Developing an evaluation tool for disaster risk messages

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (5) ◽  
pp. 570-582 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline D Bergeron ◽  
Daniela B Friedman
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Group Discussion ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Expert Assessment ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – Risk communication is a critical component of individual health decision making and behavior. In disaster situations, it is crucial that risk-related messages are communicated accurately and that they reach and inform target audiences about the steps they can take to protect their health. Despite a global recognition of the importance of risk communication in responding to disasters, there remains a dearth of evidence on how to evaluate the effectiveness of risk communication messages. The purpose of this paper is to develop and assess a pilot tool to evaluate the effectiveness of disaster risk messages. Design/methodology/approach – A pilot evaluation tool was developed using the existing risk communication literature. An expert assessment of the tool was conducted using an open-ended survey and a focus group discussion with 18 experts at the Public Health Agency of Canada in February 2013. Findings – The tool measures content, reach, and comprehension of the message. It is intended to be a quick, internal evaluation tool for use during a disaster or emergency. The experts acknowledged the practicality of the tool, while also recognizing evaluation challenges. Research limitations/implications – This pilot exploratory tool was assessed using a relatively small sample of experts. Practical implications – This tool offers public health and disaster preparedness practitioners a promising approach for evaluating and improving the communication and management of future public health emergencies. Originality/value – This is the first practical tool developed to evaluate risk communication messages in disaster situations.

scholarly journals Correctional Work: Reflections Regarding Suicide

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (8) ◽  
pp. 4280
Author(s):  
Christine Genest ◽  
Rosemary Ricciardelli ◽  
R. Nicholas Carleton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Family Doctor ◽  
Public Health Problem ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Life Time ◽  
Psychological Theory ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Employee Assistance Program ◽  
Assistance Program

The Public Health Agency of Canada declared suicide a public health problem in Canada (2016). Employees working in correctional services, researchers find, experience high rates of life-time suicidal ideation in comparison to other public safety professionals and the general population. Suicide behaviours (i.e., ideation, planning, attempts, death) are a multifactorial phenomenon, explained in part by the Interpersonal-Psychological Theory of Suicide that suggests attempted suicide is facilitated by perceived burdensomeness, a lost sense of belonging, a feeling of hopelessness, and a progressively reduced fear of death, as well as capacity and planning to engage a lethal attempt. In the current study, we unpack the factors that can influence suicide behaviours as reported by correctional workers. Our intent is to make explicit the experiences of a small sample (n = 25) of correctional workers in relation to suicidal behaviours, highlighting stories of recovery and acknowledging the importance of facilitating psychologically safe workplaces. Analysis entailed an inductive semi-grounded emergent theme approach. Participants identified certain risk factors as being able to induce suicidal ideation, such as marital or family problems as well as difficulties at work (i.e., bullying or difficult working conditions). Having children and a partner may act as factors preventing suicide for those with ideation. Participants sought help from professionals, such as their family doctor, a psychologist, or the Employee Assistance Program (EAP); however, the lack of perceived organisational supports and recognition of the issue of suicide by the employer are two elements that can hinder the search for help.

What women want: the effect of health agency advertising on patient-doctor communication

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Morton ◽  
Sabrina Habib ◽  
Jon Morris
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Health ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Communications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women’S Sexual Health ◽  
Doctor Communication

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between women’s sexual health agency and their intent to initiate communications with their doctors. The research questions examined the effect sexual health agency has on patient-doctor communication, women’s emotional responses to health advertisements encouraging patient communication with their doctors, attitude toward the message and behavioral intentions after exposure to the advertising message. Design/methodology/approach An experimental design was implemented via an online questionnaire instrument to test the differences between younger-aged women (25 to 45 years) and mature-aged women (46 to 70 years). It was observed that 188 women who reported their status as single and sexually active in the past 12 months were exposed to a health advertisement that encouraged patient-doctor communication. Analyses were conducted to compare between-group measures on sexual health agency, emotional response and attitude toward the ad and behavioral intention. Findings No statistical difference existed between younger and older women. In general, women expect their doctor to lead conversations about sexual health but are positively reinforced by health messages that encourage their assertiveness as patients. Research limitations/implications The small sample size also may have limited the study’s potential to evaluate differences between age segments. Future research should explore this further. Practical implications The study provides evidence that sexual health advertising can reinforce women’s intent to initiate conversations with doctors regardless of age. Social implications Health communications can bolster women’s sexual health agency and improve patient-initiated conversations with doctors. Originality/value The study is the first to explore advertising messaging’s potential for applying health agency as a communication strategy for encouraging sexual health communications between women and their doctors.

The SCIA Questionnaire: standards for communities for children and adolescents – a tool for the evaluation of good practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Cinzia Guarnaccia ◽  
Anna Maria Ferraro ◽  
Maria Lo Cascio ◽  
Simone Bruschetta ◽  
Francesca Giannone
Keyword(s):  
Children And Adolescents ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Community Treatment ◽  
Short Version ◽  
Therapeutic Communities ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present the Italian validation of the standards for communities for children and adolescents (SCIA) Questionnaire, an evaluation tool of communities quality standards, based on the “Service Standards for Therapeutic Communities for Children and Young People – 2nd edition” of the Community of Communities (2009), that enables an empirical, multidimensional and complex evaluation of the therapeutic community (TC) “system”. It is a self-report that sets out and measures variables that allow to get an overview of organisational models and the possible development areas to improve the effectiveness of the protection of child and adolescents in community treatment. The validation and a preliminary analysis to develop a short version of the SCIA are presented. Design/methodology/approach The questionnaire (composed, in the extended form, by 143 items) was administered to 101 community workers, 20 males (19.8 per cent) and 81 females (81.2 per cent) aged between 24 and 61 years (M=36.20, SD=8.4). The analysis of reliability (Cronbach’s α) and a series of exploratory factor analysis allowed to eliminate redundant or less significant items. Findings The short form of the self-report consists of 67 items, divided into seven subscales, which explore different areas of intervention in TCs. Despite the limitations due to the small sample size, the utility of this tool remains confirmed by its clinical use and the development of good operating practices. Originality/value The SCIA Questionnaire responds to the need to adopt empirical variables in the process of evaluation of the communities. The SCIA is also a useful tool for clinical evaluation, as it allows a detailed observation of residential community treatment with children and adolescents that allows to analyse and monitor the structural and organisational aspects and the quality of practices that guide the interventions.

El Niño-induced droughts in the Colombian Andes: towards a critique of contingency thinking

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 382-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reidar Staupe-Delgado ◽  
Bjørn Ivar Kruke
Keyword(s):  
El Niño ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
El Nino ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Rapid Onset ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Proactive Management ◽  
Slow Onset ◽  
Contingency Approach

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the contingency approach to disaster preparedness inhibits proactive management of slow-onset disasters, such as El Niño, with the purpose of advancing disaster risk theory. Design/methodology/approach This study draws on fieldwork data from Nariño, Colombia, combined with secondary data and a review of the literature on El Niño and disaster preparedness. Findings Disaster managers in Nariño do have contingency plans for El Niño events at their disposal. Yet, these plans do not come into play before impacts reach a certain severity. This “contingency approach” to disaster preparedness appears to stem from the assumption that disaster must come before response, effectively inhibiting proactive responses to El Niño impacts. Research limitations/implications Attributing observed cases of droughts and oral accounts of impacts to the El Niño phenomenon is methodologically challenging. To overcome this, the aim of this study is not the documentation of subjective attributions. Instead, the focus is on bringing to the fore key dilemmas that preparedness professionals may face when they prepare for disasters with a slow onset. Practical implications Developing prevention and preparedness conceptualisations that focus on preemptive measures should ensure a more proactive response to slow-onset disasters. Originality/value Whether slow-onset disasters lend themselves to the same types of risk reduction strategies applied to rapid-onset disasters is a theoretical and practical issue that has not been explored sufficiently in the disaster risk literature.

scholarly journals The new frontier of public health education

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Birnbaum ◽  
Kathryn Gretsinger ◽  
Ursula Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Team Building ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Public Health Education ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Undergraduate Public Health

Purpose The aim of this paper is to describe the experience and educational benefits of a course that has several unique educational design features. Design/methodology/approach This includes narrative description of faculty and student experience from participants in a flipped-instructional-design inter-professional education course. Findings “Improving Public Health – An Interprofessional Approach to Designing and Implementing Effective Interventions” is an undergraduate public health course open to students regardless of background. Its student activities mirror the real-life tasks and challenges of working in a public health agency, including team-building and leadership; problem and project definition and prioritization; evidence-finding and critical appraisal; written and oral presentation; and press interviews. Students successfully developed project proposals to address real problems in a wide range of communities and settings and refined those proposals through interaction with professionals from population and public health, journalism and library sciences. Practical implications Undergraduate public health education is a relatively new endeavor, and experience with this new approach may be of value to other educators. Originality/value Students in this course, journalism graduate students who conducted mock interviews with them and instructors who oversaw the course all describe unique aspects and related personal benefit from this novel approach.

scholarly journals Household Preparedness and Preferred Communication Channels in Public Health Emergencies: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Residents in an Asian Developed Urban City

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (8) ◽  
pp. 1598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Greta Tam ◽  
Zhe Huang ◽  
Emily Chan
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Infectious Disease ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Risk Communication ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disease Surveillance ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Urban City ◽  
Household Preparedness

Disaster awareness and household preparedness are crucial for reducing the negative effects of a disaster. This study aims to examine the citizens’ preparedness level in the event of a general disaster or outbreak of infectious disease and to identify suitable channels for community disease surveillance and risk communication. We used a stratified random design to conduct a digit-dialed telephone survey in Hong Kong during February 2014. Level of disaster preparedness was examined according to the possession of disaster kit items. Associations between socio-demographic factors and good household preparedness were assessed using multiple logistic regression models. Preferences for infectious disease surveillance were collected and analyzed. There were 1020 respondents. Over half of the respondents (59.2%) had good household preparedness. After adjustment, female respondents, having higher education and higher household income were significantly associated with good household preparedness. Television and telephone were the preferred channels to obtain and report infectious disease information, respectively. In conclusion, general and specific infectious-disease household preparedness levels in Hong Kong were generally good. Tailored preparedness programs targeted to specific communities are necessary for those lacking preparedness. Risk communication and public health surveillance should be conducted through television and telephone, respectively.

An entropy-based approach for disaster risk assessment and humanitarian logistics operations planning in Colombia

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rafael Renteria ◽  
Mario Chong ◽  
Irineu de Brito Junior ◽  
Ana Luna ◽  
Renato Quiliche
Keyword(s):  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Risk Mitigation ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Capabilities Approach ◽  
Humanitarian Logistics ◽  
Assessment Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disaster Vulnerability ◽  
Leibler Divergence ◽  
Maximum Entropy Estimation

PurposeThis paper aims to design a vulnerability assessment model considering the multidimensional and systematic approach to disaster risk and vulnerability. This model serves to both risk mitigation and disaster preparedness phases of humanitarian logistics.Design/methodology/approachA survey of 27,218 households in Pueblo Rico and Dosquebradas was conducted to obtain information about disaster risk for landslides, floods and collapses. We adopted a cross entropy-based approach for the measure of disaster vulnerability (Kullback–Leibler divergence), and a maximum-entropy estimation for the reconstruction of risk a priori categorization (logistic regression). The capabilities approach of Sen supported theoretically our multidimensional assessment of disaster vulnerability.FindingsDisaster vulnerability is shaped by economic, such as physical attributes of households, and health indicators, which are in specific morbidity indicators that seem to affect vulnerability outputs. Vulnerability is heterogeneous between communities/districts according to formal comparisons of Kullback–Leibler divergence. Nor social dimension, neither chronic illness indicators seem to shape vulnerability, at least for Pueblo Rico and Dosquebradas.Research limitations/implicationsThe results need a qualitative or case study validation at the community/district level.Practical implicationsWe discuss how risk mitigation policies and disaster preparedness strategies can be driven by empirical results. For example, the type of stock to preposition can vary according to the disaster or the kind of alternative policies that can be formulated on the basis of the strong relationship between morbidity and disaster risk.Originality/valueEntropy-based metrics are not widely used in humanitarian logistics literature, as well as empirical data-driven techniques.

Institutional foundations of disaster risk reduction policy

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 245-257 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica De Majo ◽  
Jan Olsson
Keyword(s):  
Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Risk Reduction ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Necessary Condition ◽  
Institutional Practices ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Local Practices ◽  
National Governments ◽  
Institutional Foundations

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore and elaborate on how institutional conditions work to the advantage and disadvantage of disaster risk reduction (DRR) policies on different levels in two countries.Design/methodology/approachA qualitative case study design is used to study empirically two countries with very different traditions when it comes to political-administrative institutions: Argentina and Sweden.FindingsAs expected, the institutional foundations of DRR policy in Sweden are shown to be more consistent and stable than in Argentina. However, this difference is of less importance when considering the crucial role of local practices. National institutional foundations can function as support – but is not a necessary condition – for building disaster preparedness on the ground. The authors argue that national governments cannot do without institutionalized praxis-based preparedness, which is vital for both effective emergency management and learning.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the disaster research debate by elaborating on institutional arrangements that can facilitate or hinder DRR strategies in a multi-level context. The main argument is that institutional practices on the ground are important to compensate for insufficient national institutions, either because they are weak or too distant from practical DRR. The authors also elaborate on how institutional practices can function as a source for learning and for building legitimate practical authority from the bottom up.

scholarly journals Integrating animal disease epidemics into disaster risk management

2016 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 506-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cheney Shreve ◽  
Belinda Davis ◽  
Maureen Fordham
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
One Health ◽  
Disaster Risk ◽  
Community Level ◽  
Animal Disease ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Disease Epidemics ◽  
Epidemic Risk

Purpose – Holistic approaches to public health such as “One Health” emphasize the interconnectedness between people, animals, ecosystems, and epidemic risk, and many advocate for this philosophy to be adopted within disaster risk management (DRM). Historically, animal and human diseases have been managed separately from each other, and apart from other hazards considered for DRM. Shifts in DRM, however, may complement a One Health approach. The taxonomy of hazards considered under DRM has expanded to include medical and social crises such as epizootics and terrorism. However, there is a gap in understanding how epidemic risk is integrated into DRM at the community-level. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – TACTIC adopts a participatory case study approach examining preparedness for multiple hazard types (floods, epidemics, earthquakes, and terrorism) at the community-level. This paper reports on findings from the epidemic case study which took as its focus the 2001 foot-and-mouth disease epidemic in the UK because of the diverse human, social, and environmental impacts of this “animal” disease. Findings – Epizootic preparedness tends to focus on biosecurity and phytosanitary measures, and is geared towards agriculture and farming. Greater engagement with public health and behavioural sciences to manage public health impacts of animal disease epidemics, and activities for citizen engagement to improve preparedness are discussed. The impermeability of boundaries (hazard, institutional, disciplinary, etc.) is a key constraint to integrating One Health into DRM. Originality/value – This work helps to situate the One Health discussion within the community-level DRM context.

scholarly journals Validation of the Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool for Nurses—The Korean Version

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 1348
Author(s):  
Suk Jung Han ◽  
Jiyoung Chun
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analysis ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Goodness Of Fit ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Evaluation Tool ◽  
Korean Version ◽  
Confirmatory Factor

(1) Background: The purpose of this study was to validate a Korean version of the disaster preparedness evaluation tool (DPET-K) for nurses and to verify its validity and reliability for use in community healthcare centers and hospitals in South Korea; (2) Methods: In total, 497 nurses (248 for exploratory factor analysis and 249 for confirmatory factor analysis) at public health centers, public health sub-centers, public health clinics, and general hospitals in Seoul and Gyeonggi, Chungcheong, and Gangwon Provinces participated in this study. The tool went through translation and back-translation, content validity verification, a pilot survey, and validity and reliability testing; (3) Results: The DPET-K had 28 items with five factors (disaster education and training, disaster knowledge and information, bioterrorism and emergency response, disaster response, and disaster evaluation). The Cronbach’s α values for internal consistency were 0.766–0.953 for the five subscales of the DPET-K. A structural equation model was built through confirmatory factor analysis for goodness of fit (χ2/df = 2.193, SRMR = 0.060, RMSEA = 0.069, GFI = 0.831, CFI = 0.927, NFI = 0.875); (4) Conclusions: The DPET-K was confirmed to be a useful tool for assessing the disaster preparedness of nurses in Korea.

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