Treatment interruptions in disaster victims are concerning, owing to an increase in natural disasters and the growing elderly population with chronic conditions. This study examined the temporal trends in treatment interruptions among victims of 2 recent major heavy rain disasters in Japan: West Japan heavy rain in 2018 and Kumamoto heavy rain in 2020.

Data for this study were derived from the national standardized medical data collection system called the “Japan Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters.” Joinpoint regression analysis was performed to examine the daily trends in treatment interruptions reported soon after each disaster onset.

A total of 144 and 87 treatment interruption cases were observed in the heavily affected areas of the West Japan heavy rain in 2018 and Kumamoto heavy rain in 2020, respectively. In both disasters, a high number of treatment interruption cases were observed on the first day after the disaster. Joinpoint regression analysis showed that trends in the percentage of treatment interruptions differed between the 2 disasters at different disaster scales.

The findings suggest the importance of a prompt response to treatment interruptions in the immediate aftermath of a disaster and consideration of the specific characteristics of the disaster when planning for disaster preparedness and response.

To assess the post-earthquake trauma and hopelessness levels of nursing students due to the earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023.

This study was conducted between April and May 2023 in the Nursing Department in a province located in Southeastern Türkiye using the face-to-face interview technique. The study was completed with 276 students in line with the power analysis. The data were collected using a questionnaire, the Scale that Determines the Level of Post-Earthquake Trauma (SDLPET), and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS).

The mean SDLPET and BHS scores of the students were 55.45±13.58 and 9.38±4.53, respectively. Some 12.3% of the nursing students lost their friends due to the earthquake, 80.4% did not receive any earthquake training, 46% needed psychological support, 48.6% needed financial support, 49.6% needed social support, 37% had sleep problems, 72.8% experienced hopelessness, and the quality of life of 67.8% of the students was negatively affected due to the hopelessness they experienced.

It was found that the level of post-earthquake trauma and hopelessness of the students was moderate, and a positive and significant correlation was found between trauma and hopelessness scores.

The catastrophic Beirut blast on August 4, 2020 at 6:07 pm resulted in extensive damage. Our study aims to categorize the injuries of patients who were transferred to the radiology department in the first 12 hours following the blast and to evaluate the disaster preparedness of the radiology department at Hôtel-Dieu de France Hospital in order to implement corrective action process.

A total of 97 patients underwent imaging examinations, comprising 77 CT scans and 20 radiographs, which were retrospectively reviewed by 4 senior radiology residents. Patient injuries were classified according to blast injury categories. A full assessment of our disaster plan was done including staff shortage, examination time, patients triage and diagnostic performance of radiologists.

Tertiary injuries were the most prevalent (47.6%). Maxillofacial fractures and intracranial hemorrhage were the most common (54.3%). The radiology department encountered numerous challenges, including communication difficulties, staffing shortages and infrastructure damage. Nevertheless, the disaster management plan enabled the department to effectively navigate these obstacles despite many flaws and many lessons were learned.

This study underscores the importance of an efficient response of the radiology team during mass casualty incidents and can inform future disaster preparedness efforts in health care settings.

Psychological reactions in response to disasters have been associated with increased mental health (MH) symptomatology, decreased quality of life (QOL), and post-traumatic stress (PTSD). This study provides a rare opportunity to examine post disaster MH longitudinally in a sample of adolescents.

From 2018-20, adolescents (12-18 years, N=228) were interviewed about disaster exposure, QOL using the Adolescent Quality of Life-Mental Health Scale (AQOL-MHS), psychological symptoms, and diagnoses.

Having an MH diagnosis and PTSD are clear indicators of worse Emotional Regulation (ER) (P ≤ 0.03, P ≤ 0.0001) and Self-Concept (SC) (P ≤ 0.006, P ≤ 0.002) QOL. Girls were disproportionately affected in all models for SC and Social Context domains (P ≤ 0.0001, P ≤ 0.01). Interaction models results for ER (P ≤ 0.05) and SC (P ≤ 0.01) indicate that those with PTSD are improving over time at a greater rate than those without PTSD.

Recovery takes time and a clear sex disparity for girls was observed. Results for the different AQOL-MHS domains highlight how the challenges experienced by disasters are multifaceted. Knowing who is at greater risk can allow for better resource allocation and targeted population-based prevention strategies to promote and maintain MH and resolve risk factors for mental illnesses.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, free on-demand testing was promoted in the US. This study was undertaken to support or refute the hypothesis that negative SARS-CoV-2 tests led to travel that exposed travelers to the virus in US states.

Data on daily trips outside households based on cell phone movement were matched by date to negative tests, positive tests, subsequent COVID-19 cases, and deaths lagged at various intervals in 49 US states during the first 16 months of the pandemic. Least-squares regression of weekly trips as a function of prior trips, negative tests, and cases was examined. Cases 10-14 days after negative tests and deaths 20-25 days later as a function of previous trips and positive tests were also assessed by least squares regression.

Increases in negative tests predicted increases in trips but trips declined as cases increased. Changes in trips predicted short-term changes in cases and deaths. The data closely fit the models.

Surges in cases and deaths from COVID-19 were likely a partial result of on-demand testing, without sufficient contact tracing and quarantine, which misled those who tested negative into thinking that it was safe to travel.

Natural disasters occur unexpectedly, leading to long-term consequences like obesity. That contributes to various noncommunicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer. This review aimed to examine the link between natural disasters and obesity, along with related risk factors.

This systematic review aimed to examine the relationship between natural disasters and obesity, as well as the associated risk factors.

A thorough search was conducted using electronic databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, HINARI, and Google Scholar. Additional articles were manually searched. Studies that reported weight gain and risk factors were included. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) tools. Data were collected from eligible articles and synthesized.

The participants in this research ranged from 3 months to 67 years old. Of the 17 articles, 11 focused on children, while the 5 focused on adults and 1 on adolescents. All studies followed a cohort design, with follow-up periods varying from 6 months to 15.5 years. Results indicated weight gain post-disaster, with risk factors including sedentary behavior, unhealthy eating habits, maternal high Body Mass Index (BMI), mixed feeding, stress, alcohol consumption, coastal residence, temporary housing, and timing from disaster onset.

This research emphasizes the significance of addressing post-disaster obesity as a pivotal aspect of public health, suggesting its integration with immediate priorities such as trauma management. Emphasizing its long-lasting effects across generations, the study offers policymakers valuable insights to develop effective approaches in tackling post-disaster obesity.

Crowd crush disasters result in psychological risks such as anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This descriptive research study identified the mental health status of Koreans after the Itaewon crowd crush disaster and explored related factors.

Data were collected May 2-9, 2023 using an online survey. Participants included 205 adults aged 19-69 years recruited through South Korean local and online university communities. Their mental health and related factors were measured at 6 months post-disaster. Data were analyzed using IBM® SPSS® Statistics 26.0. and R 3.4.2.

Significant differences in anxiety, depression, and PTSD among participants who experienced the disaster as victims; changes in drinking frequency and alcohol consumption; and differences in anxiety and PTSD according to family type were observed. Comparing the 3 and 6 month surveys, there were no significant changes in anxiety, depression, PTSD, general mental health, or mental well-being. When mental health severity was divided according to victimization, a significant difference in the severity of anxiety, depression, and PTSD was observed.

Participants’ levels of anxiety, depression, and PTSD varied according to their direct and indirect experience of the disaster, with higher levels of PTSD even without direct experience with the disaster.

This study sought to assess undergraduate students’ knowledge and attitudes surrounding perceived self-efficacy and threats in various common emergencies in communities of higher education.

Self-reported perceptions of knowledge and skills, as well as attitudes and beliefs regarding education and training, obligation to respond, safety, psychological readiness, efficacy, personal preparedness, and willingness to respond were investigated through 3 representative scenarios via a web-based survey.

Among 970 respondents, approximately 60% reported their university had adequately prepared them for various emergencies while 84% reported the university should provide such training. Respondents with high self-efficacy were significantly more likely than those with low self-efficacy to be willing to respond in whatever capacity needed across all scenarios.

There is a gap between perceived student preparedness for emergencies and training received. Students with high self-efficacy were the most likely to be willing to respond, which may be useful for future training initiatives.

In the course of the EU funded Pandemic Preparedness and Response (PANDEM-2) project, a functional exercise (FX) was conducted to train the coordinated response to a large-scale pandemic event in Europe by using new IT solutions developed by the project. This report provides an overview of the steps involved in planning, conducting, and evaluating the FX.

The FX design was based on the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) simulation exercise cycle for public health settings and was carried out over 2 days in the German and Dutch national public health institutes (PHI), with support from other consortium PHIs. The planning team devised an inject list based on a scenario script describing the emergence of an influenza pandemic from a novel H5N1 pathogen.

The multi-disciplinary participant teams included 11 Dutch and 6 German participants. The FX was supported by 9 international project partners from 8 countries. Overall, participants and observers agreed that the FX goals were achieved.

The FX was a suitable format to test the PANDEM-2 solutions in 2 different country set-ups. It demonstrated the benefit of regular simulation exercises at member state level to test and practice public health emergency responses to be better prepared for real-life events.

Evacuation can reduce morbidity and mortality by ensuring households are safely out of the path of, and ensuing impacts from, a disaster. Our goal was to characterize potential evacuation behaviors among a nationally representative sample.

We added 10 questions to the existing Porter Novelli’s (PN) ConsumerStyles surveys in Fall 2020, Spring 2021, and Fall 2021.We conducted a weighted analysis using SAS 9.4 to examine distributions and estimate associations of potential evacuation behaviors of each survey separately.

When asked about barriers to evacuation if public authorities announced a mandatory evacuation because of a large-scale disaster, ~7% reported nothing would prevent them from evacuating. Over half of respondents across the 3 surveys (51.1%-52.4%) had no preparedness plans, and almost two-thirds of respondents (63.7%-66.2%) did not have an emergency supply kit.

Knowing potential evacuation behaviors can help frame messages and provide a starting point for interventions to improve disaster preparedness and response. Overall, data show that there is much work to be done regarding evacuation behaviors and overall preparedness in the United States. These data can be used to tailor public messaging and work with partners to increase knowledge about evacuation.

Disasters pose serious threats to people’s health, including reproductive health (RH); therefore, we conducted this study to investigate Iranian women’s post-disaster RH challenges.

This study was conducted as a systematic review, and all published articles until the end of May 2022 were selected by searching in international and domestic scientific databases, including Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, and Google Scholar, SID, and Magiran. The quality assessment of the studies was done using the Strobe checklist. We conducted this research based on PRISMA guidelines and analyzed the content by qualitative content analysis method.

Twelve related articles were included (8 high quality and 4 medium quality). Based on these articles, factors affecting post-disaster Iranian women’s RH were divided into 2 categories: individual factors (physical injuries, psychological disorders, cultural and religious issues) and management factors (not prioritizing RH services in disasters, lack of supplies, suitable facilities and professional human resources, access limitation to RH care and services).

We must enhance post disaster RH status by adopting suitable policies and decision-making in disaster risk management. We should prioritize RH services during the disaster response phase, providing facilities, equipment, and specialized and trained human resources.

Disasters often have long-lasting effects on the mental health of people affected by them. This study aimed to examine the trajectories and predictors of mental health in people affected by disasters according to their income level.

This study used data from the “Long-Term Survey on the Change of Life of Disaster Victim” conducted by the National Disaster Management Research Institute. Latent growth curve modeling and multigroup analysis were employed on 699 participants.

Individuals in the low-income class had a higher post-traumatic stress (PTS) intercept than those in the middle-high-income class. The PTS intercept was increased by unmet health care needs and financial hardship caused by disasters and was decreased by health care support. Social support, which was low in the low-income class, did not affect their PTS level; however, it lowered the PTS intercept in the middle-high-income class.

These results suggest that it is important to address the mental health of disaster survivors by providing sufficient disaster relief services and compensation to ensure that disasters do not further exacerbate social inequalities. It is also crucial to provide emotional, informational, and material support using local community resources for those who have less or no access to in-person social networks.

Plastics in the environment have moved from an “eye-sore” to a public health threat. Hospitals are one of the biggest users of single-use plastics, and there is growing literature looking at not only plastics in the environment but health care’s overall contribution to its growth.

This study was a retrospective review at a 411-bed level II trauma hospital over 47 months pre and post the last wave of COVID-19 affecting this hospital. Deidentified data were gathered: daily census in the emergency department, hospital census, and corresponding number of admitted COVID-19 patients. Additionally, for the same time frame, personal protective equipment (PPE) supply purchases and gross tonnage of nonhazardous refuse were obtained.

There was a large increase in PPE purchased without a significant change in gross tonnage of weight of trash.

PPE is incredibly important to protect health care workers. However, single-use plastic is not sustainable for the environment or public health. Understanding the full effect of the pandemic on hospital waste production is critically important as health care institutions focus on strategies to decrease their carbon footprint and increase positive impacts on public health and the environment.