Since 2003, the Chinese National Health and Family Planning Commission (formerly the Ministry of Health) has implemented changes to more effectively communicate risk during public health emergencies. In spite of ongoing improvements, provincial and sub-provincial leaders face barriers, such as established modes of operation, lack of training, shortage of trained risk communicators, and limited understanding and willingness of recipients to mitigate risks.

We assessed the current status of and barriers to risk communication knowledge and practice among public health practitioners in China. We designed the survey questionnaire to capture information related to the risk communication core capacities required by international health regulations and common risk communication principles.

Our findings showed that risk communication training has successfully developed an awareness of risk communication principles and the ability to implement those principles in practice in China.

Future efforts should focus on areas such as a dedicated risk communication workforce, requirements that public health agencies develop a risk communication plan, and additional training for public health practitioners and their partners. It is critical that the infectious diseases prevention and control law be amended to grant provincial and local public health agencies more autonomy to release information. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-7)

Risk communication plays a central role in the management of infectious disease. The World Health Organization's 2005 International Health Regulations have highlighted the need for countries to strengthen their capacities in this area to ensure effective responses to public health emergencies. We surveyed laboratories, hospitals, and public health institutions in Germany to detail the current situation regarding risk communication and crisis management and to identify which areas require further development.

A mixed methods approach was adopted. An initial questionnaire was distributed to relevant persons in laboratories and hospitals, and semistructured interviews were conducted with selected participants. Representatives from state public health authorities, federal agencies, and media also were interviewed to add additional contextual information to the questionnaire responses.

Based on the responses received, the universal sense among key stakeholders was that risk communication and crisis communication measures must be improved. Collaborative working was a consistent theme, with participants suggesting that a partnering strategy could help to improve performance. This approach could be achieved through better coordination between groups, for example, through a knowledge-sharing policy.

More research is needed on how such collaboration might be implemented, along with a general conceptual framework for risk communication to underpin the overall strategy. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-6)

The incidence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) reportedly increases following a huge disaster. On March 11, 2011, the Great East Japan Earthquake hit a large area of eastern Japan. In Fukushima prefecture, many people suffered from the consequences of the earthquake, the subsequent tsunami, and especially the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident. We assessed whether the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) increased after the earthquake.

We enrolled AMI patients admitted to 36 hospitals in Fukushima prefecture between March 11, 2009, and March 10, 2013 (n = 3068). We compared the incidence of AMI after the earthquake for more than 3 months and 1 year with that in the control years.

The incidence of Fukushima's annual AMI patients (per 100 000 persons) in 2011 was similar to that of previous years (n = 38.9 [2011] vs 37.2 [2009] and 38.5 [2010], P = .581). However, a significantly higher incidence of AMI was found in the Iwaki district after the disaster that corresponded to the 1-year period of observation (n = 38.7 [2011] vs 27.3 [2009] and 32.8 [2010], P = .045).

The Great East Japan Earthquake affected the incidence of AMI only in limited areas of Fukushima prefecture. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1–8)

To find the psychological competencies for surviving a disaster and develop a self-report questionnaire to assess them.

Interviews with 16 earthquake survivors and 16 fire fighters followed by qualitative analysis were used to find psychological competencies. Formation of the item pool, a pilot study among 20 college teachers and students, a series of principal component analyses for the data from 345 college students, and a confirmatory factor analysis for the data from 307 participants with various occupations were used to develop the Psychological Competencies for Surviving a Disaster Questionnaire (PCSDQ).

We found 4 psychological competencies: risk perception of a disaster, disaster knowledge and self-relief skills, low fear in a disaster, and sense of control over a disaster. The 24-item PCSDQ assessed these psychological competencies. The Cronbach alpha of PCSDQ subscales ranged from .75 to .87.

The psychological competencies for surviving a disaster were found to be risk perception of a disaster, disaster knowledge and self-relief skills, low fear in a disaster, and sense of control over a disaster. Using the PCSDQ to assess a person’s psychological competencies for disaster survival will make it possible to provide that person with an individualized and targeted disaster self-relief education and/or training program. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-9)

The Mt Merapi volcanic eruption in October 2010 claimed more than 386 lives, injured thousands of survivors, and devastated the surrounding environment. No instrument was available in Indonesia to assess the psychosocial impact on survivors of environmental degradation caused by such natural disasters. We developed, translated, and tested an Indonesian version of the Environmental Distress Scale (EDS) for use as a tool to reliably measure environmental distress related to environmental damage in Indonesia.

The EDS, a prospective translation and psychometric study, was modified for use in a volcano disaster setting in Indonesia; translated into Indonesian; and pilot tested to determine meaning and cultural appropriateness. A test-retest study with 80 survivors of the 2010 Mt Merapi volcanic eruption measured the reliability of the tool.

The Indonesian version of the EDS (I-EDS) captured the content of the original EDS with appropriate adaptations for cultural differences of Indonesian natural disaster survivors.

The I-EDS can be considered a reliable tool for assessing the psychosocial impact of environmental degradation from natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, which might be useful for Indonesian researchers. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1–10)

The emergency preparedness of residents of North Carolina and Montana were compared.

General preparedness was evaluated using responses to 4 questions related to a household's 3-day supply of water, 3-day supply of nonperishable food, a working battery-operated radio, and a working battery-operated flashlight. Each positive answer was awarded 1 point to create an emergency preparedness score that ranged from 0 (minimum) to 4 (maximum). Results were assessed statistically.

The average emergency preparedness score did not differ between the 2 states (P = .513). One factor influencing higher preparedness in both states was being male. Other influencing factors in North Carolina were older age, being a race/ethnicity other than white, having an annual income of $35 000 or more, having children in the household, better (excellent/very good/good) self-reported health, and not being disabled. In contrast, other factors influencing higher emergency preparedness in Montana were having a college degree and being married or partnered.

A divergence was found in factors influencing the likelihood of being prepared. These factors were likely a result of different sociodemographic and geographic characteristics between the 2 states. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4)

The participants in a 2011 drive-through influenza vaccination clinic were described.

The descriptive, cross-sectional study used a pen-and-paper survey administered during a drive-through vaccination program. A total of 1114 surveys were collected that included demographic information and responses to 3 clinic usage questions; responses were in English or Spanish. The responses were stratified by language and age group, and zip codes reported by the participants were mapped.

The majority of the participants were women (57%) aged 41 to 64 years old (53%). The participation by people younger than 18 and older than 65 years was relatively low. When compared by language, the surveys completed in Spanish showed a significantly different proportion of age group participation than those completed in English. Many participants (23%) indicated that they likely would not have received a vaccine elsewhere if the clinic were not available. A map of the zip codes showed that the clinic served people from the city and surrounding communities and counties.

The operators of vaccine clinics can use these findings to improve outreach to populations of concern, and encourage multiple venues, both traditional and nontraditional, to maximize immunization coverage in their community (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-4).

The reauthorization of the Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act in 2013 incorporated the dental profession and dental professionals into the federal legislation governing public health response to pandemics and all-hazard situations. Work is now necessary to expand the processes needed to incorporate and train oral health care professionals into pandemic and all-hazard response events.

A just-in-time (JIT) training exercise and immunization drill using an ex vivo porcine model system was conducted to demonstrate the rapidity to which dental professionals can respond to a pandemic influenza scenario. Medical history documentation, vaccination procedures, and patient throughput and error rates of 15 dental responders were evaluated by trained nursing staff and emergency response personnel.

The average throughput (22.33/hr) and medical error rates (7 of 335; 2.08%) of the dental responders were similar to those found in analogous influenza mass vaccination clinics previously conducted using certified public health nurses.

The dental responder immunization drill validated the capacity and capability of dental professionals to function as a valuable immunization resource. The ex vivo porcine model system used for JIT training can serve as a simple and inexpensive training tool to update pandemic responders’ immunization techniques and procedures supporting inoculation protocols.