Disaster response and people experiencing homelessness: Addressing challenges of a population with limited resources

2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan Wexler, MD, MPH ◽  
Mary-Elise Smith, MD, MA
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Limited Resources ◽  
Delivery Of Care ◽  
Psychiatric Conditions ◽  
Communication Methods ◽  
And Training

In this article the authors provide an overview of some issues that inhibit disaster planning and response for people experiencing homelessness and discuss the planning process conducted for this population in Worcester, MA. People experiencing homelessness face numerous challenges in preparing for disasters both natural and human caused. Similarly, providers attempting to aid these individuals must recognize and overcome various factors that hamper efforts to provide assistance. People experiencing homelessness lack the general resources many in the United States take for granted, including food, shelter, communication methods, and transportation. The population also has an increased prevalence of medical and psychiatric conditions. These factors amplify the typical difficulties in preparedness, communication, sheltering, and training for disasters. With these principles in mind, the authors reviewed the literature for best practices, identified potential stakeholders, and developed an annex to help address organization and delivery of care to those experiencing homelessness during a disaster.

scholarly journals Creating and Using Data Portals to Support Ocean Planning: Challenges and Best Practices from the Northeast United States and Elsewhere

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
SeaPlan
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Natural Resources ◽  
Spatial Data ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
The United States ◽  
Management Plan ◽  
Management Decision ◽  
Data Accessibility ◽  
Data Portal

As more ocean plans are developed and adopted around the world, the importance of accessible, up-to-date spatial data in the planning process has become increasingly apparent. Many ocean planning efforts in the United States and Canada rely on a companion data portal–a curated catalog of spatial datasets characterizing the ocean uses and natural resources considered as part of ocean planning and management decision-making.Data portals designed to meet ocean planning needs tend to share three basic characteris- tics. They are: ocean-focused, map-based, and publicly-accessible. This enables planners, managers, and stakeholders to access common sets of sector-speci c, place-based information that help to visualize spatial relationships (e.g., overlap) among various uses and the marine environment and analyze potential interactions (e.g., synergies or con icts) among those uses and natural resources. This data accessibility also enhances the transparency of the planning process, arguably an essential factor for its overall success.This paper explores key challenges, considerations, and best practices for developing and maintaining a data portal. By observing the relationship between data portals and key principles of ocean planning, we posit three overarching themes for data portal best practices: accommodation of diverse users, data vetting and review by stakeholders, and integration with the planning process. The discussion draws primarily from the use of the Northeast Ocean Data Portal to support development of the Northeast Ocean Management Plan, with additional examples from other portals in the U.S. and Canada.

Occupational Therapy Practitioners’ Knowledge, Comfort, and Competence Regarding Youth Suicide

2020 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 270-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne V. Kirby ◽  
Alexandra L. Terrill ◽  
Ariel Schwartz ◽  
Jarrett Henderson ◽  
Brandi N. Whitaker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Young People ◽  
Occupational Therapy ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
The United States ◽  
Education And Training ◽  
Youth Suicide ◽  
Clinical Scenarios ◽  
And Training

Suicide rates for young people are climbing in the United States and worldwide. Increasing rates of youth suicide are of concern to occupational therapy (OT) practitioners in pediatric settings, yet the profession’s role in this area is poorly defined. To understand OT practitioners’ awareness and needs related to youth suicide, we administered a survey including objective (e.g., knowledge of suicide-related facts) and subjective items (open- and close-ended questions) related to youth suicide to 134 OT practitioners working in pediatric settings. Only 5.2% of respondents correctly answered four items about youth suicide facts and only 32% reported they had received suicide-focused education. Just under half (45%) of respondents were able to identify all best practice responses to clinical scenarios related to youth suicide; older practitioner age was the only significant predictor of best practices. OT practitioners in pediatric settings would benefit from youth-focused suicide education and training.

Active and Mass Shootings

2018 ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Kelli Christine Hardin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mass Shootings ◽  
Police Responses ◽  
Prediction And Prevention ◽  
And Training ◽  
Broad Overview ◽  
Violent Events

Serving as an introduction to the book, this chapter reviews the literature and statistics about active and mass shootings. It provides a broad overview of the research on specific causes, occurrences, and responses to large-scale violence in the United States. Though there are clear demographic and biographical patterns among the shooters, more research is necessary, as monocausal, singular approaches fall short in terms of prediction and prevention. Additionally, while police responses have evolved and training for violent events has become more commonplace, there is a clear need for more nuanced research and evaluation on best practices to minimize casualties and prevent these events from occurring.

scholarly journals (A322) Animals in Emergency Management: Veterinary Medical Triage and Treatment

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s90-s90 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Case
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Hurricane Katrina ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
The United States ◽  
Pet Owners ◽  
Major Disaster ◽  
Emergency Preparedness And Response ◽  
State And Local

Veterinarians have been engaged in emergency preparedness and response activities for many years. The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) founded in 1863 and representing approximately 83% of United States veterinarians, and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation, established by the AVMA in 1963, have been active in emergency preparedness and response, including the development of a world class veterinary disaster response program (VMAT) since 1993. Animals and humans share a special bond in the United States. According to the 2007 AVMA US Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook, there are 72 million dogs, 81.7 million cats, 11.2 million birds and 7.3 million horses in US households. Approximately 60% of all US households own at least one pet, and 64% own more than one pet. Additionally, nearly 60% of pet owners consider their pets to be members of the family, and nearly 50% of pet owners consider their pets to be companions. Few US pet owners consider their pet to be property (approximately 2%). Following Hurricane Katrina, the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards Act of 2006 (PETS Act) became US law to ensure that state and local emergency preparedness plans address the needs of individuals with household pets and service animals following a major disaster or emergency. Recently a US effort to identify best practices in disaster veterinary care was sponsored by the US Department of Agriculture and the National Alliance of State Animal Agriculture Emergency Programs and chaired by members of the AVMA. Best practices were identified, including physical examination and triage, vaccination and parasite treatment and prophylaxis, decontamination, euthanasia, medical care of search and rescue dogs, field diagnostics, and components of a disaster veterinary medical equipment cache.

scholarly journals Complementary and Integrative Health Knowledge and Practice in Primary Care Settings: A Survey of Primary Care Providers in the Northwestern United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 216495612110233
Author(s):  
Malaika R Schwartz ◽  
Allison M Cole ◽  
Gina A Keppel ◽  
Ryan Gilles ◽  
John Holmes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Primary Care ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Primary Care Providers ◽  
The United States ◽  
Research Network ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Integrative Health ◽  
And Training

Background The demand for complementary and integrative health (CIH) is increasing by patients who want to receive more CIH referrals, in-clinic services, and overall care delivery. To promote CIH within the context of primary care, it is critical that providers have sufficient knowledge of CIH, access to CIH-trained providers for referral purposes, and are comfortable either providing services or co-managing patients who favor a CIH approach to their healthcare. Objective The main objective was to gather primary care providers’ perspectives across the northwestern region of the United States on their CIH familiarity and knowledge, clinic barriers and opportunities, and education and training needs. Methods We conducted an online, quantitative survey through an email invitation to all primary care providers (n = 483) at 11 primary care organizations from the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) region Practice and Research Network (WPRN). The survey questions covered talking about CIH with patients, co-managing care with CIH providers, familiarity with and training in CIH modalities, clinic barriers to CIH integration, and interest in learning more about CIH modalities. Results 218 primary care providers completed the survey (45% response rate). Familiarity with individual CIH methods ranged from 73% (chiropracty) to 8% (curanderismo). Most respondents discussed CIH with their patients (88%), and many thought that their patients could benefit from CIH (41%). The majority (89%) were willing to co-manage a patient with a CIH provider. Approximately one-third of respondents had some expertise in at least one CIH modality. Over 78% were interested in learning more about the safety and efficacy of at least one CIH modality. Conclusion Primary care providers in the Northwestern United States are generally familiar with CIH modalities, are interested in referring and co-managing care with CIH providers, and would like to have more learning opportunities to increase knowledge of CIH.

scholarly journals Global variability in orthopedic surgery training

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew D. Sobel ◽  
Davis Hartnett ◽  
David Hernandez ◽  
Adam E. M. Eltorai ◽  
Alan H. Daniels
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Orthopedic Surgery ◽  
Orthopaedic Surgery ◽  
Educational Development ◽  
The United States ◽  
Surgery Training ◽  
Orthopaedic Care ◽  
The World ◽  
Orthopaedic Training ◽  
And Training

Medical and orthopaedic training varies throughout the world. The pathways to achieve competency in orthopaedic surgery in other countries differ greatly from those in the United States. This review summarizes international educational requirements and training pathways involved in the educational development of orthopaedic surgeons. Understanding the differences in training around the world offers comparative opportunities which may lead to the improvement in education, training, and competency of individuals providing orthopaedic care.

scholarly journals Early Responses to Climate Change: An Analysis of Seven U.S. State and Local Climate Adaptation Planning Initiatives

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 237-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kyle Andrew Poyar ◽  
Nancy Beller-Simms
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Planning Process ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Climate Impact ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Adaptation Planning ◽  
State And Local ◽  
Climate Adaptation Planning

Abstract State and local governments in the United States manage a wide array of natural and human resources that are particularly sensitive to climate variability and change. Recent revelations of the extent of the current and potential climate impact in this realm such as with the quality of water, the structure of the coasts, and the potential and witnessed impact on the built infrastructure give these political authorities impetus to minimize their vulnerability and plan for the future. In fact, a growing number of subnational government bodies in the United States have initiated climate adaptation planning efforts; these initiatives emphasize an array of climate impacts, but at different scales, scopes, and levels of sophistication. Meanwhile, the current body of climate adaptation literature has not taken a comprehensive look at these plans nor have they questioned what prompts local adaptation planning, at what scope and scale action is being taken, or what prioritizes certain policy responses over others. This paper presents a case-based analysis of seven urban climate adaptation planning initiatives, drawing from a review of publicly available planning documents and interviews with stakeholders directly involved in the planning process to provide a preliminary understanding of these issues. The paper also offers insight into the state of implementation of adaptation strategies, highlighting the role of low upfront costs and cobenefits with issues already on the local agenda in prompting anticipatory adaptation.

scholarly journals Staffing at Ambulatory Endoscopy Centers in the United States: Practice, Trends, and Rationale

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepak Agrawal ◽  
Rajeev Jain
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
The United States ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Moderate Sedation ◽  
Endoscopic Procedures ◽  
Staffing Patterns ◽  
And Training

Background. Endoscopy nurse (RN) has a pivotal role in administration and monitoring of moderate sedation during endoscopic procedures. When sedation for the procedure is administered and monitored by an anesthesia specialist, the role of an RN is less clear. The guidelines on this issue by nursing and gastroenterology societies are contradictory. Methods. Survey study of endoscopy lab managers and directors at outpatient endoscopy units in Texas. The questions related to staffing patterns for outpatient endoscopies and responsibilities of different personnel assisting with endoscopies. Results. Responses were received from 65 endoscopy units (response rate 38%). 63/65 (97%) performed at least a few cases with an anesthesia specialist. Of these, 49/63 (78%) involved only an endoscopy technician, without an additional RN in the room. At 12/49 (25%) units, the RN performed tasks of an endoscopy technician. At 14/63 (22%), an additional RN was present during endoscopic procedures and performed tasks not directly related to patient care. Conclusions. Many ambulatory endoscopy units do not have an RN present at all times when sedation is administered by an anesthesia specialist. An RN, when present, did not perform tasks commensurate with the education and training. This has implications about optimal utilization of nurses and cost of performing endoscopies.

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