
G. Kalcev ◽  
A. Preti ◽  
G. Orrù ◽  
M.G. Carta
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Mental Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Burnout Syndrome ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Health Response ◽  
National Public Health ◽  
The Impact

The current COVID-19 pandemic is likely to affect the physical and mental health and the well-being of people globally. The physicians and nurses on the frontline of patients care will be among the most affected in their psychosocial well-being, being exposed to trauma consequences and burnout syndrome. It is still unknown whether the COVID-19 infection will have direct neuropsychiatric consequences. The impact of the quarantine lockdown on mental health, too, has to be taken into account. The inclusion of mental health as part of national public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic is mandatory in assisting all those in need.

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