Introduction to disaster epidemiology for public health personnel

There has been a renewed interest in disaster epidemiology after the World Trade Center and Pentagon terrorist attacks of 2001, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the overwhelming loss of life that resulted from the tsunami that originated in the Indian Ocean and struck Indonesia and other adjacent countries on December 26, 2004. Institutions that have accepted the challenge of training the next generation of public health professionals as well as to continue the education of the dedicated professionals already serving in public health fields have a responsibility to train practitioners in the basic principles of disaster epidemiology as well as in practical applications of these principles. This culminating experience project involved developing an on-line course complete with the background information as well as relevant case studies that can be used as a curriculum for an introductory course in disaster epidemiology. ^

A report on public and community health personnel : prepared for the Committee on Interstate and Foreign Commerce, House of Representatives and the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, as required by section 793 of the Public health service act

"December 7, 1979."

Public health personnel in the United States, 1980 : second report to the Congress of the Secretary of Health and Human Services as required by section 793 of the Public Health Service Act.

Mode of access: Internet.

Organization and staffing for full-time local health services; analysis of information submitted to the Public Health Service in Report of public health personnel as of December 31, 1954.

Mode of access: Internet.

Report to the President and Congress on the status of health personnel in the United States

Mode of access: Internet.

Organization and staffing for local health services; analysis of information submitted to the Public Health Service in Report of public Health personnel as of January 1, 1958.

Mode of access: Internet.

Public Health Personnel, Facilities, and Services in Local Areas, Analysis of Information Submitted to the Public Health Service in Report of Public Health Personnel, Facilities, and Services

Cover Title: Report of Local Public Health Resources

Improving the operational skills of the health personnel working in the emergency departments. A useful tool to give concrete answers to EU policies on patients' safety and to create new working opportunities” (VS/2013/0430) finanziato dalla Commissione Europea nell'ambito del programma PROGRESS.

A useful tool to give concrete answers to EU policies on patients' safety and to create new working opportunities (VS / 2013/0430

Development and evaluation of a shaken baby syndrome prevention program.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate parents' and nurses' opinions regarding the adequacy of an educational program on shaken baby syndrome: the Perinatal Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Program (PSBSPP). DESIGN: Qualitative and quantitative assessments in the form of interviews and questionnaires administered in French. SETTING: Two birthing institutions in Montréal, QC, Canada: a university hospital and a regional center. PARTICIPANTS: Two hundred and sixty-three parents (73.8% mothers, 26.2% fathers) received the intervention after the birth of their child, and 69 nurses administered it. METHODS: Parents' and nurses' assessments of the adequacy and relevance of the program and nurses' assessments of the training they received to administer the program were evaluated. RESULTS: Both parents and nurses supported this initiative. Most parents appreciated the usefulness of the information. Nurses believed the program was adequate, and their training to deliver the program was satisfactory. All participants reported that the program was highly relevant, especially for new parents. CONCLUSION: The Perinatal Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention Program achieves the goals of (a) increasing parents' knowledge about infant crying, anger, and shaken baby syndrome and (b) helping parents identify coping strategies. The relevance of introducing the PSBSPP in all birthing institutions is supported. Future studies should focus on vulnerable and culturally diverse populations, and longitudinal follow-up could help determine if the PSBSPP reduces the incidence of shaken baby syndrome.

Accuracy of prehospital triage of trauma patients by emergency physicians: a retrospective study in western Switzerland.

OBJECTIVE: Accurate identification of major trauma patients in the prehospital setting positively affects survival and resource utilization. Triage algorithms using predictive criteria of injury severity have been identified in paramedic-based prehospital systems. Our rescue system is based on prehospital paramedics and emergency physicians. The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of the prehospital triage performed by physicians and to identify the predictive factors leading to errors of triage.METHODS: Retrospective study of trauma patients triaged by physicians. Prehospital triage was analyzed using criteria defining major trauma victims (MTVs, Injury Severity Score >15, admission to ICU, need for immediate surgery and death within 48 h). Adequate triage was defined as MTVs oriented to the trauma centre or non-MTV (NMTV) oriented to regional hospitals.RESULTS: One thousand six hundred and eighti-five patients (blunt trauma 96%) were included (558 MTV and 1127 NMTV). Triage was adequate in 1455 patients (86.4%). Overtriage occurred in 171 cases (10.1%) and undertriage in 59 cases (3.5%). Sensitivity and specificity was 90 and 85%, respectively, whereas positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 75 and 94%, respectively. Using logistic regression analysis, significant (P<0.05) predictors of undertriage were head or thorax injuries (odds ratio >2.5). Predictors of overtriage were paediatric age group, pedestrian or 2 wheel-vehicle road traffic accidents (odds ratio >2.0).CONCLUSION: Physicians using clinical judgement provide effective prehospital triage of trauma patients. Only a few factors predicting errors in triage process were identified in this study.

Caring for organ donors: The intensive care unit nurses' view

The nursing care for patients who are pronounced brain-dead but kept alive to serve as organ donors demands technical-scientific skills and the ability to handle situations that are often in conflict with the traditional concepts of nursing care. Based on the phenomenological approach in this article, essential themes of the lived experience of caring for these patients, including the technical and specific nursing care, the relationship with organ donors and their families, and the nurses' perception of themselves in this professional situation are described. The results point to the contradictions and ambiguities of this type of nursing, especially in regards to the affective and philosophical aspects.

HIV attitudes and practices among professors in a Brazilian dental school.

Although there is considerable published research on Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), individual biases persist because of lack of information regarding HIV virus transmission. As a result, both infected patients and health care professionals suffer. The objective of this study was to determine if there is prejudice among university professors at the School of Dentistry at Aracatuba's Sao Paulo State University (FOA-UNESP) concerning HIV-positive patients or HIV-positive health care professionals. Out of the seventy-seven professors who responded to the questionnaire, 62.3 percent (forty-eight) stated that they advise their students not to refuse to treat a patient with HIV. Although 96.2 percent (fifty-two) of the fifty-four professors who treat patients have reported that they treat patients who are HIV-positive, only 65.3 percent of them were aware of infection control precautions, and only 32.7 percent reported that they would treat an HIV-positive patient like any other patient. There is also prejudice regarding HIV-positive professionals because only 48.1 percent (thirty-seven) of the professors responded that they would be willing to be treated by an infected professional. It can be concluded that there is prejudice among some of the FOA-UNESP university professors regarding individuals who are HIV-positive.

Spirituality: Do teachers and students hold the same opinion?

Background:  Few studies have investigated potential differences between the opinions of educators and undergraduates regarding spirituality in patient care. Understanding these differences, could lead to better strategies for educational proposes. Purpose:  To compare the opinions of medical teachers (MTs) and medical students (MSs) regarding spirituality training in a Brazilian medical school. Methods:  A cross-sectional study was conducted. MTs and MSs filled out a questionnaire containing the Duke Religion Index, and questions regarding spirituality in clinical practice and at medical school. A comparison between early-curriculum MSs, late curriculum MSs and MTs was carried out. Chi-square (categorical) and Mann-Whitney (continuous/ordinal) tests were used. Results:  A total of 475 MSs and 44 MTs were evaluated. Results showed that MSs did not address spirituality as frequently as MTs (p<0.001), and that most participants did not feel prepared to address this issue, and believe that Brazilian medical schools are not giving all the required information in this field. Nevertheless, they believe MSs should be prepared to discuss these issues. Late-curriculum MSs believed that spirituality plays a more positive role in patient health (p=0.027), and were more prone to address this issue than early-curriculum MSs (p=0.023). Conclusion:  These findings revealed some of the challenges faced by spirituality medical training in Brazil, and differences between MTs and MSs regarding this issue. Further studies are needed to replicate these findings in other countries. © Blackwell Publishing Ltd 2013.