Natural Disaster and Crisis: Lessons Learned about Cleft and Craniofacial Care from Hurricane Katrina and the West Bank

2011 ◽  
Vol 48 (6) ◽  
pp. 741-749 ◽  
Author(s):  
John A. Van Aalst ◽  
Ronald P. Strauss ◽  
Lynn Fox ◽  
Cynthia H. Cassell ◽  
Margot Stein ◽  
...  

Cleft care is generally characterized by staged, carefully timed surgeries and long-term, team-centered follow-up. Acute and chronic crises can wreak havoc on the comprehensive team care required by children with craniofacial anomalies. In addition, there is evidence that crises, including natural disasters and chronic disruptions, such as political turmoil and poverty, can lead to an increased incidence of craniofacial anomalies. The purpose of this article is to delineate the impact of acute and chronic crises on cleft care. Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 2005, resulted in an acute crisis that temporarily disrupted the infrastructure necessary to deliver cleft care; chronic turmoil in the West Bank/Palestine has resulted in an absence of infrastructure to deliver cleft care. Through these central examples, this article will illustrate—through the prism of cleft care—the need for (1) disaster preparedness for acute crises, (2) changing needs following acute crises that may lead to persistent chronic disruption, and (3) baseline and long-term monitoring of population changes after a disaster has disrupted a health care delivery system.

2014 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip Leech

The Palestinian Authority’s (PA) imposition of order after the end of the al-Aqsa Intifada has been generally interpreted as a success. Not only did the PA consolidate its power in the West Bank and restore good relations with Israel and the West, it also appeared to obtain popular legitimacy by cracking down on its political opponents. This paper discusses the impact of the PA’s imposition of order in Nablus, a town which had endured lawlessness and disorder under an Israeli siege (2001-7) and had been the focus of the PA’s security agenda. It argues that, though the PA’s security agenda initially enjoyed popular consent, this does not demonstrate public endorsement of the PA’s legitimacy. Rather the consent that such measures produced was superficial and, in the long term, the acceleration of the PA’s shift towards authoritarianism is likely to be profoundly debilitating for Palestinian society in general. 


2014 ◽  
Vol 02 (02) ◽  
pp. 067-069 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mintu Baruah ◽  
K.V.S. Kumar

AbstractDisaster preparedness is an important but often a neglected part in the management of chronic disorders. India is facing an epidemic of diabetes and the patients with diabetes are also exposed to the risk of natural disaster along with other members of the society. India faced many disasters in the past including the Bhopal gas leak, Gujarat earthquake and Andaman tsunami. These disasters exposed the lacunae in the disaster preparedness and lead to devastating health consequences. Previous research focused more on the immediate, traumatic aspects of the disasters and neglected the impact on chronic disorders. The experience of managing diabetes after Hurricane Katrina gave important insights into the short and long term consequences of a disaster. Our article provides information about the impact of disasters on diabetes, difficulties in the management and suggested measures at various levels to improve the disaster preparedness.


2009 ◽  
Vol 95 (1) ◽  
pp. 6-12
Author(s):  
Kusuma Madamala ◽  
Claudia R. Campbell ◽  
Edbert B. Hsu ◽  
Yu-Hsiang Hsieh ◽  
James James

ABSTRACT Introduction: On Aug. 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina made landfall along the Gulf Coast of the United States, resulting in the evacuation of more than 1.5 million people, including nearly 6000 physicians. This article examines the relocation patterns of physicians following the storm, determines the impact that the disaster had on their lives and practices, and identifies lessons learned. Methods: An Internet-based survey was conducted among licensed physicians reporting addresses within Federal Emergency Management Agency-designated disaster zones in Louisiana and Mississippi. Descriptive data analysis was used to describe respondent characteristics. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the factors associated with physician nonreturn to original practice. For those remaining relocated out of state, bivariate analysis with x2 or Fisher exact test was used to determine factors associated with plans to return to original practice. Results: A total of 312 eligible responses were collected. Among disaster zone respondents, 85.6 percent lived in Louisiana and 14.4 percent resided in Mississippi before the hurricane struck. By spring 2006, 75.6 percent (n = 236) of the respondents had returned to their original homes, whereas 24.4 percent (n = 76) remained displaced. Factors associated with nonreturn to original employment included family or general medicine practice (OR 0.42, 95 percent CI 0.17–1.04; P = .059) and severe or complete damage to the workplace (OR 0.24, 95 percent CI 0.13–0.42; P < .001). Conclusions: A sizeable proportion of physicians remain displaced after Hurricane Katrina, along with a lasting decrease in the number of physicians serving in the areas affected by the disaster. Programs designed to address identified physician needs in the aftermath of the storm may give confidence to displaced physicians to return.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Samah W. Al-Jabi ◽  
Ansam Sous ◽  
Fatimah Jorf ◽  
Mahmoud Taqatqa ◽  
Mahdi Allan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The impact of end-stage renal disease on the patient’s psychological status necessitates the value of increasing depression awareness. The current study aimed to assess the depression prevalence among Palestinian hemodialyzed patients and its association with patients’ characteristics. Methods A convenience clustered sampling technique was followed. Sample was collected from ten hemodialysis centers in the West Bank, Palestine, during 3 months in 2015. We used the Beck Depression Inventory-II scale (BDI-II) to evaluate depression among participants. All data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16.0. Results Two hundred and eighty-six hemodialyzed patients were interviewed. The mean age (± standard deviation) of the patients was 52.0 ± 14.3 years, and most participants were males 172 (60.1%). Regarding the dialysis characteristics, the median of years of dialysis was 2 years (1–4). The prevalence of depression was 73.1%. Elderly patients (p = 0.001), female (p = 0.036), living in rural areas or camp (p = 0.032), low income (p = 0.041), unemployment (p = 0.001), not doing regular exercise (p = 0.001), and having multi comorbidities (p = 0.001) were significantly associated with more depression scores. The results of binary logistic regression showed that only patients who were living in camps, patients who were previously employed, and patients who were not practicing exercise remained significantly associated with a higher depression score. Conclusions This study is the first one confirmed about depression and its prevalence among hemodialyzed patients in the West Bank, Palestine. Compared to other communities, the study found a higher depression prevalence rate. There is a need to offer psychological interviews and non-pharmacological and pharmacological interventions.


Author(s):  
J. Jbilou ◽  
A. El Bouazaoui ◽  
B. Zhang ◽  
J.L. Henry ◽  
L McDonald ◽  
...  

Older adults living in long-term care facilities typically receive insufficient exercise and have long periods of the day when they are not doing anything other than sitting or lying down, watching television, or ruminating (Wilkinson et al., 2017). We developed an intervention called the Experiential Centivizer, which provides residents with opportunities to use a driving simulator, watch world travel videos, and engage in exercise. We assessed the impact of the intervention on residents of a long-term care home in Fredericton, NB, Canada. In this paper, we report on the results observed and highlight the lessons learned from implementing a technological intervention within a long-term care setting. Practical and research recommendations are also discussed to facilitate future intervention implementation in long-term care.


Author(s):  
H. Wayne Nelson ◽  
Bo Kyum Yang ◽  
F. Ellen Netting ◽  
Erin Monahan

AbstractThe high elder care death toll of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, pushed the federally mandated Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program (LTCOP) into the unsought and unforeseen realm of disaster preparedness. This new role was an extension of the LTCOP’s historic resident’s rights investigative case advocacy. To assess if, how, and to what extent local ombudsmen adapted to this new function, 102 local LTCOP leaders completed a telephone survey based on the CMS Emergency Planning Checklist. This assessed their own and their programs’: (a) readiness to help facilities reduce disaster threats to residents, (b) familiarity with relevant disaster laws, rules, and resources; (c) readiness to help residents through the disaster cycle; and (d) levels of disaster training and/or their plans to provide such training to their staff and LTC stakeholders. Forty-two respondents (41.13%) had experienced a public disaster but over half or those responding (n = 56, 54.90%) felt fairly to somewhat prepared to help in a public crisis. After being ready to work away from their office during a crisis ($\overline{x}$ = 4.14, SD = 1.00) respondents felt most prepared “to assist during nursing home emergency closure and evacuation” ($\overline{x}$ = 3.86, SD = 1.09). t-tests revealed that respondents with a disaster experience were significantly more prepared in all assessed dimensions than as those without disaster experience. The study highlights the training needs of ombudsmen in high risk areas to better prepare them for disaster mitigation in nursing homes.


2017 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark J. Siedner

Objective: The number of people living with HIV (PLWH) over 50 years old in sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to triple in the coming decades, to 6-10 million. Yet, there is a paucity of data on the determinants of health and quality of life for older PLWH in the region. Methods: A review was undertaken to describe the impact of HIV infection on aging for PLWH in sub-Saharan Africa. Results: We (a) summarize the pathophysiology and epidemiology of aging with HIV in resource-rich settings, and (b) describe how these relationships might differ in sub-Saharan Africa, (c) propose a conceptual framework to describe determinants of quality of life for older PLWH, and (d) suggest priority research areas needed to ensure long-term gains in quality of life for PLWH in the region. Conclusions: Differences in traditional, lifestyle, and envirnomental risk factors, as well as unique features of HIV epidemiology and care delivery appear to substantially alter the contribution of HIV to aging in sub-Saharan Africa. Meanwhile, unique preferences and conceptualizations of quality of life will require novel measurement and intervention tools. An expanded research and public health infrastructure is needed to ensure that gains made in HIV prevention and treamtent are translated into long-term benefits in this region.


Author(s):  
Michael R. Mabe

According to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned (2006), emergency management professionals realized first-hand that preplanning and coordination is essential when mounting an effective reaction to natural disasters. This chapter describes how leaders in Chesterfield County, VA learned similar lessons in 2001 during Hurricane Irene. In comparison to Katrina the amount of damage caused by Irene was minimal but the impact on county leaders was severe. Based on lessons learned during Irene and an unexpected wind storm nine months later, Chesterfield County leaders now include the Chesterfield County Public (CCPL) in their official disaster relief plans. When activated, CCPL will serve as an information hub, double as a daytime relief shelter and participate in mass feeding if necessary. Selected library branches are available to be used as overnight relief shelters for mass care when the activation of a standard sized shelter facility is not warranted. These changes have made a notable difference.


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