Preparedness Of Schools Research Articles

The preparedness of Ugandan schools for fires

IntroductionThere have been numerous media reports on school fires in Uganda. In April 2008, a primary school dormitory caught fire and 20 children burnt to death. This incident increased public...

Emergency Planning in School-Based Athletics

To use nationally published guidelines to examine the preparedness of schools in the United States to respond to emergencies associated with school-based athletics. A questionnaire, mailed to 1000 randomly selected members of the National Athletic Trainers' Association, included questions on the clinical background of the athletic trainer, the demographic features of their school, the preparedness of their school to manage life-threatening athletic emergencies, the presence of preventative measures to avoid potential sport-related emergencies, and the immediate availability of emergency equipment. Of the 944 questionnaires delivered, 643 (68%) were returned; of these, 521 (81%) were eligible for analysis (55% usable response rate). Seventy percent (95% confidence interval [CI], 66-74) of schools have a Written Emergency Plan (WEP), although 36% (95% CI, 30-40) of schools with a WEP do not practice the plan. Thirty-four percent (95% CI, 30-38) of schools have an athletic trainer present during all athletic events. Sports previously noted to have higher rates of fatalities/injuries based on published literature, such as ice hockey and gymnastics, had, according to our data, less coverage by athletic trainers compared with other sports with lower rates of fatalities/injuries. Athletic trainers reported the immediate availability of the following during athletic events: cervical spine collar (62%, 95% CI, 58-66), automatic electronic defibrillator (61%, 95% CI, 57-65), epinephrine autoinjector (37%, 95% CI, 33-41), bronchodilator metered-dose inhaler (36%, 95% CI, 32-40). Although schools are in compliance with many of the recommendations for school-based athletic emergency preparedness, specific areas for improvement include practicing the WEP several times a year, linking all areas of the school directly with emergency medical services, increasing the presence of athletic trainers at athletic events (especially sports with a higher rate of fatalities/injuries), regulating the care of and inspection of school facilities and fields, requiring the use of safety equipment (such as mouth guards and protective eye equipment), and increasing the availability of automatic electronic defibrillator in schools.

The level of preparedness of the schools for disasters from the aspect of the school principals

PurposeThe purpose is, depending on the views of principals and teachers, to determine the level of preparedness of primary schools towards prospective earthquakes from the aspect of the effectiveness of school principals; and to develop some recommendations due to the obtained results and the review of the literature.Design/methodology/approachIn the research, the views of school principals and teachers were taken by a Likert type questionnaire, developed by the researcher herself. The sample of the research comprises all the elementary schools in the city centre of Elazig, a city in the Eastern Anatolian Region. As total 589 subjects responded the questionnaire. The data were computed by means of t‐test, and ANOVA according to parametric or non‐parametric situations.FindingsThe findings have revealed that the preparedness level of the schools are not so well for prospective disasters, and there are significant differences among the views of the subjects. In other words, the school principals were not so effective in achieving high level preparedness and for prospective earthquakes.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is limited with the views of the teachers and of principals obtained in the city centre of Elazig. Therefore, observation‐based researches may also be complementary for the reflection of the real life situation at schools.Originality/valueAlthough Turkey is placed a very seismically active region, the attained literature review has indicated that there have not been any researches done about the preparedness of schools for the earthquakes in Turkey, yet. Therefore, this research is an original one by obtaining the views of school teachers and of principals about the preparedness of schools towards earthquakes.

Mass-Casualty Events at Schools: A National Preparedness Survey

Recent school shootings and terrorist events have demonstrated the need for well-coordinated planning for school-based mass-casualty events. The objective of this study was to document the preparedness of public schools in the United States for the prevention of and the response to a mass-casualty event. A survey was mailed to 3670 school superintendents of public school districts that were chosen at random from a list of school districts from the National Center for Education Statistics of the US Department of Education in January 2004. A second mailing was sent to nonresponders in May 2004. Descriptive statistics were used for survey variables, and the chi2 test was used to compare urban versus rural preparedness. The response rate was 58.2% (2137 usable surveys returned). Most (86.3%) school superintendents reported having a response plan, but fewer (57.2%) have a plan for prevention. Most (95.6%) have an evacuation plan, but almost one third (30%) had never conducted a drill. Almost one quarter (22.1%) have no disaster plan provisions for children with special health care needs, and one quarter reported having no plans for postdisaster counseling. Almost half (42.8%) had never met with local ambulance officials to discuss emergency planning. Urban school districts were better prepared than rural districts on almost all measures in the survey. There are important deficiencies in school emergency/disaster planning. Rural districts are less well prepared than urban districts. Disaster/mass-casualty preparedness of schools should be improved through coordination of school officials and local medical and emergency officials.

The Preparedness of Schools to Respond to Emergencies in Children: A National Survey of School Nurses

The Preparedness of Schools to Respond to Emergencies in Children: A National Survey of School Nurses

Evacuation Intentions of Parents in an Urban Radiological Emergency

As part of the efforts to model the evacuation behaviour of urban residents in the event of a day-time radiological emergency, the present study determines and interprets the extent to which parents of school children rely upon school authorities in evacuating their children away from a danger zone. Two-thirds of parents surveyed in this study distrust organised evacuation and would retrieve their children personally. These parents are usually more mobile. recognising the benefits of nuclear power in general, but at the same time are highly aware of its potential risk to the public. The extent of distrust exceeds similar findings elsewhere. General implications for urban evacuation are discussed, and recommendations for urgent evacuation preparedness of schools are put forward.