Effective Emergency Preparedness Research Articles

Organizational contributions to emergency preparedness and response in Varanasi: A comprehensive analysis

India's unique geographical diversity and status as the world's most populous nation make it exceptionally susceptible to a wide array of hazards, both natural and human-induced. This vulnerability is further compounded by the intersection of diverse disasters and the dense population, leading to significant human and material losses. In response to these challenges, effective emergency preparedness plans are indispensable, requiring meticulous risk assessments, strategic resource allocation, capacity building initiatives, and active engagement of community-oriented organizations. Continuous monitoring and adaptation are essential for bolstering resilience and safeguarding socio-economic stability.Furthermore, the examination of developmental and disaster-specific organizations' roles in preparedness and response necessitates a systematic shift towards proactive paradigms, fostering an anticipatory culture rather than a reactive one. This study aims to dissect the intricate web of organizational efforts crucial for emergency preparedness in Varanasi, one of the world's oldest cities. By delving into these critical mechanisms, our goal is to enhance collective readiness against potential emergencies, safeguarding the city's rich heritage and its inhabitants.Through a mixed-method approach, this research illuminates the multifaceted involvement of organizations across various sectors, unraveling a complex tapestry of challenges that impede practical disaster preparedness. We scrutinize the coordination among governmental and non-governmental entities, funding dynamics, and grassroots alliances, revealing untapped resources for disaster resilience. Additionally, we analyze the strategies adopted by the national emergency preparedness and response force, highlighting both successes and shortcomings.Moreover, this study underscores the unique competencies of individuals involved in disaster preparedness, while identifying structural and functional gaps within organizational frameworks. Conversely, non-profit organizations face distinct challenges, including fundraising constraints and donor-imposed limitations, hindering their ability to develop comprehensive emergency preparedness and response capacities compared to public and private entities.In summary, this research serves as a comprehensive exploration of organizational dynamics in emergency preparedness within Varanasi, offering valuable insights into the complexities of disaster management efforts. By addressing these challenges, we aim to pave the way for more effective and inclusive disaster preparedness strategies, ultimately enhancing the resilience of Varanasi and similar communities globally.

An Overview of Appropriate Medical Practice and Preparedness in Radiation Emergency Response.

Radiation emergencies involving high doses of nuclear radiation pose significant risks from exposure to ionizing radiation in various scenarios. These situations include transportation accidents involving radioactive materials, occupational exposure, nuclear detonations, dirty bombs, and nuclear power plant accidents. In addition to the immediate risks of acute radiation syndrome (ARS) and related diseases, long-term exposure can increase the risk of other health issues such as cardiovascular disease and cancer. Vulnerable populations, including pregnant women and children, face particular concern due to potential impacts on their health and the health of unborn babies. The severity of ARS depends on several factors such as radiation dose, quality, dose rate, exposure uniformity, and individual biological responses. Bioindicators are biological responses or markers that help assess the severity and effects of radiation exposure on an individual. Bioindicators can include physical symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, or laboratory tests such as changes in blood cell counts and gene expression that can help in assessing and treating exposed individuals. Additionally, early prodromal symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, and erythema can provide important clues for diagnosis and treatment. Developing a comprehensive plan for radiation emergencies is vital for safeguarding public health, infrastructure, and the environment. First responders play a critical role in establishing safety perimeters, triage, and coordination with various stakeholders. Education and training are essential for medical personnel and the public. This article provides general recommendations and identifies challenges to effective radiation emergency preparedness and response.

Information sharing across institutions: Practices and barriers during public health emergencies in Ethiopia

BackgroundRapid, integrated information exchange between stakeholders is critical for effective emergency preparedness and response. However, many low- and middle-income countries face barriers to seamless data sharing. While information accessibility is recognized as important for evidence-based decision-making and resource allocation in Ethiopia, factors influencing current health information sharing practices among stakeholders involved in public health emergency management programs are unclear. This study aims to examine multi-sectoral stakeholders' perspectives and experiences with health data sharing during emergencies in Ethiopia, to identify opportunities and challenges influencing practices to strengthen the national public health emergency response system. MethodsA mixed-methods study was conducted between June and August 2023, involving a survey of 169 stakeholders actively involved in PHEM programs in Ethiopia as well as 23 in-depth interviews with key informants in senior leadership or advisory roles. The data was analyzed using descriptive statistics in SPSS and thematic analysis of qualitative transcripts. ResultsDuring emergencies, it was observed that data sharing between different entities occurred. Quantitative findings showed the predominant types of health data shared between stakeholders during emergencies included hospital data (109, 64.5 %), clinical case information, and laboratory results. Challenges limiting effective coordination included issues like limited functionality of digital health systems (75, 44 %), incompatible data formats (13, 34 %), and financial constraints (83, 49 %) and and socio-cultural barriers constrain current practices in Ethiopia. Qualitative interviews identified five themes around risk communication and inclusive alert systems. Experts emphasized tailored, multichannel outreach but noted infrastructure gaps and digital divides currently limit poorer communities' engagement. ConclusionWhile collaborative health information exchange during emergencies is recognized as important, systemic, financial, and socio-cultural barriers constrain current practices in Ethiopia. Targeted strategies including capacity building, investment in integrated data infrastructure, economic optimization through innovative financing models, trust-based relationship development, and locally relevant communication channels informed by stakeholder perspectives can optimize information accessibility, coordination, quality, and equity of healthcare services during public health emergencies.

The impact of policy and policy communication on COVID-19 vaccination inequalities among Venezuelan refugees and migrants in Colombia: a comparative cross-sectional interrupted time-series analysis

IntroductionEquitable access to vaccines for migrants and refugees is necessary to ensure their right to health and to achieve public health goals of reducing vaccine-preventable illness. Public health policies require...

Residual wave vision U-Net for flood mapping using dual polarization Sentinel-1 SAR imagery

The increasing severity, duration, and frequency of destructive floods can be attributed to shifts in climate, infrastructure, land use, and population demographics. Obtaining precise and timely data about the extent of floodwaters is crucial for effective emergency preparedness and mitigation efforts. Deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have shown astonishing effectiveness in various remote sensing applications, including flood mapping. One of the key limitations of CNNs is that they can only predict whether a desired feature will appear in an image, not where it can be recognized. To address this limitation, the incorporation of self-attention mechanisms deployed in vision transformers (ViTs) can be particularly effective. However, the self-attention modules in the ViTs are complex and computationally expensive, and they require a wealth of ground data to attain their full capability in image classification/segmentation. Thus, in this paper, we develop the Residual Wave Vision U-Net (WVResU-Net), a deep learning segmentation architecture that utilizes advanced Vision Multi-Layer Perceptrons (MLPs) and ResU-Net for accurate and reliable flood mapping using Sentinel-1 SAR’s dual polarization data. Results showed the significant superiority of the developed WVResU-Net algorithms over several well-known CNN and ViT deep learning models, including Swin U-Net, U-Net+++, Attention U-Net, R2U-Net, ResU-Net, TransU-Net and TransU-Net++. For example, the segmentation accuracy of TransU-Net++, SwinU-Net, ResU-Net, R2U-Net, Attention U-Net, TransU-Net, and U-Net+++, was significantly improved by approximately 5, 12, 13, 13, 16, 19, and 23 percentage points, respectively in terms of recall obtained by the WVResU-Net with a recall value of about 69.67%. The code will be made publicly available at https://github.com/aj1365/RWVUNet.

Comparative Analysis of BALSSA and Conventional NWP Methods: A Case Study in Extreme Storm Surge Prediction in Macao

In coastal regions, accurate storm surge prediction is crucial for effective disaster management and risk mitigation. This study presents a comparative analysis between BALSSA (Bidirectional Attention-based LSTM for Storm Surge Architecture) and the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) numerical storm surge model, focusing on the Saola-induced storm surge in Macao, September 2023. To train and assess the model, we leverage an extensive dataset comprising meteorological and tide level information from more than 80 typhoon occurrences in Macao spanning the period from 2017 to 2023. The results provide evidence of BALSSA’s effectiveness in capturing the complex spatio-temporal dynamics of storm surges, with a lead time of up to 72 h, as reflected by its MAE of 0.019 and RMSE of 0.024. It demonstrates reliable accuracy in predicting storm surge magnitude, timing, and spatial extent, potentially contributing to more precise and timely warnings for coastal communities. Furthermore, the real-time data assimilation feature of BALSSA ensures up-to-date information, aligned with the latest observations, which is essential for effective emergency preparedness and response. The high-resolution grids enhance risk assessment, highlighting BALSSA’s potential for early warnings, emergency planning, and coastal risk management. This study contributes valuable insights to the broader field of storm surge prediction, guiding decision-making processes and supporting the development of effective strategies to enhance coastal resilience.

Good Practices in Inter-Institutional Collaboration in Managing the Migrant Crisis

In 2021, Lithuania faced the challenge of managing the crisis of new type of migration across the Belarusian border, which threatened the security of the country and its citizens. A broad set of inter-institutional collaboration strategies and methods were used among the public institutions to address this crisis. Such inter-institutional collaboration has been a multifaceted and complex process, involving both known and new good practices. The aim of this article is to provide insights into good collaborative practices between the Lithuanian national defence and internal affairs systems in managing the migrant crisis. Following the expert interview results, the study identified three good practices of inter-institutional collaboration: (i) the creation of a single dissemination channel for the crisis response services, which ensured that all actors were in the same information field; (ii) the delegation of representatives of the institutions to teams at strategic, operational and tactical levels; and (iii) inter-institutional information sharing ensured good situational awareness at an early stage of emergency management. Lessons learned from the collaboration between the institutions of the national defence and internal affairs systems can be applied to improve inter-institutional collaboration in other areas. The research results can be used to enhance the process of such collaboration in addressing current emergency management issues and serve as a basis for effective and smooth emergency preparedness and response where inter-institutional synergy is needed.

Disaster Preparedness and Awareness among University Students: A Structural Equation Analysis

Students have long been among those most emotionally and physically affected by natural or manmade disasters, yet universities and colleges continue to lack effective disaster response and mitigation practices. This research identifies how students' socio-demographics and disaster preparedness indicators (DPIs) impact their awareness of the dangers of disasters and their ability to survive and cope with the changes that disasters bring. A comprehensive survey was designed and distributed to university students to gain an in-depth understanding of their perceptions of disaster risk reduction factors. A total of 111 responses were received, and the impact of the socio-demographics and DPIs on the students' disaster awareness and preparedness were evaluated by employing structural equation modeling. The results indicate that the university curriculum impacts the disaster awareness of students while the establishment of university emergency procedures impacts the disaster preparedness of students. The purpose of this research is to enable university stakeholders to identify the DPIs that are important to the students so that they can upgrade their programs and design effective DRR courses. It will also aid policymakers in redesigning effective emergency preparedness policies and procedures.

Assessment of the Effectiveness of Medical Emergency Preparedness among Oil and Gas Platforms in the Niger Delta

The need for effective Medical Emergency Preparedness (MEP) systems in an offshore facility is of great importance due to the high Health Safety and Environment (HSE) risks to Personnel on Board in the terrain. Despite the great strides recorded in Nigeria’s offshore oil and gas sector, little is known about the availability of a nationally constituted evaluation tool for offshore MEP systems in the oil and gas industry in Niger Delta. Hence, the call for a systematic national MEP framework based on the provisions of global best practices. This paper is aimed at assessing the effectiveness of the MEP framework of three selected offshore (jack up) oil and gas platforms in the Niger Delta. Data were obtained using a standard checklist and self-structured questionnaire and a purposive sampling technique adopted from a population of selected three jack up rigs operating in Niger Delta. The analysis was conducted using analysis of variance at 95% confidence interval. The effectiveness levels expressed as a function of numerical scores were used to carry out statistical comparative study to check for consistency in operability and quality. Results from the Welch robust test of equality of means showed to be significant (p < 0.05) for all 3 rigs. However, the pairwise post-analysis at 95% confidence interval showed that the mean difference between Rig1 and Rig2 were not significant (p-value = 0.352). But the other pairs (Rig1 versus Rig3 and Rig2 versus Rig3) showed considerable differences in their mean scores with p-values of 0.001 and 0.001, respectively. It is concluded that the rig’s functionality plays a role on the MEP system’s effectiveness of jack up platforms in the Niger Delta. Therefore, the study advocates for a robust and holistic substantial national assessment tool for oil and gas regulatory authorities for evaluating and monitoring MEP systems of various offshore companies.

Role of Chinese government and Public–Private Partnership in combating COVID-19 in China

COVID-19 has been called a Global Health Emergency worldwide. According to their available resources, developed and developing countries' public and private sectors are fighting against this pandemic. This paper examines how effective the Public–Private Partnership (PPP) strategies under the Chinese government response to control this COVID-19. The study takes the Chinese government and private sector's collective efforts for analysis and discussion from January 01 to October 31, 2020. Applying linear regression revealed that public governance strategies have worked to control this pandemic's severity and frequency. The results also show that despite the negative COVID-19 graph, the Chinese government has remained consistent in health and stringency measures. Furthermore, in cooperation with private sectors, China's emergency management has built two makeshift hospitals in 12 days and 5G technology implementation; Health Code application and volunteer works illustrate sharing governance by PPP. The study advises that by keeping in mind the strategy of PPP in China, other countries should also involve private sectors to mitigate emergency issues like COVID-19 for fast and effective outcomes and ask for assistance from the Chinese government and follow their quarantine and prudent policies to control this contagious disease. It further suggests that governments should engage private sectors before draft effective emergency preparedness policies to fight against future calamities.

Precautionary Behavior Practices and Psychological Characteristics of COVID-19 Patients and Quarantined Persons.

Background: since the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) was first reported in 2019, South Korea has enforced isolation of patients with confirmed cases of COVID-19, as well as quarantine for close contacts of individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 and persons traveling from abroad, in order to contain its spread. Precautionary behavior practices and psychological characteristics of confirmed and quarantined persons were investigated for planning pandemic recovery and preparedness. Methods: this study was conducted with 1716 confirmed patients and quarantined persons in Daegu and Busan, regions where a high number of cases were confirmed during the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea. We collected online survey data from 23 April to 20 May 2020, in Daegu, and 28 April to 27 May 2020, in Busan, in cooperation with Daegu and Busan Infectious Disease Control Centers and public health centers in the regions. COVID-19 symptoms, pre-cautionary behavior practices, psychological states, and the need for improvement in isolation/quarantine environments were examined using an online survey. Results: compared to patients infected with coronavirus, quarantined persons engaged in more hygiene-related behaviors (e.g., hand washing, cough etiquette, and proper mask-wearing) and social distancing. COVID-19 patients had a strong fear of stigma, while quarantined persons had a strong fear of contracting COVID-19. Study participants responded that it was necessary to provide financial support and adequate information during isolation/quarantine. Conclusions: the study highlights the importance of precautionary behavior to prevent COVID-19 infection and the need to provide support (both psychological and financial) to patients and quarantined persons, to reinforce effective communication, social solidarity, and public health emergency preparedness (PHEP) in a pandemic situation.

Development of flood hazard map and emergency relief operation system using hydrodynamic modeling and machine learning algorithm

This study performs flood hazard mapping and evaluates community flood coping strategies. In addition, it proposes a humanitarian aid information system (HAIS) to enhance emergency support for flood victims. First, a flood hazard map was prepared using the hydrodynamic model (HM)–FLO 2D coupled with a machine learning algorithm (MLA)-scaled conjugate gradient neural network (SCG-NN). The performance of the MLA was evaluated using a validation dataset and statistical measures such as the mean square error (MSE: 0.080), root mean square error (RMSE: 0.282), and coefficient of determination (R2 = 0.830). According to the generated flood hazard map, most of the study area was classified as low (47.85%) or moderate (27.47%) hazardous zones, whereas only a small portion was delineated as high (20.64%) or very high (4.04%) hazardous zones. The accuracy of the hazard map (HM-MLA) versus the ground truth was tested statistically and was found to be high. Second, an investigation of local flood management strategies revealed that the current information system is not well prepared for emergencies, including the quantification of emergency relief necessities. Therefore, an HAIS, which specifies hazard information and quantifies emergency aids (food items) for flood victims, can be an effective emergency preparedness tool. We calculated the required emergency aid considering satellite-derived flood data. Finally, we conclude that the proposed HAIS will help humanitarian organizations and government agencies coordinate and perform relief operations effectively in the worst-hit regions across the country.

Will There Be Enough Water? A System Dynamics Model to Investigate the Effective Use of Limited Resources for Emergency Water Supply

The increased probability of occurrence of various hazards to water supply systems due to climate change requires the strengthening of their resilience through effective emergency preparedness planning. This paper introduces a method for the assessment of the resilience of water supply systems, including emergency supply measures. With 20 uniquely defined emergency situations, the technical constellations for possible impairments of the water supply are documented. The system analysis developed for each emergency situation is then used to determine and prioritise all suitable supply measures to reduce the supply deficit. Based on the data of a water utility close to Frankfurt, Germany, the developed system dynamics model was used to examine the resource utilisation for the respective emergency situations and to estimate the amount of water provided. The model allows us to scrutinize and compare emergency water supply measures as well as to identify required resources. Furthermore, the method helps us to prioritize measures as well as to make decisions when planning and providing emergency water supply (EWS).

An Empirical Analysis of Association between Socioeconomic Factors and Communities’ Exposure to Natural Hazards

In today’s urban environments with complex design and configurations, heterogeneous spatial clusters of communities with different socioeconomic characteristics may result in disproportionate exposure of some groups of citizens to natural hazards. The objective of this study was to compare the associations between communities’ socioeconomic characteristics and exposure to different types of natural hazards in New York City (NYC) to examine whether commonly accepted indicators of social vulnerability are associated with similar levels of exposure across various natural hazards. First, we collected socioeconomic data (e.g., population, median income, unemployment rate) at a zip code level of granularity provided by the United States Census Bureau. Next, we identified and gathered spatial data for coastal storms, flooding, extreme heat, and pandemic disease in NYC. We then conducted a pairwise Kendall’s τ-b test to compare the associations. The outcomes showed that the significance and direction of the associations depend on the type of natural hazard. Particularly, the results indicated that zip codes with lower socioeconomic factors and greater percentage of minority ethnicities are exposed disproportionately to extreme heat and COVID-19. On the other hand, zip codes with higher percentage of areas prone to flooding have relatively higher socioeconomic factors. Furthermore, the results did not show any statistically significant association between socioeconomic factors and exposure to coastal storm inundations. The outcomes of this study will help decision makers design and implement better optimized and effective emergency preparedness plans by prioritizing their target areas based on socioeconomic factors in order to enhance social justice.

Challenges for Effective Emergency Preparedness and Responses for Nuclear Disasters: Lessons from Experiences of Fukushima Disaster Victims

Challenges for Effective Emergency Preparedness and Responses for Nuclear Disasters: Lessons from Experiences of Fukushima Disaster Victims

The Utility of Choice-Enhancing Language in Emergency Preparedness Messages: An Application of Psychological Reactance Theory.

This study uses psychological reactance theory as a framework for designing effective emergency preparedness messages. Psychological reactance is the motivational state that occurs when individuals perceive their freedom to be threatened. From the standpoint of persuasive message design, reactance is an undesirable outcome that should be avoided whenever possible. Participants (N = 174) were randomly assigned to view 1 of 2 emergency preparedness messages (choice-enhancing language ["the choice is yours"] vs choice-restricting language ["you must"]) in a between-subjects-posttest-only online survey experiment. Structural equation modeling revealed that choice-restricting language resulted in greater freedom threat and subsequent reactance. Reactance resulted in a diminished attitude and subsequent intention to prepare an emergency kit. Public health practitioners would benefit from the inclusion of choice-enhancing language in their public communications, alongside the exclusion of choice-restricting language. Pretesting of messages is recommended to avoid eliciting reactance and subsequent boomerang effects.

Integrating Health System Preparedness and Community Resilience: Using the CMS Preparedness Rule as a Focusing Event.

This commentary discusses the prospect and value of using the preparedness rule developed and implemented by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as a focal point for better integrating health system preparedness into broader community resilience efforts, whether at the local or international level. Much attention has been given to the idea that community resilience requires extensive collaboration and coordination between actors across sectors, elements that are vital to effective emergency preparedness in health care as well. To facilitate improved fiscal sustainability, the federal government has since 2012 been encouraging healthcare coalitions to pursue nonprofit status. Building such organizations for the long term will require coalitions to become more proactive in involving organizations outside of the health sector. The preparedness rule has done much to encourage more dialogue between health system actors, and we argue that this momentum should be carried forward to generate a broader discussion of the importance of health preparedness to community resilience. The value of embedding preparedness planning into larger community resilience initiatives is discussed.

Oral Surgery Patient Safety Concepts in Anesthesia.

An effective office emergency preparedness plan for the oral and maxillofacial surgery office can be developed through the use of well-designed checklists, cognitive aids, and regularly scheduled in situ simulations with debriefings. In order to achieve this goal, the hierarchal culture of medicine and dentistry must be overcome, and an inclusive team concept embraced by all members of the staff. Technologic advancements in office automation now make it possible to create interactive cognitive aids. These enhance office emergency training and provide a means for more rapid retrieval of essential information and guidance during both simulations and a real crisis.

Die a Hero or Live Long Enough to Become the Villain: Mass Casualty Preparedness in Hospitals and Protecting Doctors from Liability during Mass Casualty Events

Abstract Since 9/11, the United States and the international community have emphasized the need to protect people from terrorist attacks. The Boston Bombing that took place on April 15, 2013, showed that even with all of the preventive measures in place, the United States is not immune from terrorist attacks. If there had been a bioterrorist attack in Boston instead of a homemade bomb, the amount of casualties would likely have been a lot higher. Many hospitals lack effective emergency preparedness plans that address bioterrorist attacks. One area that will help prepare nations during a mass casualty incident or public health emergency involves implementing effective mass casualty preparedness plans for hospitals. This paper analyzes mass casualty preparedness in hospitals and demonstrates the need to have legislation in place to protect doctors who treat patients during mass casualty events.

Learning from UK disaster exercises: policy implications for effective emergency preparedness.

With a view towards suggesting improvements to the official UK Guidance for disaster exercises, this paper critically examines a representative sample of recent disaster management exercises in the United Kingdom to determine how they are planned, conducted and assessed. Personal observations and in-depth qualitative interviews were used to study three representative multi-agency disaster exercises in the UK: (1) the Hitachi 395 Evacuation Workshop and Exercise Twin Bore, (2) Exercise Saxon Shore and (3) Exercise Operation Safe Return. The research demonstrates that disaster exercises in the UK generally consist of four main approaches: (1) disaster response and adaptability, (2) building-block approach, (3) citizen participation and (4) discussion-based debriefs. While the data demonstrates that each of these approaches has significant merit, it also elucidates key improvements that should be made to the official UK guidance and reflected in future exercises. In particular, the research suggests that the Guidance should highlight the importance of adaptability at the scene of a disaster, advance a building-block methodology to organising exercises and reiterate the need for better debriefings of volunteer participants.