To determine the effect of psychological resilience levels of nurses on perceived stress levels in this study.

The research was carried out with 153 nurses. Socio-demographic Questionnaire, The Brief Resilience Scale, and Perceived Stress Scale were used as data collection tools.

The nurses’ total Brief Resilience Scale score average was 17.72 ± 4.48, and the total Perceived Stress Scale score average was 31.74 ± 7.18. There was a negative and moderately significant relationship between the resilience and stress level of the nurses. During the pandemic process, the level of stress that nurses perceive increases as their psychological resilience decreases.

Psychological resilience and coping with stress are traits that can be improved. It is important to establish strategies to increase the resilience of nurses and improve their ability to cope effectively with stress.

The use of the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) method in disaster and non-disaster settings continues to grow. While CASPERs flexibility has been well demonstrated, the documentation of specific actions that have resulted from the utilization of CASPER data has been limited. We attempted to document changes in emergency preparedness planning and policy based on CASPER data.

Written reports from 19 CASPERs conducted in Texas between 2001 and 2015 were collected. Key informant interviews were conducted with 9 public health staff knowledgeable about the CASPERs. Written reports and interview transcripts were coded and analyzed for themes.

Few specific outcomes could be documented beyond a single successful grant application. Respondents felt CASPER data was not duplicative and was useful for improving existing plans. CASPER is seen as an effective way to enhance relationships with communities and partnerships with agencies including Emergency Management.

As the use of CASPER grows, it is increasingly important to document any specific and measurable benefits, actions, and changes to planning or policy taken as the result of data collected using the CASPER method. Without measurable outputs and outcomes, support for the use of CASPER from decision-makers may begin to wane. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:680-684)

Understanding who is most vulnerable during an earthquake will help health care responders prepare for future disasters. We analyzed the demography of casualties from the Christchurch earthquake in New Zealand.

The demography of the total deceased, injured, and hospitalized casualties of the Christchurch earthquake was compared with that of the greater Christchurch population, the Christchurch central business district working population, and patients who presented to the single acute emergency department on the same month and day over the prior 10 years. Sex data were compared to scene of injury, context of injury, clinical characteristics of injury, and injury severity scores.

Significantly more females than males were injured or killed in the entire population of casualties (P<0.001). Most of the deceased and hospitalized casualties were injured in the central business district (171/182 deceased [94%]; 33/91 hospitalized [36.2%]). Approximately half of both sexes were injured at home (1002/2032 males [49%]; 2390/4627 females [52%]) and >20% were injured at commercial or service localities (444/2032 males [22%]; 1105/4627 females [24%]). Adults aged between 20 and 69 years (1639/2032 males [81%]; 3717/4627 females [80%]) were most frequently injured.

Where people were and what they were doing at the time of the earthquake influenced their risk of injury. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:67-73)

Public health preparedness is an ever-evolving area of medicine with the purpose of helping the masses quickly and efficiently. The drive-through clinic (DTC) model allows the distribution of supplies or services while participants remain in their cars. Influenza vaccination is the most common form of DTC and has been utilized successfully in metropolitan areas.

We hypothesized that combining influenza vaccinations and child passenger seat fittings in a DTC format would be both feasible and desired by the community. Each driver was verbally surveyed at each DTC station. The project was a combination of patient survey and observation.

In the inaugural 6-hour DTC session, 86 cars were served and contained 161 children, of which 28 also participated in child passenger seat fittings. The median total clinic time regardless of services rendered was 9.0 minutes (interquartile range [IQR]: 6.0, 14.0 minutes). For those who received only an influenza vaccine, the median total time was 7.5 minutes (IQR: 6.0, 10.0 minutes). For those who received both services, the median total time was 27 minutes (IQR: 22.3, 33.5 minutes) with an average of 1.75 child passenger seat fittings per automobile.

This was a pilot study involving 2 different services using the DTC model and the first of its kind in the literature. The DTC was successful in executing both services without sacrificing speed, convenience, or patient satisfaction. Additional studies are needed to further evaluate the efficacy of the multiple-service DTC model. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:647–651)

The aim of this study was to present the clinical characteristics and dynamic changes in laboratory parameters of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Guangzhou, and explore the probable early warning indicators of disease progression.

We enrolled all the patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in the Guangzhou No. 8 People’s Hospital. The patients’ demographic and epidemiologic data were collected, including chief complaints, lab results, and imaging examination findings.

The characteristics of the patients in Guangzhou are different from those in Wuhan. The patients were younger in age, predominately female, and their condition was not commonly combined with other diseases. A total of 75% of patients suffered fever on admission, followed by cough occurring in 62% patients. Comparing the mild/normal and severe/critical patients, being male, of older age, combined with hypertension, abnormal blood routine test results, raised creatine kinase, glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, lactate dehydrogenase, C-reactive protein, procalcitonin, D-dimer, fibrinogen, activated partial thromboplastin time, and positive proteinuria were early warning indicators of severe disease.

The patients outside epidemic areas showed different characteristics from those in Wuhan. The abnormal laboratory parameters were markedly changed 4 weeks after admission, and also were different between the mild and severe patients. More evidence is needed to confirm highly specific and sensitive potential early warning indicators of severe disease.

Researchers have been evaluating several approaches to assess acute radiation injury/toxicity markers owing to radiation exposure. Keeping in mind this background, we assumed that whole-body irradiation in single fraction in graded doses can affect the antioxidant profile in skin that could be used as an acute radiation injury/toxicity marker.

Sprague-Dawley rats were treated with CO-60 gamma radiation (dose: 1-5 Gy; dose rate: 0.85 Gy/minute). Skin samples were collected (before and after radiation up to 72 hours) and analyzed for glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and lipid peroxidation (LPx).

Intra-group comparison showed significant differences in GSH, GPx, SOD, and CAT, and they declined in a dose-dependent manner from 1 to 5 Gy (P value<0.01, r value: 0.3-0.5). LPx value increased (P value<0.01, r value: 0.3-0.5) as the dose increased, except in 1 Gy (P value>0.05).

This study suggests that skin antioxidants were sensitive toward radiation even at a low radiation dose, which can be used as a predictor of radiation injury and altered in a dose-dependent manner. These biochemical parameters may have wider application in the evaluation of radiation-induced skin injury and dose assessment. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:197–202).

The objective of this study is to characterize US-based disaster training courses available to disaster response and disaster health professionals. Its purpose is to better inform policies and decision-making regarding workforce and professional development to improve performance.

Courses were identified from 4 inventories of courses: (1) National Library of Medicine Disaster Lit database; (2) TRAIN National Learning Network; (3) Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) National Preparedness Course Catalog; and (4) Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers. An online search used 30 disaster-related key words. Data included the course title, description, target audience, and delivery modality. Levels of learning, target capability, and function were categorized by 3 expert reviewers. Descriptive statistics were used.

There were 3662 trainings: 2380 (65%) for professionals (53% for public health); 83% of the courses were distance learning, with 16% via classroom. Half of all trainings focused on 3 of 37 disaster capabilities and 38% of them were related to chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosives (CBRNE). The educational approach was knowledge-based for all courses and 99.6% imparted only lower levels of learning.

Despite thousands of courses available, there remain significant gaps in target audience, subject matter content, educational approaches, and delivery modalities, particularly for health and public health professionals.

This study aims to report the clinical features of a cohort of patients with suspected coronavirus disease (COVID-19) from Tobruk, Libya, and reflect upon the diagnosis challenge in low-resource settings.

A descriptive report of the first 100 patients with suspected COVID-19 who have visited the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and COVID-19 screening clinic at the National Centre for Disease Control in Tobruk, Libya.

The most common presenting symptoms were fever (90%), cough (89%), dyspnea (85%), sore throat (79%), fatigue (78%), headache (64%), loss of smell (52%), loss of taste (53%), loss of appetite (43%), nausea and vomiting (26%), diarrhea (22%), and rhinorrhea (16%); 51% of the patients had lymphocytopenia, whereas 13% had thrombocytopenia. Bilateral infiltrates were the most common radiologic finding on chest X-ray (76%), and COVID-19 IgM and/or IgG antibodies were detected in 80% of the patients, whereas only 37% of the patients were tested positive by the reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).

The disease continued its spread across the region. Fever, cough, and dyspnea were the main symptoms; 21% of the patients did not have any chest X-ray abnormalities. Initial negative results for either antibody testing or RT-PCR-testing for COVID-19 do not rule out the infection.

Fatalities and injuries during an earthquake can be reduced by taking preemptive measures before-hand, and furniture anchoring is an important safety measure for all residents. This study sought to clarify the factors associated with furniture anchoring within the home.

A self-administered mail survey was completed from July to August 2010 by 3500 men and women between the ages of 20 and 69 years who were chosen at random from an official government resident registry of 2 cities in Japan.

Of the 1729 valid responses, 37.1% reported furniture anchoring. An association with furniture anchoring was observed for having viewed earthquake intensity maps or damage predictions (odds ratio [OR] 1.92, 95% C1 1.54-2.39), expressing concern about a future earthquake (OR 2.07, 95% C1 1.36-3.15), feelings of urgency (OR 1.90, 95% CI 1.47-2.45), accuracy of the government disaster preparedness information (OR 1.68, 95% CI 1.17-2.42), knowledge of the meaning of emergency earthquake warnings (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.12-2.48), and participation in voluntary disaster preparedness activities (OR 1.40, 95% C1 1.12-1.75).

Furniture anchoring was found to be associated with risk awareness, risk perception, disaster preparedness information provided by government to residents, knowledge of earthquakes, participation in voluntary disaster preparedness activities, nonwooden structures, and marital status. An increase in furniture anchoring is important and can be achieved through education and training in daily life. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;7:55-64)

A series of sniper attacks in the Washington, DC, area left 10 people dead and 3 wounded. We developed and tested a model that examined the unique and interdependent relationships of sniper-related television viewing, prior life-threatening events, and parental status to identification with attack victims.

Participants were 1238 residents of the DC area (aged 18-90 years, mean=41.7 years; 51% female; 68% white) who completed an online survey that assessed identification with sniper attack victims, amount of television viewing, and prior life-threatening events. Identification was measured by using a previously developed scale that assessed to what extent participants identified victims as similar to themselves, a friend, or a family member.

The relationship of television viewing to identification was examined by using multivariate linear regression analyses. In univariate analyses, female gender, having children, higher levels of television viewing, and past life-threatening events were independently related to greater identification. After adjustment for demographics and life-threatening events, sniper-related television viewing continued to be associated with identification (B=0.61, P≤0.001, ∆R2=0.07). Examination of the interactions of television viewing by parental status and television viewing by life-threatening event revealed significant relationships.

Attention to events preceding and during a terrorist event could help in the recognition of those at particular risk for increased identification with attack victims. These findings also have implications for recommendations for media exposure during an event. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018; 12: 337–344)

With the intention to try to contain the spread of the viral disease, several measures were taken in Argentina for long periods of time.

The lack of labor activity, social constraints, and a strong sense of helplessness, combined with a complex economic scenario with recession, inflation, and devaluation, led to the emergence of a dense climate of discontent.

After a second wave hit the country, several measures were reinstalled. The Argentine society, polarized in many aspects, was further divided between those who supported the re-establishment of strict measures to help prevent further infections and those who desperately claimed for the urgent need to return to work to sustain their livings.

The preexisting problems to which developing countries are usually exposed have been sharpened over the last year, determining a very complex scenario where every decision is important for the country’s future. An updated report of the current situation and its management in different countries is of vital importance regarding global health issues and may serve for feedback and decision-making.