scholarly journals The Effects of Funding Change and Reorganization on Patterns of Emergency Response in a Local Health Agency

2014 ◽  
Vol 129 (6_suppl4) ◽  
pp. 166-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Russell G. Schuh ◽  
Michelle Basque ◽  
Margaret A. Potter
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Response ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Response Data ◽  
Equal Rate ◽  
Response Capacity ◽  
Categorical Response ◽  
Internal Function

Indicators for Stress Adaptation Analytics (ISAAC) is a protocol to measure the emergency response behavior of organizations within local public health systems. We used ISAAC measurements to analyze how funding and structural changes may have affected the emergency response capacity of a local health agency. We developed ISAAC profiles for an agency's consecutive fiscal years 2013 and 2014, during which funding cuts and organizational restructuring had occurred. ISAAC uses descriptive and categorical response data to obtain a function stress score and a weighted contribution score to the agency's total response. In the absence of an emergency, we simulated one by assuming that each function was stressed at an equal rate for each of the two years and then we compared the differences between the two years. The simulations revealed that seemingly minor personnel or budget changes in health departments can mask considerable variation in change at the internal function level.

scholarly journals Development of a Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment Using a Public Health Lens to Determine Local Health Vulnerabilities: An Ontario Health Unit Experience

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (10) ◽  
pp. 2237 ◽  
Author(s):  
Morgan Levison ◽  
Ainslie Butler ◽  
Steven Rebellato ◽  
Brenda Armstrong ◽  
Marina Whelan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Vulnerability Assessment ◽  
Action Plan ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Health Impacts ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Local Public Health

Climate change is negatively impacting the health of Canadians and is accordingly expected to have a significant impact on public health agencies and their response to these health impacts throughout the twenty-first century. While national and international research and assessments have explored the potential human health impacts of climate change, few assessments have explored the implications of climate change from a local public health perspective. An applied research approach to expand local knowledge and action of health vulnerabilities through a climate change action plan and vulnerability assessment was utilized by a local public health agency. Adoption and adaptation of the approach used may be valuable for public health organizations to assist their communities. Through completing a vulnerability assessment, an evidentiary base was generated for public health to inform adaptation actions to reduce negative health impacts and increase resiliency. Challenges in completing vulnerability assessments at the local level include the framing and scoping of health impacts and associated indicators, as well as access to internal expertise surrounding the analysis of data. While access to quantitative data may be limiting at the local level, qualitative data can enhance knowledge of local impacts, while also supporting the creation of key partnerships with community stakeholders which can ensure climate action continues beyond the scope of the vulnerability assessment.

scholarly journals A Meaningful Journey to Onboard Syndromic Data through a Local HIE

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey Johnson ◽  
Jessica Yen ◽  
Brit Colanter ◽  
Eric McDonald
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Health Information Exchange ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Meaningful Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
Public Health Agencies

This presentation aims to highlight key activities, technical approaches, data discoveries, lessons learned and outcomes achieved while onboarding local hospitals for syndromic Meaningful Use Stage 2 through a local health information exchange. The federal meaningful use initiative is currently a major driver to enable greater establishment of syndromic surveillance capacity across the United States. The role and efforts by local and state public health agencies in the syndromic onboarding process varies greatly. We describe efforts from a local public health agency to onboard, validate and integrate meaningful use syndromic information.

Role of Exercises and Drills in the Evaluation of Public Health in Emergency Response

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 173-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristine M. Gebbie ◽  
Joan Valas ◽  
Jacqueline Merrill ◽  
Stephen Morse
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Delphi Panel ◽  
Emergency Plan ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
The Public ◽  
Delphi Round ◽  
Over Time

AbstractIntroduction:Public health agencies have been participating in emergency preparedness exercises for many years. A poorly designed or executed exercise, or an unevaluated or inadequately evaluated plan, may do more harm than good if it leads to a false sense of security, and results in poor performance during an actual emergency. At the time this project began, there were no specific standards for the public health aspects of exercises and drills, and no defined criteria for the evaluation of agency performance in public health.Objective:The objective of this study was to develop defined criteria for the evaluation of agency performance.Method:A Delphi panel of 26 experts in the field participated in developing criteria to assist in the evaluation of emergency exercise performance, and facilitate measuring improvement over time. Candidate criteria were based on the usual parts of an emergency plan and three other frameworks used elsewhere in public health or emergency response.Results:The response rate from the expert panel for Delphi Round I was 74%, and for Delphi Round II was 55%. This final menu included 46 public health-agency level criteria grouped into nine categories for use in evaluating an emergency drill or exercise at the local public health level.Conclusion:Use of the public health-specific criteria developed through this process will allow for specific assessment and planning for measurable improvement in a health agency over time.

scholarly journals Creation of a specific and separated pediatric intra-hospital pathway in primary level hospitals during the era of COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 205873922110108
Author(s):  
Marco Manfredi ◽  
Pietro Ragni ◽  
Giancarlo Gargano
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Care ◽  
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Primary Level ◽  
Level Hospital ◽  
Rule Out

Every new pandemic forces us to start new specific behaviors both in the civil life and within the hospitals trying to contain the spreading of the infection and preserve the more fragile people. In this regard, at the debut of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-CoronaVirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, our Local Health Agency had drastically modified every clinical and organizational pathways in order to limit the diffusion of the infection as well as to maintain a good quality of care and preserve healthcare workers. We report how we have modified the usual pediatric intra-hospital pathways in our primary level hospital to avoid mixing children with suspected and non-suspected symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Before every hospitalization, regardless of symptoms, each child and him/her parent/caregiver are undergone to rapid antigenic and molecular swab to rule out a SARS-CoV-2 infection; hence, positive patients are transferred to Pediatric Unit of third level hospital equipped by a Pediatric COVID Intensive Unit. We think the healthcare behaviors described in this manuscript can help to reduce the intra-hospital spreading of SARS-CoV-2, although children seem to have a minimal role in the dissemination, but we cannot let down your guard. Simultaneously we observed that the overall children requiring inpatient pediatric evaluation and hospitalization have dramatically decreased from the beginning of pandemic.

scholarly journals (A4) Emergency Health Interventions in Earthquakes: Red Cross Experience from Haiti and Chile, 2010

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s2-s2
Author(s):  
P. Saaristo ◽  
T. Aloudat
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Red Cross ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Basic Health ◽  
Basic Health Care ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Local Health Care ◽  
Local Health Care System ◽  
Rapid Deployment

On 12 January 2010, the fate of Haiti and its people shifted with the ground beneath them as the strongest earthquake in 200 years, and a series of powerful aftershocks demolished the capital and multiple areas throughout the southern coast in thirty seconds, leaving some 220,000 people dead, and 300,000 persons injured. On 27 February 2010, at 03:35 hours local time, an earthquake of magnitude 8.8 struck Chile. As a consequence, the tsunami generated affected a coastal strip of more than 500 kilometers. Approximately 1.5 million people were affected and thousands lost their homes and livelihoods. The emergency health response of the International Red Cross Movement to both disasters was immediate, powerful and dynamic. The IFRC deployed seven emergency response units (ERU) to Haiti: one 150-bed referral hospital, one Rapid Deployment Emergency Hospital, and five basic health care units. One surgical hospital and two Basic Health Care Units were deployed to Chile. The ERU system of the IFRC is a flexible and dynamic tool for emergency health response in shifting and challenging environments. Evaluations show that the system performs well during urban and rural disasters. Despite a very different baseline in the two contexts, the ERU system of IFRC can adapt to the local needs. As panorama of pathology in the aftermath of an earthquake changes, the ERU system adapts and continues supporting the local health care system in its recovery.

scholarly journals The Road Map to Preparedness: A Competency-Based Approach to All-Hazards Emergency Readiness Training for the Public Health Workforce

2005 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 504-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cindy L. Parker ◽  
Daniel J. Barnett ◽  
Ayanna L. Fews ◽  
David Blodgett ◽  
Jonathan M. Links
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Emergency Response ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Public Health Workforce ◽  
Local Health ◽  
Health Departments ◽  
Training Tool ◽  
The Road ◽  
Road Map ◽  
Competency Based

Facing limited time and budgetary resources, state and local health departments need a practical, competency-based training approach to meet the all-hazards readiness requirements of their employees. The Road Map to Preparedness is a training tool designed to assist health departments in providing comprehensive, agency-tailored readiness instruction to their employees. This tool uses an incentive-based, game-like, experiential learning approach to meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's nine core competencies for all public health workers while facilitating public health employees' understanding and acceptance of their emergency response roles. A corresponding evaluation tool, the Road Map to Preparedness Evaluation, yields metrically-driven assessments of public health employee readiness competencies. Since its pilot in 2003, the Road Map to Preparedness has met with enthusiastic response from participating health departments in the mid-Atlantic region. In addition to its public health impact, the Road Map offers future promise as a tool to assist organizational emergency response training in private sector and non-public health first-responder agency settings.

scholarly journals At udskyde det uundgåelige: Om brugen af kausal viden i forebyggende tiltag

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (17) ◽  
Author(s):  
Morten Hulvej Rod ◽  
Tine Curtis
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Causal Knowledge ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
The Future ◽  
Prevention And Health Promotion ◽  
Local Public Health Agency ◽  
Public Health Practitioners

This paper discusses the heavy reliance upon a particular kind of causal knowledge in prevention and health promotion. Based on ethnographic fieldwork with prevention professionals working with interventions targeting teenage drinking in Denmark, the paper argues that, while attempting to provide predictions for the future, prevention creates certain problems for itself in the moments of social interaction where it is practiced. The paper suggests that prevention can be seen as an attempt at postponing the future and through empirical examples it is illustrated how this project causes a number of practical problems to prevention professionals. The paper begins by sketching the causal epistemology that dominates current public health research. Next, ethnographic descriptions of (i) an educational intervention in Danish schools and (ii) a meeting for parents arranged by a local public health agency provide the material for discussing the practical use of causal knowledge. It is shown that this knowledge becomes contradicted and undermined in the social interaction between public health practitioners and their target groups, and that – paradoxically – this knowledge tends to actualize the very phenomenon it seeks to prevent. The paper employs Bourdieu’s distinction between two modes of anticipatory intelligence, the project and the protention, and argues that, in the interaction between prevention professionals and target group, the widespread use of causal knowledge might inhibit and counteract the situational competencies of prevention professionals.

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