Commissioned Corps Deployments & Family Resiliency

Author(s):  
Janice Arceneaux ◽  
James Dickens ◽  
Wanza Bacon

Established in 1889, the United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (Corps) is one of the seven uniformed services and is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Corps is committed to protecting, promoting and advancing the health and safety of the nation with a history that dates back over two centuries, beginning as the U.S. Marine Hospital Service. Today, the Corps responds and serves in many areas impacted by natural disasters, disease outbreaks, terrorist attacks and public health emergencies. Corps officers have deployed to provide assistance during national public health emergencies (e.g., hurricanes, bombings, flooding and wild fires); to combat the Ebola epidemic in West Africa; and to provide humanitarian assistance in Latin America and the Caribbean. Corps deployments impact not only service members but also their families. This article offers a brief overview of the Corps and discusses how deployments impact families. Family resiliency and future implications for research and practice will also be examined.

Author(s):  
Marissa G. Baker

AbstractObjectivesNot all workers are employed in occupations in which working from home is possible. These workers are at an increased risk for exposure to infectious disease during a pandemic event, and are more likely to experience events of job displacement and disruption during all types of public health emergencies. Here, I characterized which occupational sectors in the United States are most able to work from home during a public health emergency such as COVID-19.Methods2018 national employment and wage data maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) was merged with measures from the BLS O*NET survey data. The measures utilized rank the importance of using a computer at work, and the importance of working with or performing for the public, which relate to the ability to complete work at home.ResultsAbout 25% (35.6 M) of the U.S. workforce are employed in occupations which could be done from home, primarily in sectors such as technology, computer, management, administrative, financial, and engineering. The remaining 75% of U.S. workers (including healthcare, manufacturing, retail and food services, et al.) are employed in occupations where working from home would be difficult.ConclusionsThe majority of U.S. workers are employed in occupations that cannot be done at home, putting 108.4 M U.S. workers at increased risk for adverse health outcomes related to working during a public health emergency. These workers tend to be lower paid than workers who can work from home. During COVID-19, this could result in a large increase in the burden of mental health disorders in the U.S., in addition to increased cases of COVID-19 due to workplace transmission. Public health guidance to “work from home” is not applicable to the majority of the U.S. workforce, emphasizing the need for additional guidance for workers during public health emergencies.


1987 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 230-236 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonard J. Nelson

AIDS is truly an international phenomenon, with cases now reported on every continent. To combat the AIDS epidemic, the nations of the world may be reverting to a pattern of quarantine and restrictions on international travel. For example, on April 23, 1986, the Federal Register gave notice of a rule proposed by the Centers for Disease Control of the United States Public Health Service that, if enacted, will add AIDS to the list of seven diseases that provide grounds for exclusion of aliens. This action would allow the U.S. Department of State to deny visas and the Immigration and Naturalization Service to deny admission to aliens subject to medical examination (generally immigrants and refugees) who are found to have AIDS. Although seemingly innocuous, the proposed regulation was initially seen by gay rights groups as an instrument that could potentially be used to harass homosexuals and other high-risk groups seeking entry to the United States. The proposed regulation also contrasts with the U.S. Public Health Service’s domestic strategy for coping with AIDS, which emphasizes education rather than quarantine as the principal means of controlling the disease.


Author(s):  
Marie-Helen Maras ◽  
Michelle D. Miranda

AbstractIn the fall of 2014, the US was faced with the reality that a deadly, foreign virus had entered its borders. Ebola, a disease thought to be of little threat to the US yet classified as a major bioterrorism agent, became a reality for the American government and its citizens. The introduction of Ebola unveiled many deficiencies in the country’s health care system, international travel policies, and ability to control or restrict the movement of exposed individuals in order to protect the larger population. The need to review and establish legal guidelines and policies to deal with these deficiencies is paramount: the inherent lack of training and education; weaknesses in monitoring, maintenance, and treatment; and the lack of uniform guidelines to isolate international travelers have all demonstrated that the country may not be able to control a larger-scale threat in the future.


2021 ◽  
pp. 109019812110144
Author(s):  
Soon Guan Tan ◽  
Aravind Sesagiri Raamkumar ◽  
Hwee Lin Wee

This study aims to describe Facebook users’ beliefs toward physical distancing measures implemented during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic using the key constructs of the health belief model. A combination of rule-based filtering and manual classification methods was used to classify user comments on COVID-19 Facebook posts of three public health authorities: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States, Public Health England, and Ministry of Health, Singapore. A total of 104,304 comments were analyzed for posts published between 1 January, 2020, and 31 March, 2020, along with COVID-19 cases and deaths count data from the three countries. Findings indicate that the perceived benefits of physical distancing measures ( n = 3,463; 3.3%) was three times higher than perceived barriers ( n = 1,062; 1.0%). Perceived susceptibility to COVID-19 ( n = 2,934; 2.8%) was higher compared with perceived severity ( n = 2,081; 2.0%). Although susceptibility aspects of physical distancing were discussed more often at the start of the year, mentions on the benefits of intervention emerged stronger toward the end of the analysis period, highlighting the shift in beliefs. The health belief model is useful for understanding Facebook users’ beliefs at a basic level, and it provides a scope for further improvement.


2021 ◽  
pp. 000276422199283
Author(s):  
Serena Tagliacozzo ◽  
Frederike Albrecht ◽  
N. Emel Ganapati

Communicating during a crisis can be challenging for public agencies as their communication ecology becomes increasingly complex while the need for fast and reliable public communication remains high. Using the lens of communication ecology, this study examines the online communication of national public health agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy, Sweden, and the United States. Based on content analysis of Twitter data ( n = 856) and agency press releases ( n = 95), this article investigates two main questions: (1) How, and to what extent, did national public health agencies coordinate their online communication with other agencies and organizations? (2) How was online communication from the agencies diversified in terms of targeting specific organizations and social groups? Our findings indicate that public health agencies relied heavily on internal scientific expertise and predominately coordinated their communication efforts with national government agencies. Furthermore, our analysis reveals that agencies in each country differed in how they diversify information; however, all agencies provided tailored information to at least some organizations and social groups. Across the three countries, information tailored for several vulnerable groups (e.g., pregnant women, people with disabilities, immigrants, and homeless populations) was largely absent, which may contribute to negative consequences for these groups.


2021 ◽  
pp. 104063872110030
Author(s):  
Craig N. Carter ◽  
Jacqueline L. Smith

Test data generated by ~60 accredited member laboratories of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians (AAVLD) is of exceptional quality. These data are captured by 1 of 13 laboratory information management systems (LIMSs) developed specifically for veterinary diagnostic laboratories (VDLs). Beginning ~2000, the National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN) developed an electronic messaging system for LIMS to automatically send standardized data streams for 14 select agents to a national repository. This messaging enables the U.S. Department of Agriculture to track and respond to high-consequence animal disease outbreaks such as highly pathogenic avian influenza. Because of the lack of standardized data collection in the LIMSs used at VDLs, there is, to date, no means of summarizing VDL large data streams for multi-state and national animal health studies or for providing near-real-time tracking for hundreds of other important animal diseases in the United States that are detected routinely by VDLs. Further, VDLs are the only state and federal resources that can provide early detection and identification of endemic and emerging zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are estimated to be responsible for 2.5 billion cases of human illness and 2.7 million deaths worldwide every year. The economic and health impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic is self-evident. We review here the history and progress of data management in VDLs and discuss ways of seizing unexplored opportunities to advance data leveraging to better serve animal health, public health, and One Health.


2021 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 112-124
Author(s):  
Kevin S. Doyle

Drug overdose deaths in the United States have reached unprecedented levels in recent years and continue to rise. Counselors are uniquely positioned to respond to this crisis but may be reluctant or not equipped to do so due to a variety of factors, including scope of practice concerns. Responding to this crisis, however, is a clinical necessity and an ethical imperative for all practicing counselors, regardless of specialty area. A review of proposed responses at the macro/systemic, professional, and personal levels is presented, with concrete examples within each level, to assist counselors in identifying and implementing professional activity, advocacy, and engagement to address the unprecedented national public health emergency. Specific considerations for advocacy and for clinical practice are proposed to further assist counselors and motivate action.


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