Feasibility Assessment of Using Geoinformatics Technology in Disaster Disease Surveillance in a Developing Country, Iran
Conclusion
This study set out to foresee users acceptance of geoinformatics technology in disaster disease surveillance in a developing country, and to analyze the interrelationships among four variables; PU, PEOU, ATT, and ITU. It was expected to have close relationships among the variables; that’s why, TAM was applied. The research also directed to test how significant the TAM in explaining user satisfaction and intention to use geoinformatics technology. For instance, the study found a strong statistical association between ATT and ITU.
From a practical standpoint, this study is meaningful because findings reveal that...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - April 14, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: omar786 Source Type: research
The Potential Impact of Directionality, Colour Perceptions and Cultural Associations on Disaster Messages During Heatwaves in the UK
This study underlines the need, in risk communication systems, to account for the underlying conceptual processes involved in the interpretation of warning information, and how these can be influenced by environmental factors, particularly in a culturally diverse society. At the same time culture is far from being a stable entity. For instance, the recruitment though community organisations means that it is unlikely that the current participants represent the most isolated and hard to reach members of their respective communities. In addition, qualitative, potentially ethnographic, data are necessary to determine if the di...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - April 14, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Chris Tang Source Type: research
Managing the Earth’s Biggest Mass Gathering Event and WASH Conditions: Maha Kumbh Mela (India)
Conclusions
Despite the shortfalls, one must appreciate that the government has done a great work in managing this unique event. Additionally, it has adopted some of the best practices that have captured the attention of many researchers, governments, and international research firms, not only in India but around the world. The management of KumbhMela provides an example to follow for mass gathering events inside and outside India, showing how a mass event can be well organized with utmost safety security and cleanliness. Further research is needed on KumbhMela to bring into focus the strengths and weaknesses of this large...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - April 13, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Annu Source Type: research
Community Disaster Resilience: a Systematic Review on Assessment Models and Tools
Conclusions
Present study showed that there are at least five defined and measurable domains for community disaster resilience including social, economic, institutional, physical, and natural. While community disaster resilience is a culture bound concept and also related to the kind of hazards any attempt for assessment should be based on both location and hazard.This study showed that the community disaster indicators differ from a community to another one. So, it seems that the first step for community disaster resilience is determining community resilience indicators.
The disparity between the articles using the resili...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - April 8, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: abbas Source Type: research
Correction: Correction: Challenges for Resuming Normal Life After Earthquake: A Qualitative Study on Rural Areas of Iran
Correction
The corresponding author designation is incorrect in the original correction. The corresponding author of this article is Hamid Rez Khankeh.
References
Correction: Challenges for Resuming Normal Life After Earthquake: A Qualitative Study on Rural Areas of Iran. PLOS Currents Disasters. 2015 Mar 9. Edition 1. doi: 10.1371/currents.dis.7118c63570e15df3cc033090ea4e0120.
View Original Correction (Source: PLOS Currents Disasters)
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - March 27, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: ploscurrents Source Type: research
The Hospital Incident Command System: Modified Model for Hospitals in Iran
Conclusion
This modified HICS is more suitable to the managerial organization of hospitals in Iran, therefore it may enhance performance of hospitals during disasters and reduce mortality and morbidity. Additional studies are needed to test the feasibility and outcomes associated with the modified HICS in Iran, both during simulations and real disasters.
The approach described in this paper may be used by other countries with high human impacts of disasters that are looking for a model for an incident management system to implement within their hospital systems.
Competing Interests
The authors have declared that no compe...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - March 27, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: djalali Source Type: research
An Analysis of Cesarean Section and Emergency Hernia Ratios as Markers of Surgical Capacity in Low-Income Countries Affected by Humanitarian Emergencies from 2008 – 2014 at Médecins sans Frontières Operations Centre Brussels Projects
Conclusion
Surgical humanitarian assistance projects operate in areas with critical surgical capacity deficiencies that are further disrupted by crisis. In order to plan a cost- and clinically-effective response to baseline and acute unmet surgical needs there must be rapid, accurate assessment of surgical capacity. Though CSR and EHR meet these criteria in ‘steady-state’ healthcare systems, they may not be useful during humanitarian crises. Further study of direct surgical capacity improvements and their relationship with these ratios is necessary to document their role in humanitarian settings.
Competing Interest
T...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - March 27, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Barclay Stewart Source Type: research
Correction: Challenges for Resuming Normal Life After Earthquake: A Qualitative Study on Rural Areas of Iran
Correction
There are errors in the author affiliations. The affiliations should appear as shown here:
Fardin Alipour1, Hamid Rez Khankeh2, Hussain Fekrazad1*, Mohammad Kamali5, Hassan Rafiey1, Pooria Sarrami Foroushani3, Kevin Rowell4, Shokoufeh Ahmadi6
1 Department of Social Work, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Department of Health in Emergency and Disaster and Nursing, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karoliska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
3 University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
4 Dep...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - March 9, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: ploscurrents Source Type: research
The Humanitarian Situation in Syria: A Snapshot in the Third Year of the Crisis
The objective was to enable IOCC and GOPA to better understand humanitarian needs and assistance priorities. Because of the limited data available in Syria, this assessment, which is inclusive of nearly 4,000 households, is a valuable source of information that can contribute to an improved understanding of the impacts of the crisis and unmet humanitarian needs.
Methods
The assessment was conducted between April and June 2014 in nine governorates of Syria (Aleppo, Al-Hasakeh, As-Sweida, Damascus, Dara’a, Homs, Latakia, Rif Damascus, and Tartous). Given that no recent and accurate nationwide estimates of the displaced p...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - March 3, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: sdoocy Source Type: research
Tehran Dust Storm Early Warning System: Corrective Measures
This report focuses mostly on sending alerts and enhancing response capacity to present the most important lessons learned at Tehran dust storm in 2014.
Method
Data for this report were collected through Tehran emergency operations center reports and documents, interview with the manager of Tehran Emergency Management Center and from news websites. It was backed up with literature review through “PubMed” with the following key word: “dust storm” and “early warning”.
Results
This incident had a death toll of five (two persons because of falling from buildings, two persons due to falling objects a...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - February 24, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: Moradian MJ Source Type: research
Performance Assessment of Communicable Disease Surveillance in Disasters: A Systematic Review
Conclusion
Performance assessment is an integral component of the management of all organizations and the lack of performance assessment is considered a significant sign of weakness in an organization. Therefore, the lack of accepted mechanisms for the assessment of the performance of CDS systems in response to disasters is an important weakness. Although some studies attempted to assess surveillance systems, the results of this systematic literature review suggest that there is no clear and comprehensive assessment framework in place. While the CDC framework has been used in some studies, it is not specific for SS in resp...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - February 24, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: javad Source Type: research
Developing a Consensus-based Definition of “Kokoro-no Care” or Mental Health Services and Psychosocial Support: Drawing from Experiences of Mental Health Professionals Who Responded to the Great East Japan Earthquake
Discussion
This survey asked participants to rate the appropriateness of the definition of ‘Kokoro-no care’, among mental health and community health care staffs who engaged in the care activities after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The consensus criterion was fulfilled in Round 2, and we adopted the modified definition as final version.
Majority of the participants of this survey were mental health professionals, and engaged in psychiatric or mental health services in daily practice. The teams were dispatched to the affected areas, and their primary mission was to offer mental health services in the early phase of ...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - January 29, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: yrsuzuki Source Type: research
What’s the Big Deal? Responder Experiences of Large Animal Rescue in Australia
Conclusion
LAR is clearly a ‘big deal’ to animal owners, emergency response personnel. The management of large animals during disasters creates difficult operational environments that present several challenges to emergency responders. In order to be successful, it requires emergency responder personnel that have specialist training, access to resources, local knowledge, and coordination among various emergency service providers. This study would seem to suggest that the way forwards is not to ask emergency responders to change their current model or compromise their mandate to privilege human life, but rather to coord...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - January 22, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Authors: maidbradley Source Type: research
Snow Tweets: Emergency Information Dissemination in a US County During 2014 Winter Storms
Conclusion
Social media tools, including the micro-blogging site Twitter, have a potential role in different phases of the disaster management cycle. Between events (such as severe storms) preparedness information and mitigation strategies can be disseminated. During the earliest stages of response through long-term recovery, social media can also be used to identify immediate needs and point constituents to assistance. Earlier explorations of social media use during emergency periods (real-time and simulated) suggest focusing analyses on specific contexts and goals of information dissemination (see Song and Yan19 for exam...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - December 22, 2014 Category: Global & Universal Authors: otolemur Source Type: research
Art of Disaster Preparedness in European Union: a Survey on the Health Systems
Conclusion
This study showed that the preparedness level of EU countries is barely considered at an “acceptable” level. This should alert the EU country disaster and health system professionals to do more. Although some functions such as health information and pre-hospital system are at high level of preparedness, hospitals overall suffer from an insufficient level of preparedness. A lack of competency-based training and education is the main gap in health disaster preparedness in the EU.
The EU health system, in our considered opinion, requires a comprehensive strategic policy, as well as sufficient resources, to esta...
Source: PLOS Currents Disasters - December 17, 2014 Category: Global & Universal Authors: djalali Source Type: research
