Rapid Health Assessment Research Articles

Quantifying the degree of coral bleaching using digital photographic technique

A simple, non-destructive and objective method is developed and evaluated to quantify bleaching or colour change in coral in terms of its percent whiteness. Digital photos of coral colony were taken with a photoquadrat marked with black and white bands around a metal frame to serve as colour references. Photos taken were then converted to a black and white grey-scale and intensities of the coral colour were determined with reference to this grey-scale using computer image analytical technique. A completely bleached coral gave an estimated percent whiteness that is close to 100%, an estimate that agrees well with the visual image of a bleached coral. The percent whiteness estimates were found not to be significantly affected by different levels of irradiance and turbidites under simulated conditions. Colour change in seven common Hong Kong coral species were further evaluated in situ and shown to exhibit an increasing trend of percent whiteness from January (winter) to April 2012 (spring), reflecting an increasing degree of bleaching. Using Goniopora lobata as an experimental species, estimated percent whiteness was shown to be negatively correlated with its zooxanthellae density and chlorophyll a concentration. This suggests that this method could allow repeated monitoring of individual coral colony over time to detect subtle variations in its colour as a general assessment of its health. Furthermore, reference percent whiteness of different coral species can be standardized for comparison of colour change over time to identify the critical level of percent whiteness that is associated with bleaching. Thus, this method should prove to be an easy and objective tool for rapid field assessment of coral health.

Rapid health assessments of evacuation centres in areas affected by Typhoon Haiyan.

Typhoon Haiyan caused thousands of deaths and catastrophic destruction, leaving many homeless in Region 8 of the Philippines. A team from the Philippine Field Epidemiology Training Program conducted a rapid health assessment survey of evacuation centres severely affected by Haiyan. A descriptive study was conducted whereby a convenience sample of evacuation centres were assessed on the number of toilets per evacuee, sanitation, drinking-water, food supply source and medical services. Of the 20 evacuation centres assessed, none had a designated manager. Most were located in schools (70%) with the estimated number of evacuees ranging from 15 to 5000 per centre. Only four (20%) met the World Health Organization standard for number of toilets per evacuee; none of the large evacuation centres had even half the recommended number of toilets. All of the evacuation centres had available drinking-water. None of the evacuation centres had garbage collection, vector control activities or standby medical teams. Fourteen (70%) evacuation centres had onsite vaccination activities for measles, tetanus and polio virus. Many evacuation centres were overcrowded. Evacuation centres are needed in almost every disaster. They should be safely located and equipped with the required amenities. In disaster-prone areas such as the Philippines, schools and community centres should not be designated as evacuation centres unless they are equipped with adequate sanitation services.

Adaptation level as the basic health status characteristics: possibilitics of its assessment and forecasting of desadaptation violations.

On the basis of comprehensive survey with integrative assessment of health state (medical history data, physical examination, anthropometry, battery of psychological tests (Eysenck, Shmishek’s Personality Inventory (teen version), tapping - test by E.P. Ilyin, children's questionnaire of neuroses; test for rapid assessment of health, activity and mood, anxiety diagnosis by Spielberg - Khanin; Luscher test, color relations test) level of adaptation was defined in 236 children from orphanages aged from 4 to 18 years. The manifestations of maladjustment were registered both on psychological level (neuroticism, high anxiety, decreased performance, activity and psychological endurance, sleep disturbance, presence of accentuation and neurotic disorders) and somatic level (recurrent acute respiratory infections, poor physical development, exacerbation of chronic foci of infection and burdened biological history); this summarizes conclusions on a low level of health status of children in orphanages. The author has developed mathematical models of adaptation assessment and prediction of desadaptation, which allowed to identify children at risk for the development of adaptation disorders and children with maladjustment; according to the level and severity of maladaptive disorders correction programs are designed.

Development and Assessment of Ash Mortality Models in Relation to Emerald Ash Borer Infestation

Emerald ash borer is a pest of North American ash that has caused significant mortality within its introduced range. The timeline for tree mortality, once infested by emerald ash borer, is variable for individual trees, with a small proportion surviving infestation. Using tree health assessments and signs of emerald ash borer infestation, researchers developed decision models to predict the probability of mortality. Two resulting models performed well at correctly predicting mortality (>83% correct) and significantly separating probability of mortality for those trees. Both models used diameter at breast height (DBH) and presence of bark splits, with one including percent crown dieback and the other including vigor rating (overall tree health assessment). A third model had reduced correct prediction of mortality, but was still potentially an effective model. Other tested models had shortcomings in prediction of mortality or in separation of probabilities of mortality. Using variables from three potential decision models, the year of mortality was modeled. However, specific year prediction was not as effective. Because of a wide range of external factors, prediction of a specific year of mortality may not be appropriate. Using DBH and rapid health and infestation assessment data, the authors were able to correctly predict ash mortality within a three-year period for the majority of trees within this study. Management strategies that use these models for developing hierarchical removal programs for infested ash may distribute financial and environmental costs over multiple years as opposed to mass removal of street and park trees.

Case study of exploited riparian corridors: rapid assessment of ecological health for riparian buffer width

ABSTRACTRiparian corridors are areas immediately adjacent to flowing waters. They are significant in ecological terms as a transitional zone between aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Therefore, conservation of riparian corridors has been gaining significance in river basin management. In this regard, this study has investigated the riparian buffers that fringed the Riveria residential estate in the city of Kuching, Sarawak, examining its structures and health indices in response to the development gradient. The riparian health assessment presented here specifically considers its associated buffer widths, plus the exploration of three attributes, namely human activities, vegetation cover, and groundwater table. The results show that the most appropriate range of buffer width is between 40 and 100 m. Results also suggest that riparian buffer width is a key factor influencing riparian health and functionality.

Self-appraisal adequacy of students’ physical abilities of pedagogical specialties involved in various forms of education

Purpose : considered self-appraisal adequacy of students’ physical abilities of students of pedagogical specialties involved in various forms of education. Material : the study was conducted with students of II and IV courses of the Faculty of Primary Education stationary and correspondence courses (total 120 people.). Used a technique of self-appraisal of physical development, technique of rapid assessment of physical health, motor tests. Results : set the direction for the development of the values of physical culture and self-improvement of physical abilities that depend on the adequacy of the self-assessment of their physical development and physical fitness. The comparison of subjective and objective indicators for assessing physical health and physical fitness of students. Highlighted significant differences in the direction of re-evaluation of their physical abilities in students of correspondence courses. Conclusions : It is recommended to use the self-appraisal methodology of physical development to determine the degree of objectivity of self-confidence, which determines the motivation for self-improvement.

Проблемні питання сучасного медичного забезпечення дітей шкільного віку в Україні

Стаття присвячена розробці принципів розподілу школярів на медичні групи для занять фізичним вихованням шляхом оцінки їх фізичного здоров’я й адаптаційних можливостей. Наведено обґрунтування нової методології й методики розподілу школярів на групи для занять фізичними вправами з урахуванням рівня здоров’я й фізичної працездатності. Встановлено, що найбільшу вірогідність та інформативність має методика кількісної експрес-оцінки рівня фізичного здоров’я дітей та підлітків Г.Л. Апанасенка, що дає можливість на долікарняному етапі проводити первинний скринінг із кількісним визначенням рівня індивідуального здоров’я школяра, а не наявності чи відсутності гострої або хронічної патології чи дефектів розвитку. Доведено, що рівні здоров’я за Г.Л. Апанасенком добре корелюють із показниками, що характеризують функціональний стан та адаптацію до фізичних навантажень дітей і підлітків. Пропонується як критерій для розподілу школярів на групи для занять фізичними вправами використовувати методику кількісної експрес-оцінки рівня фізичного здоров’я дітей та підлітків Г.Л. Апанасенка та впровадити застосування цієї технології в практику.

Rapid assessment of occupational health and safety measures for personnel handling healthcare waste in the Gaza Strip, Palestine

Proper healthcare waste (HCW) management practices and precautions are crucial to avoid occupational and environmental health problems amongst healthcare workers. This study aims to assess the occupational health and safety of healthcare workers involved in medical waste handling in two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. This study was cross–sectional in design, and a simple random sampling technique was used to distribute a semi–structured questionnaire among 164 healthcare workers at two hospitals, one public and one private, in the Gaza Strip. The results show that occupational health and safety amongst hospital healthcare workers is low. This may be attributable to poor implementation of protective measures and a deficiency in implementing training courses about healthcare waste management and associated hazards. The authors recommend that the Ministry of Health and healthcare institutions increase their focus on the design and implementation of policies for best practice management and disposal of healthcare waste in Palestine.

Механизмы создания психологически безопасной образовательной среды в образовательной организации общего образования

At the moment the question of how to create and maintain the psychological safety of the educational environment of the school is not sufficiently studied. Meanwhile, there has been proved its positive effect on the psychological health of students, their emotional and personal well-being, the formation of a meta-subjective and personal educational outcomes. This paper describes a study the purpose of which was to examine and verify empiricaly the features of management activities in the educational organization to create a psychologically safe learning environment. We studied personality traits of the Head of an educational organization by the procedure "Troubleshooting leadership abilities" (E. Zharikova, E. Krushelnytsky), techniques "Diagnosis of the level of burnout" (V.V. Boyko), methods of self-management style assessment (A.V. Agrashenkova, modified by E.P. Ilyin), and methods for rapid assessment of health, activity, mood (SAN). We proposed mechanisms to solve the problem of creating a comfortable and safe learning environment in the educational organization of general education.

Hyperspectral indices for assessing damage by the solenopsis mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in cotton

Phenacoccus solenopsis Tinsley, a native of North America, is a widespread exotic mealybug infesting cotton, Gossypium spp. in several countries. Monitoring of this pest is generally undertaken through regular field surveys, which is labour intensive, time consuming and error prone. Alternately, radiometry is a reliable technique for rapid and non-destructive assessment of plant health. Thus, a study was conducted to characterize reflectance spectra of cotton plants with known mealybug infestation levels (grade-0 is healthy and grade-4 is severe), and seek to identify specific narrow wavelengths sensitive to mealybug damage. Reflectance measurements were made in the spectral range of 350–2500nm using a hyperspectral radiometer. Significant differences were found in green, near infrared and short wave infrared spectral regions for plants with early stages of P. solenopsis infestation, and for plants showing higher grades of infestation these differences extended to all the regions except blue. A significant reduction in total chlorophyll (12.83–35.83%) and relative water content (1.93–23.49%) was observed in the infested plants. Reflectance sensitivity analysis of the hyperspectral data revealed wavelengths centered at 492, 550, 674, 768 and 1454nm as most sensitive to mealybug damage. Mealybug Stress Indices (MSIs) were developed using two or three wavelengths, tested using multinomial logistic regression (MLR) analysis and compared with other indices published earlier. Results showed that the MSIs were superior (R2=0.82) to all other spectral vegetation indices tested. Further, the proposed MLR models corresponding to each MSIs were validated using two independent field data sets. The overall percent correct classification of cotton plants into different mealybug damage severity grades was in the range of 38.3 and 54.9. High classification accuracy for grade-1 (81.8%) showed that models are capable of early detection of mealybug damage. Results of this study could suggest potential usage of remote sensing in monitoring spatial and temporal distribution of the solenopsis mealybug, and thereby enable effective planning and implementation of site-specific pest management practices.

Biomarker-Detection Technologies for Comprehensive Medical Diagnosis During Deep-Space Missions

Human deep-space missions to Mars and beyond will require development of a compact device that can provide comprehensive in-flight medical diagnostic capability to support the health of astronauts. Key features should include the ability to handle multiple sample types (blood, saliva, breath), and the ability to measure virtually any biomarker, including future biomarkers that may emerge. Here we identify compatible technologies and their associated patents that can be integrated to create such a device, to provide essential hematology information (blood cell counts, white cell differential) and to detect proteins and other biomolecules needed to assess spaceflight medical conditions. The ability to analyze breath and saliva specimens is a priority. These specimens are fully non-invasive hence no risk is associated with sampling and can provide rapid health assessment information that could be critical for urgent medical issues that may arise during EVA, prior to removal of the spacesuit. In addition to space applications, the device we envision would have applications for health care on Earth, in the military, in developing countries, and other settings with limited access to conventional medical resources. Keywords: Analyte, Biomarker, Blood, Breath, Compact technology, Human space exploration, In-flight medical capability, Mars mission, Minimally invasive, Non-invasive, Saliva, Smart phone, Wireless.

Accurate automated quantitative imaging of tortoise erythrocytes using the nis image analysis system

The standard method for assessing blood cell characteristics using an ocular micrometer is time-consuming and limited. We used the Nikon NIS Elements imaging software and May- Grünwald-Giemsa staining to determine whether automated image analysis is suitable for rapid and accurate quantitative morphometry of erythrocytes. Blood was collected during four seasons from 126 geometric tortoises and the blood smears were evaluated for cell (C) and nuclear (N) characteristics of the erythrocytes. We measured area, length (L), width (W), perimeter, elongation and pixelation intensity, and calculated L/W and N/C areas.Erythrocyte size differed among cohorts; females, the larger sex, had smaller erythrocytes than either males or juveniles. Males had more elongated erythrocytes than females and erythrocytes of adults were more elongated than those of juveniles. Erythrocyte size and shape influence the efficiency of gas exchange owing to surface area to volume ratios, which are greater for small, elongated cells than for large, round cells. The high N/C ratio and low pixelation intensities of males and juveniles indicate that they may have had more immature erythrocytes in their circulation than females. The use of pixelation intensity to indicate the presence of immature erythrocytes was validated by seasonal differences that corresponded to the biology of the tortoises. Pixelation intensity was lowest in winter. We found that automated image analysis is a rapid and reliable method for determining cell size and shape, and it offers the potential for distinguishing among developmental stages that differ in staining intensity. The method should be useful for rapid health assessments, particularly of threatened species, and for comparative studies among different vertebrates.

Bug Breakfast in the Bulletin: Rapid health assessments

Rapid health assessments (RHAs) are used during an emergency response to gather information about the health status and needs of an affected population. They are a systematic way of collecting information in a complex emergency situation, with the information gathered assisting in planning, directing and implementing an appropriate response. RHAs provide decision makers and partner agencies with a rapid insight into the health needs of an affected population.

Application of handheld devices to field research among underserved construction worker populations: a workplace health assessment pilot study

BackgroundNovel low-cost approaches for conducting rapid health assessments and health promotion interventions among underserved worker groups are needed. Recruitment and participation of construction workers is particularly challenging due to their often transient periods of work at any one construction site, and their limited time during work to participate in such studies. In the present methodology report, we discuss the experience, advantages and disadvantages of using touch screen handheld devices for the collection of field data from a largely underserved worker population.MethodsIn March 2010, a workplace-centered pilot study to examine the feasibility of using a handheld personal device for the rapid health assessment of construction workers in two South Florida Construction sites was undertaken. A 45-item survey instrument, including health-related questions on tobacco exposure, workplace safety practices, musculoskeletal disorders and health symptoms, was programmed onto Apple iPod Touch® devices. Language sensitive (English and Spanish) recruitment scripts, verbal consent forms, and survey questions were all preloaded onto the handheld devices. The experience (time to survey administration and capital cost) of the handheld administration method was recorded and compared to approaches available in the extant literature.ResultsConstruction workers were very receptive to the recruitment, interview and assessment processes conducted through the handheld devices. Some workers even welcomed the opportunity to complete the questionnaire themselves using the touch screen handheld device. A list of advantages and disadvantages emerged from this experience that may be useful in the rapid health assessment of underserved populations working in a variety of environmental and occupational health settings.ConclusionsHandheld devices, which are relatively inexpensive, minimize survey response error, and allow for easy storage of data. These technological research modalities are useful in the collection and assessment of environmental and occupational research data.

Rapid Health and Needs assessments after disasters: a systematic review

BackgroundPublichealth care providers, stakeholders and policy makers request a rapid insight into health status and needs of the affected population after disasters. To our knowledge, there is no standardized rapid assessment tool for European countries. The aim of this article is to describe existing tools used internationally and analyze them for the development of a workable rapid assessment.MethodsA review was conducted, including original studies concerning a rapid health and/or needs assessment. The studies used were published between 1980 and 2009. The electronic databasesof Medline, Embase, SciSearch and Psychinfo were used.ResultsThirty-three studies were included for this review. The majority of the studies was of US origin and in most cases related to natural disasters, especially concerning the weather. In eighteen studies an assessment was conducted using a structured questionnaire, eleven studies used registries and four used both methods. Questionnaires were primarily used to asses the health needs, while data records were used to assess the health status of disaster victims.ConclusionsMethods most commonly used were face to face interviews and data extracted from existing registries. Ideally, a rapid assessment tool is needed which does not add to the burden of disaster victims. In this perspective, the use of existing medical registries in combination with a brief questionnaire in the aftermath of disasters is the most promising. Since there is an increasing need for such a tool this approach needs further examination.

The role of psychologists in the care of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in primary care settings.

Although military personnel serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are at high risk of developing mental health problems, many report significant barriers to care and few seek help. Integrated primary care is a comprehensive model of health care that aims to improve access to care and provides a framework to assess and meet the complex psychiatric needs of newly returning veterans by embedding mental health specialists within primary care. We describe the role of psychologists in a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) integrated primary care clinic that serves veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan. Psychologists based in primary care can assist veterans with reintegration to civilian life by providing rapid mental health assessment, normalizing readjustment concerns, planning for veterans’ safety, implementing brief interventions within primary care, facilitating transition to additional mental health care, and informing veterans of other available psychosocial services. A case example demonstrating the psychologist’s role highlights the benefits of an integrated care model. Implications of employing this model include reduction of symptoms and impairment by reducing stigma and barriers to seeking mental health care, increased motivation to engage in treatment, and implementation of early interventions. This model may also be beneficial in the civilian health care sector with groups that are at high risk for mental health problems, yet experience barriers to care, particularly stigma.

Rapid health assessment following mass disaster

The Galle Medical Journal is published by the Galle Medical Association. The journal is published quarterly in March, June, September and December each year. The submissions are accepted throughout the year. The aims of the Journal are to foster co-operation among the medical fraternity and to be a forum to make literary contributions, share experiences encountered in medical practice, update their knowledge and have debates on topics related to all aspects of medicine.

Evidence-Based Decision-Making (Part 1): Origins and Evolution in the Health Sciences

Evidence is defined as data on which a judgment or conclusion may be based. In the early 1990s, medical clinicians pioneered evidence-based decision-making. The discipline emerged as the use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients. The practice of evidence-based medicine required the integration of individual clinical expertise with the best available, external clinical evidence from systematic research and the patient's unique values and circumstances. In this context, evidence acquired a hierarchy of strength based upon the method of data acquisition. Subsequently, evidence-based decision-making expanded throughout the allied health field. In public health, and particularly for populations in crisis, three major data-gathering tools now dominate: (1) rapid health assessments; (2) population based surveys; and (3) disease surveillance. Unfortunately, the strength of evidence obtained by these tools is not easily measured by the grading scales of evidence based medicine. This is complicated by the many purposes for which evidence can be applied in public health: strategic decision-making, program implementation, monitoring, and evaluation. Different applications have different requirements for strength of evidence as well as different time frames for decision-making. Given the challenges of integrating data from multiple sources that are collected by different methods, public health experts have defined best available evidence as the use of all available sources used to provide relevant inputs for decision-making.

Application of the triage assessment system for a rapid assessment of mental health of the referral wounded and their family members in Wenchuan earthquake

To quickly assess the psychological status of the wounded who were transferred in the earthquake and their family members, as to promoting the system of psychological crisis intervention. The triage assessment system was used to the 44 wounded and 37 family members, additionally, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), and Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAMA) for related analysis were also administrated to verify the effectiveness of screening of the triage assessment system. Of the 79 wounded and their families in the triage assessment system, the score of emotion in the wounded group was (3.07 +/- 1.38), the score of cognition was (2.34 +/- 1.39), the score of behavior was (2.71 +/- 1.47), and the total score was (8.12 +/- 3.69); the score of emotion in the family group was (2.51 +/- 1.27), the score of cognition was (1.57 +/- 0.85), the score of behavior was (1.71 +/- 1.02), and the total score was (5.80 +/- 2.61). There were significant differences in the family and the wounded group in cognition, behavior and the total (t(cognition) = 2.853, P = 0.006; t(behavior) = 3.366, P = 0.001; t(total) = 3.116, P = 0.003). Both the depression and anxiety symptoms in the Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD) and Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) were 11.48 +/- 7.62, 9.23 +/- 5.64, and 8.49 +/- 4.87, 9.38 +/- 7.05, respectively. In the emotion, cognition, behavior and total scores of the triage assessment system related to higher with HAMD and HAMA were r(emotion-HAMD) = 0.393, P = 0.001; r(emotion-HAMA) = 0.443, P = 0.000; r(cognition-HAMD) = 0.434, P = 0.000; r(cognition-HAMA) = 0.240, P = 0.037; r(behavior-HAMD) = 0.529, P = 0.000; r(behavior-HAMA) = 0.256, P = 0.026; r(total-HAMD) = 0.517, P = 0.000; r(total-HAMA) = 0.369, P = 0.001. The triage assessment system should be the reliable method for an assessment featured by a rapid, accurate and simple one in screening and monitoring.

The Public Health Dimension of Disasters—Health Outcome Assessment of Disasters

A broad range of health problems are related to disasters. Insight into these health problems is needed for targeted disaster management. Disaster health outcome assessment can provide insight into the health effects of disasters. During the 15th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine in Amsterdam (2007), experts in the field of disaster epidemiology discussed important aspects of disaster health outcome assessment, such as: (1) what is meant by disaster health outcome assessment?; (2) why should one conduct a disaster health outcome assessment, and what are the objectives?, and (3) who benefits from the information obtained by a disaster health outcome assessment? A disaster health outcome assessment can be defined as a systematic assessment of the current and potential health problems in a population affected by a disaster. Different methods can be used to examine these health problems such as: (1) rapid assessment of health needs; (2) (longitudinal) epidemiological studies using questionnaires; (3) continuous surveillance of health problems using existing registration systems; (4) assessment of the use and distribution of health services; and (5) research into the etiology of the health effects of disasters. The public health impact of a disaster may not be immediately evident. Disaster health outcome assessment provides insight into the health related consequences of disasters. The information that is obtained by performing a disaster health outcome assessment can be used to initiate and adapt the provision of health care. Besides information for policymakers, disaster health outcome assessments can contribute to the knowledge and evidence base of disaster health outcomes (scientific objective). Finally, disaster health outcome assessment might serve as a signal of recognition of the problems of the survivors. Several stakeholders may benefit from the information obtained from a disaster health outcome assessment. Disaster decision-makers and the public health community benefit from performing a disaster health outcome assessment, since it provides information that is useful for the different aspects of disaster management. Also, by providing information about the nature, prevalence, and course of health problems, (mental) health care workers can anticipate the health needs and requirements in the affected population. It is important to realize that the disaster is not over when the acute care has been provided. Instead, disasters will cause many other health problems and concerns such as infectious diseases and mental health problems. Disaster health outcome assessments provide insight into the public health impact of disasters.