Emergency Management Tool Research Articles

A Cloud Infrastructure for Health Monitoring in Emergency Response Scenarios

Wearable devices have a significant impact on society, and recent advancements in modern sensor technologies are opening up new possibilities for healthcare applications. Continuous vital sign monitoring using Internet of Things solutions can be a crucial tool for emergency management, reducing risks in rescue operations and ensuring the safety of workers. The massive amounts of data, high network traffic, and computational demands of a typical monitoring application can be challenging to manage with traditional infrastructure. Cloud computing provides a solution with its built-in resilience and elasticity capabilities. This study presents a Cloud-based monitoring architecture for remote vital sign tracking of paramedics and medical workers through the use of a mobile wearable device. The system monitors vital signs such as electrocardiograms and breathing patterns during work sessions, and it is able to manage real-time alarm events to a personnel management center. In this study, 900 paramedics and emergency workers were monitored using wearable devices over a period of 12 months. Data from these devices were collected, processed via Cloud infrastructure, and analyzed to assess the system’s reliability and scalability. The results showed a significant improvement in worker safety and operational efficiency. This study demonstrates the potential of Cloud-based systems and Internet of Things devices in enhancing emergency response efforts.

A Support Tool for Emergency Management in Smart Campuses: Reference Architecture and Enhanced Web User Interfaces.

In the context of smart campuses, effective emergency management is crucial for ensuring the safety and well-being of students, staff, and visitors. This paper presents a comprehensive support tool designed to enhance emergency management on smart campuses, integrating a low-cost people-counting system based on cameras and Raspberry Pi devices. It introduces a newly designed architecture and user interfaces that enhance the functionality and user experience of a smart campus disaster management system. Finally, a usability evaluation has been carried out to validate the brand-new user interfaces devoted to emergency management.

The ERMES chatbot: A conversational communication tool for improved emergency management and disaster risk reduction

The increased occurrence and severity of worldwide disasters, exacerbated by the impact of climate change, pose significant challenges to emergency management, calling for novel and more effective Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) approaches. Despite the phenomenological differences of diverse hazards and the heterogeneity of local policies and governance structures, effective communication systems are needed to better manage the available resources in all phases of the emergency management cycle, especially in the case of cross-border events. In this work, we present the design, implementation, and validation of a novel tool for emergency management, i.e., the ERMES Chatbot: a mobile-based conversational communication system developed to facilitate real-time bidirectional communication between control centres, in-field forces, and citizens. The methodology used to create the ERMES Chatbot is grounded on the user-centred design approach, which entails end-user involvement in all key phases of the development, including the definition of the end-user requirements, the technical design, and the final validation of the proposed solution. The co-design approach involved several organisations belonging to the DRR domain, which includes a gamified experience for citizens and is iteratively validated through four in-field demonstration events based on realistic emergency scenarios with the involvement of emergency practitioners, volunteering organisations, and citizens.

Modeling and solving Passenger ship evacuation arrangement problem

In emergency scenarios on large passenger ships, ensuring the safety and efficient evacuation of a significant number of passengers is of utmost importance. Well-designed and preplanned evacuation arrangements are essential for a smooth and timely evacuation process. However, current research and evacuation models often overlook crucial planning considerations, including the allocation framework, counterflow prevention, and plan feasibility. To bridge these gaps, this paper presents a novel multi-criteria optimization model that addresses these overlooked aspects. A unique heuristic solution is proposed, utilizing a two-stage simulated annealing algorithm, to effectively solve this complex evacuation problem. When applied to a full-scale 14-deck cruise ship with 4977 passengers, the presented approach results in an optimized evacuation plan that markedly outperforms the original plan from the design materials, achieving reduced evacuation time and counterflow elimination. This research offers a practical tool for emergency management on large passenger ships, empowering ship designers and safety engineers to make informed, data-driven decisions.

Dual-Activation Emergency Situation Notification System: A Feature Driven Development Approach

Emergencies can unpredictably arise, posing severe threats to individuals' lives. Swift and effective communication plays a crucial role in promptly relaying vital information to relevant response agencies and loved ones, aiming to minimize or eliminate the impact of such disasters. Existing systems often require manual triggering of distress signals through button presses or image captures. However, these methods can be ineffective, particularly when victims are under the surveillance of wrongdoers, rendering them unable to discreetly use their devices. To address this issue, this study introduces the Dual-Activation Emergency Situation Notification System (DA-ESNS) model, which ensures that potential wrongdoers remain unaware of the user's attempt to seek help by employing an efficient communication and alerting system during emergencies. Through a review of previous models, the DA-ESNS model was developed to address identified gaps. The Feature Driven Development software development process model was selected due to its agile and incremental nature, enabling focused development and integration of the notification feature. ReactJS and NodeJS were utilized for frontend and backend development, respectively. The integration of Twilio API and Geolocation API facilitated SMS notifications and precise location sharing with emergency response teams and predefined contacts. The DA-ESNS model automatically relays distress signals by persistently listening for predefined keywords or manually triggered by clicking on corresponding emergency cards, notifying both the emergency response team and the victim's family members. The model was implemented across various mobile platforms, providing a centralized and interactive interface. By offering quick notifications and offline accessibility, the DA-ESNS model streamlines the emergency alert process, significantly improving the effectiveness of emergency response teams in reducing the impact of crises through rapid reaction times. As a result, the DA-ESNS model emerges as a valuable and effective tool in emergency management.

Parents' knowledge of emergency management of avulsed permanent teeth in children and adolescents in the State of Qatar: a questionnaire cross-sectional study.

To elucidate the level of parental knowledge in Qatar regarding the management of avulsed teeth. A self-administered questionnaire was completed by 400 parents attending their children's routine dental appointments. The questionnaire comprised of items on sociodemographics, parents' prior knowledge on management of avulsion, parents' willingness to replantavulsed teeth at the site of injury, and parents' opinion as to the best format for future parental education on the management of dental trauma. Univariate and multivariate logistic regressions were employed to assess the association between sociodemographic status and knowledge in the management of avulsion. The overall mean score of parents' knowledge was (23%). Only 23.3% (n = 93) of parents thought that it was possible to reinsert an avulsed permanent tooth. Out of those, only 12.9% (n = 12) indicated willingness to reinsert the tooth back into its socket, while 48.4% (n = 49) indicated that an avulsed tooth should be stored using physiological media. Less than one third (27.8%) indicated that they would seek professional help within 30min. Males were less likely to give favourable answers when compared to females (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.22-0.84). Age groups "31-40" years and "41-50" years were more likely to give favourable answers when compared to 20-30years age group (OR = 2.8, 95% CI = 1.05-8.0and OR = 3.8, 95% CI = 1.3-11.48; respectively). This study highlights critical deficiencies in parental knowledge on the management of tooth avulsion and the need to improve parents' knowledge by developing easily accessible onsite emergency management tools.

High-Performance Segmentation for Flood Mapping of HISEA-1 SAR Remote Sensing Images

Floods are the among the most frequent and common natural disasters, causing numerous casualties and extensive property losses worldwide every year. Since flooding areas are often accompanied by cloudy and rainy weather, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) is one of the most powerful sensors for flood monitoring with capabilities of day-and-night and all-weather imaging. However, SAR images are prone to high speckle noise, shadows, and distortions, which affect the accuracy of water body segmentation. To address this issue, we propose a novel Modified DeepLabv3+ model based on the powerful extraction ability of convolutional neural networks for flood mapping from HISEA-1 SAR remote sensing images. Specifically, a lightweight encoder MobileNetv2 is used to improve floodwater detection efficiency, small jagged arrangement atrous convolutions are employed to capture features at small scales and improve pixel utilization, and more upsampling layers are utilized to refine the segmented boundaries of water bodies. The Modified DeepLabv3+ model is then used to analyze two severe flooding events in China and the United States. Results show that Modified DeepLabv3+ outperforms competing semantic segmentation models (SegNet, U-Net, and DeepLabv3+) with respect to the accuracy and efficiency of floodwater extraction. The modified model training resulted in average accuracy, F1, and mIoU scores of 95.74%, 89.31%, and 87.79%, respectively. Further analysis also revealed that Modified DeepLabv3+ is able to accurately distinguish water feature shape and boundary, despite complicated background conditions, while also retaining the highest efficiency by covering 1140 km2 in 5 min. These results demonstrate that this model is a valuable tool for flood monitoring and emergency management.

Communicating health-related risks to non-Arabic-speakers in Qatar: policies and practices

ABSTRACT This study examines policies adopted by the government of Qatar for the communication of essential information during crises, especially the COVID-19 pandemic, to residents who do not speak Arabic – the official language of Qatar. A set of relevant official documents are examined for their discussion and utilisation of ‘translation’ and related activities and policies, including Qatar’s policies on the use of Arabic as an official language and its efforts to improve multilingual communication in published laws, regulations, and policies. Additionally, the utilisation of social media by Qatari authorities to disseminate essential COVID-19 information to non-Arabic-speaking residents is assessed: information from Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook posted by six official bodies is used to assess public engagement and interaction (shares, likes, retweets, replies, and comments) with COVID-19-related posts. The study finds that translation and other methods related to multilingual communication are not unambiguously defined in Qatar’s crisis management policies. The Qatari government needs to formulate more effective methods for using translation on social media as an emergency management tool to communicate with non-Arabic speaking residents during the COVID-19 pandemic and other crises.

Communication to Reduce Dependency and Enhance Empowerment Using ‘New’ Media: Evidence from Practice in UK Flood Risk Areas

Sharing of risk knowledge for extreme events is taking place against a backdrop of changing societal communication patterns, in which the flow of information is increasingly multi-directional, within and between individuals, wider communities and a variety of authorities using online media. We present qualitative findings from the CASCADE knowledge exchange project and a case study, from a flood risk area, on the role of social networks using such ‘new’ media as engagement tools in building resilience to flooding. The data emerged from a workshop held in 2018, together with a study into changing communication practice in the Thames Valley near Windsor, UK. It was found that engagement is occurring both during events, as an emergency management tool, and between events, often linked to strategic management such as flood defense and related planning. The qualitative findings were analyzed to investigate whether knowledge and information sharing in emergencies may lead to co-operative sharing between emergencies. According to evidence from workshop discussions across the seminars, and empirical evidence from the flood risk zone, social networks formed and/or enhanced using new media can help promote consensus but also have the potential to accentuate distrust and divide managers and the community at risk. Relevant factors were the nature of the risk faced, nature of event-related protection activity, whether extreme weather events were occurring or had occurred in the recent past, and sociocultural aspects such as the degree of general engagement of civil society, linked to location. There is a possibility that new media may thus reinforce existing power structures, including acknowledged paternalistic attitudes by management authorities and pre-conceived ideas from at-risk communities. In terms of the contribution that social media can make toward the goal of social learning for resilience, the specific role of online social media as a communication tool continues to evolve. It was noted from the workshop that there is a potential for producers of information to act also as consumers (the ‘prosumer effect’), but gaining benefit from this trend requires some changes to existing interaction patterns within and between risk management authorities and communities. More investment may be required in forms of engagement that build relationships of trust, using ‘traditional’ (face-to-face) approaches.

Weaponizing mutual aid: Can a pandemic or biological attack turn our strongest emergency management tool against us?

A functional mutual aid system allows the effective cost sharing of resources and the swift mitigation of loss of life and property. COVID-19 has illuminated weaknesses in our mutual aid framework. Weaknesses could potentially allow abuse and the misuse of these unifying instruments. By designing our response system in an insightful and nuanced fashion, we are able to affectively lend aid to those in need. Our mutual aid systems allow us to be forward thinking-it -challenges us to anticipate what could happen and how we should respond. This article will articulate challenges COVID-19 has posed in our mutual aid system and will propose potential improvements to better enhance our aid agreements for future pandemics.

Rural Older Adults in Disasters: A Study of Recovery From Hurricane Michael.

This study aims for a greater understanding of how older adults (age 65 and older) in Jackson County, Florida, are prepared for and cope with the effects of a natural disaster. A multidisciplinary, international research team developed a survey examining: (1) resources available to individuals aged 65+ in rural communities for preparing for a disaster; (2) challenges they face when experiencing a disaster; and (3) their physical, social, emotional, and financial needs when it strikes. The survey was administered with older adults (65+) in Jackson County, Florida, following Hurricane Michael in 2018. The descriptive, multivariate logistic, and linear regression analyses were performed to examine the relationship between respondents' demographic information and needs, concerns, and consequences of disaster. Results indicated (n = 139) rural community-dwelling older adults rely on social support, community organizations, and trusted disaster relief agencies to prepare for and recover from disaster-related events. Such findings can be used to inform the development of new interventions, programs, policies, practices, and tools for emergency management and social service agencies to improve disaster preparedness and resiliency among older populations in rural communities.

Proactive Actions Based on a Resilient Approach to Urban Seismic Risk Mitigation

Background: Seismic risk mitigation is an important issue in earthquake-prone countries, and needs to be solved in those complex communities governed by complex processes, where urban planning, socioeconomic dynamics, and, often, the need to preserve cultural assets are present simultaneously. In recent years, due to limited financial resources, mitigation activities have often been limited to post-earthquake events, and only a few in periods of inactivity, particularly in urban planning. At this point, a significant change in point of view is necessary. Methods: The seismic risk mitigation (and more generally, natural risk mitigation) must be considered as the main topic in urban planning and in the governance of communities. In fact, in several recent earthquakes, significant socioeconomic losses have been caused by the low or lack of resilience of the communities. This is mainly due to the high vulnerability of private buildings, in particular, housing units. Results: Therefore, in recent years, several studies have been conducted on the seismic resilience of communities. However, significant improvements are still needed for the resilience assessment of the housing stock, both qualitatively and quantitatively. In this study, which is applied to the housing system, a proposal regarding a change in urban planning and emergency management tools based on the concept of resilience is reported. As a first application, a case study in Italy is considered. Conclusion: The proposal is focused on defining and quantifying the improvement of the resilience of the communities and this must be obtained by modifying the current Civil Protection plan. New tools are based on a new resilience community plan by encompassing urban planning tools, resilient mitigation strategies, and consequently, emergency management planning.

72 Validating MyHEARTSMAP, an emergency psychosocial self-assessment and management tool, among youth with minor traumatic brain injuries or minor orthopaedic injuries seen in the Paediatric Emergency Department

Abstract Background Fewer than 20% of the estimated 1.2 million Canadian youths living with mental health (MH) concerns receive adequate care. Paediatric emergency department (PED) visits related to MH are increasing across North America. The online self-assessment tool, MyHEARTSMAP, was developed to facilitate screening of MH concerns in the PED and general practice. MyHEARTSMAP assesses 10 psychosocial areas, mapping to four domains of MH (Psychiatry, Function, Social, and Youth Health) to provide domain-specific recommendations for patient management (Figure A). Objectives We evaluated the convergent validity of MyHEARTSMAP when compared to established psychosocial self-assessment tools: Paediatric Quality of Life (PedsQL) and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Design/Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study among youths and parents enrolled in a larger cohort study: Advancing Concussion Assessment in Paediatrics (A-CAP). Participants were children aged 8 to 16 years old with mild traumatic brain injury or orthopaedic injury and their parents. Participants were recruited from two PEDs in Alberta and British Columbia and were asked to complete MyHEARTSMAP, in addition to the PedsQL and SDQ completed in their A-CAP study procedures. We evaluated three MH domains from MyHEARTSMAP (PSYCHIATRY FUNCTION, AND SOCIAL) to their corresponding score sections in PedsQL (EMOTIONAL, SCHOOL, and SOCIAL) and SDQ (EMOTIONAL, none, and CONDUCT and PEER). We calculated Pearson correlation coefficients between these corresponding domains and sections. Results We recruited 40 child and parent pairs from Alberta and 82 from BC. The children were on average aged 12.6 years old (SD 2.2) and 44% were female. The tools screened participants as “at-risk” for various MH concerns at a rate of 26.7% to 60.8% for MyHEARTSMAP, 2.5% to 13.9% for PedsQL, and 12.3% to 16.0% for SDQ. Overall, MyHEARTSMAP was moderately correlated with PedsQL (mean ±95% CI: r = 0.405±0.151) and SDQ (mean ±95% CI: r = 0.322±0.162). Correlations (±95% CI) by MyHEARTSMAP domain for the child and parent versions, respectively, were as follows: PSYCHIATRY PedsQL (r = 0.483±0.140 / 0.509±0.134) and SDQ (r = 0.417±0.150 / 0.598±0.116); FUNCTION PedsQL (r = 0.578±0.122 / 0.455±0.143); SOCIAL PedsQL (r = 0.249±0.170 / 0.158±0.175) and SDQ (r = 0.207±0.172 / 0.067±0.178). Conclusion In conclusion, MyHEARTSMAP PSYCHIATRY and FUNCTION domains have moderate convergent validity to PedsQL and SDQ. Unlike PedsQL and SDQ, the evaluation of social issues in MyHEARTSMAP is MH-specific, resulting in low convergent validity for the SOCIAL domain.

How ready is ready? Measuring physical preparedness for severe storms

This paper investigates use of inventories, or checklists of activities, as an emergency management tool to motivate preparedness action in individuals. It develops the inventory concept to provide the foundation for a more targeted approach to storm preparation communication and community engagement. It also examines the potential efficacy of alternatives to paper-based checklists, such as web or smartphone applications. Academic and grey literature was reviewed to collect activities for a storm inventory for emergency agencies to measure individual preparedness and for individuals to measure their preparation progress. The resulting master list was refined for application and tested for useability in a pilot study of semi-structured interviews in a storm-susceptible community in Queensland, Australia. Also, clustering items by type of preparedness activity reveal where strengths and weaknesses exist in individual preparedness. For instance, preparation for leaving and safety planning were shown to be the areas of weakest activity in the pilot sample, while preparation of the house for a storm was the strongest area. In addition, behaviour change literature shows potential for effective use of an inventory-based smartphone application in motivating preparation activity. Data collected by a storm preparedness smartphone application could show where a communication or engagement program for targeted communities should be focused. It is supported by health literature that identifies preferences of individuals to make progress on complex tasks in stages, the value of lists to achievement of goals and demonstrated increase in uptake of activities prompted by smartphone applications over web or paper-based diaries.

Public health emergency management capacity building in Guinea: 2014-2019

Before the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of 2014-2016, Guinea did not have an emergency management system in place. During the outbreak, Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) 2014-2019 funds made it possible to rapidly improve the country's capacity to manage epidemics through the development of public health emergency operation centres (PHEOCs) at the national and district levels. Since the end of the response, the infrastructure, staff, and systems of these PHEOCs have been further reinforced and well-integrated in the daily activities of Guinea's National Agency for Health Security, the entity responsible for the management of epidemics. The development of PHEOCs as emergency management tools for epidemics in Guinea would not have been possible without a strong endorsement within the Ministry of Health. Guinea's PHEOC network is well-positioned to serve as a model of excellence for other Ministries in Guinea and Ministries of Health of other countries of West Africa.

Public health emergency management capacity building in Guinea: 2014-2019.

Before the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak of 2014-2016, Guinea did not have an emergency management system in place. During the outbreak, Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) 2014-2019 funds made it possible to rapidly improve the country's capacity to manage epidemics through the development of public health emergency operation centres (PHEOCs) at the national and district levels. Since the end of the response, the infrastructure, staff, and systems of these PHEOCs have been further reinforced and well-integrated in the daily activities of Guinea's National Agency for Health Security, the entity responsible for the management of epidemics. The development of PHEOCs as emergency management tools for epidemics in Guinea would not have been possible without a strong endorsement within the Ministry of Health. Guinea's PHEOC network is well-positioned to serve as a model of excellence for other Ministries in Guinea and Ministries of Health of other countries of West Africa.

A Real-Time Decision Platform for the Management of Structures and Infrastructures

Natural disasters and the poor management of civil engineering structures and infrastructures require timely action and new tools such as specially designed structural health monitoring platforms. This paper proposes an innovative platform based on a network of wirelessly connected, low-power, and renewable-energy-fed sensor units. The platform is a multipurpose tool for diagnostics, maintenance, and supervision, capable of simultaneously carrying out damage detection, localization, identification, and “multiclass” and “multi-material” level quantification of different types of failures. In addition, it works as a decision support tool for emergency management and post-disaster assessment, here tailored for an Italian theme park. The platform uses innovative algorithms based on the concept of the vibro-acoustic signature of the asset monitored. The vibro-acoustic signatures of the monitored assets are gathered by the microphones and accelerometers of the platform’s sensor units. Then, almost simultaneously, they are analyzed using specifically designed wavelet-based and convolutional-neural-network-based algorithms, which are able to extract crucial information about the structural and environmental conditions of both the asset and the areas of the thematic park. In addition, the platform shows escape routes during an emergency, indicating meeting points and helping people to proceed safely along a recognizable escape route to a safe place, as demonstrated by the simulations.

Retrospective Evaluation of White Code Based Files in Tokat Province Between 2012 and 2014

Objective: White code system is implemented as an emergency management tool to prevent assault against medical staff in Turkey. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate White code based files that had been opened because of assault against medical staff in Tokat province between 2012 and 2014. Methods: In this descriptive study, White code based files that had been followed by Tokat Health Directorate Law Office between 2012 and 2014 were examined retrospectively. Descriptive data belong to victims, assailants, assaultsand cases were demonstrated as number, percentage, mean±standard deviation and min-max. Results: As a result of examination of total 134 files, it was found that 50,7% of victims were male and the mean age was 31,3±6,9years. The occupational group that made the most White code notification because of exposure to assault was physicians (64,2%). Most common places that assault happens was hospitals (85,8%). 50% of the assaults was occured in the city center. 76,1% of assailants were male, the mean age was 39,1±12,8 years, 60,4% of assailants was patientsand 68,7% of them were alone at the moment of assault. The assault cases happened most frequently in emergency services (41,8%), 94,8% of them were insulted, 39,6% were threatened, 12,7% were physical violence and 0,7% were injured. The most common causes for assault were the claims that malpractice (24,6%), disorder during the examination (22,4%) and abuse of duty (22,4%). 79,1% of assault were suedand 78,3% of them were concluded. It was decided that the concluded cases were fined in 44,5%, no need to prosecute in 24,4%, imprisonment in 14,6%, acquittal in 12,2%, no need to punishment in 3,7%. It was determined that 34,7% of penalties were postponed and 66,6% of the imprisonments were converted into fines. Conclusion: Among the medical staff, White code notification because of exposed to assault was most frequently performed by physicians, and assault cases were most commonly occured in emergency services. Majority of assailants were male, middle-aged, patient and alone during the case. In the vast majority of assault cases were sued, and these cases have resulted in the most frequent fines. One third of penalties were postponed, and two third of imprisonments were converted into fines. In order to prevent all kinds of violence against to medical staff, all necessary intervention methods should be applied and deterrent legal measures should be taken.Amaç: Türkiye’de sağlık çalışanlarına yönelik şiddeti önlemek için acil durum yönetim aracı olarak Beyaz Kod Sistemi uygulanmaktadır. Bu çalışmada Tokat ilinde 2012-2014 tarihleri arasında sağlık çalışanlarına yönelik şiddet nedeniyle beyaz kod kaynaklı açılan dosyaların değerlendirilmesi amaçlanmıştır. Yöntem: Bu tanımlayıcı çalışmada, Tokat Sağlık Müdürlüğü Hukuk Bürosunun 2012-2014 yılları arasında takip ettiği beyaz kod kaynaklı açılan dosyalar retrospektif olarak incelenmiştir. Mağdur, saldırgan, şiddet olayı ve davalara ait tanımlayıcı veriler sayı, yüzde, ortalama ± standart sapma ve min-max olarak gösterilmiştir. Bulgular: Toplam 134 dosyanın incelenmesi sonucunda; mağdurların%50,7’si erkek ve yaş ortalaması 31,3±6,9 yıldır. Şiddete maruziyet nedeniyle fazla beyaz kod bildirimi yapan meslek grubu hekimlerdir (%64,2). Şiddetin en sık (%85,8) yaşandığı yer hastanelerdir. Şiddet olaylarının %50’si il merkezinde gerçekleşmiştir. Saldırganların %76,1’i erkek, yaş ortalaması 39,1±12,8 yıl, %60,4’ü hastalarve%68,7’si saldırı anında yalnızdır. Şiddet olayları en sık (%41,8) acil servislerde gerçekleşmiş olup bunların %94,8’inde hakaret, %39,6’sında tehdit, %12,7’sinde fiziksel şiddet ve %0,7’sinde yaralanma olduğu saptanmıştır. En sık şiddet nedenleri; yetersiz ve yanlış tedavi (%24,6), muayene sırasında kargaşa (22,4) ve görevi kötüye kullanma (%22,4) iddialarıdır. Şiddet olaylarının %79,1’inde dava açılmış ve bunların %78,3’ü sonuçlanmıştır. Sonuçlanan davaların %44,5’inde para cezasına, %24,4’ünde kovuşturmaya yer olmadığına, %14,6’sında hapis cezasına, %12,2’sinde saldırganın beraatına ve %3,7’sinde cezaya yer olmadığına karar verilmiştir. Verilen cezaların %34,7’sinin ertelendiği, hapis cezalarının ise %66,6’sının paraya çevrildiği saptanmıştır. Sonuç: Sağlık personeli içinde en sık/çok hekimler şiddet nedeniyle beyaz kod bildirimi yapmakta ve şiddet vakaları en sık/çok acil servislerde gerçekleşmektedir. Saldırganların çoğunluğu erkek, orta yaş grubunda, hasta ve olay esnasında yalnızlardır. Şiddet olaylarının büyük çoğunluğunda dava açılmış ve bu davalar en sık/çok para cezasıyla sonuçlanmıştır. Verilen cezaların üçte biri ertelenmiş, hapis cezalarınınsa üçte ikisi paraya çevrilmiştir. Sağlık çalışanlarına yönelik her türlü şiddetin önlenmesi için gerekli tüm müdahaleler (yöntemleri) uygulanarak caydırıcı yasal önlemler alınmalıdır.

Current Diabetes Technology: Striving for the Artificial Pancreas.

Diabetes technology has continually evolved over the years to improve quality of life and ease of care for affected patients. Frequent blood glucose (BG) checks and multiple daily insulin injections have become standard of care in Type 1 diabetes (T1DM) management. Continuous glucose monitors (CGM) allow patients to observe and discern trends in their glycemic control. These devices improve quality of life for parents and caregivers with preset alerts for hypoglycemia. Insulin pumps have continued to improve and innovate since their emergence into the market. Hybrid closed-loop systems have harnessed the data gathered with CGM use to aid in basal insulin dosing and hypoglycemia prevention. As technology continues to progress, patients will likely have to enter less and less information into their pump system manually. In the future, we will likely see a system that requires no manual patient input and allows users to eat throughout the day without counting carbohydrates or entering in any blood sugars. As technology continues to advance, endocrinologists and diabetes providers need to stay current to better guide their patients in optimal use of emerging management tools.

COMMUNICATING MULTILEVEL EVACUATION CONTEXT USING SITUATED AUGMENTED REALITY

Abstract. Emergency preparedness is a fundamental component of a successful emergency management strategy. This includes a proactive communication strategy that informs all stakeholders of the emergency plan and helps translate that knowledge to real spaces. Communicating multilevel built environments can be difficult, as the architectural complexity creates problems for both visual and mental representations of networks in 3D space. Modern mobile technology offers emerging opportunities for emergency managers to develop and deploy 3D visualizations of multilevel spaces that preserve the topology of those spaces while adding the spatial context that allows the individual to better understand their position within it. In this paper, we present a collection of mixed reality (specifically augmented reality) geovisualizations that overcome the visual limitations associated with the traditional static 2D methods of communicating the evacuation plans of multilevel structures. We demonstrate how this technology can provide spatially contextualized 3D geovisualizations that promote spatial knowledge acquisition and support cognitive mapping. These geovisualizations are designed as a proactive emergency management tool to educate and prepare at risk populations prior to the occurrence of a hazardous event.