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Results for “Preparedness”

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At least 343 records · Page 19Linked to original sources

PubMed2005

Emergency preparedness for biological and chemical incidents: a survey of anesthesiology residency programs in the United States.

UNLABELLED: We surveyed health care professionals about their preparations to manage the clinical problems associated with patients exposed to hazardous substances, including weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Training for WMD is considered a key part of public health policy and preparedness. Although such events are rare, when they do occur, they can cause mass casualties. In many models of mass casualty management, anesthesiology personnel are responsible for treating patients immediately on arrival at the hospital. We studied the extent of training offered to anesthesiology personnel in the use of WMD protective gear and patient management in United States (US) anesthesiology residency programs. Information was obtained via an online survey to all program directors and chair persons of anesthesiology programs. We polled all of the 135 US anesthesiology programs of which 90 (67%) responded. Only 37% had any form of training, and many of them did not repeat training after initial sessions. Twenty-eight percent of programs east of the Mississippi River reported some form of training whereas only 17% of programs west of it reported training available. The majority of anesthesia residency programs in the US that responded to our survey provided little or no training in the management of patients exposed to WMD. IMPLICATIONS: In an attack involving weapons of mass destruction or toxic chemicals, anesthesiologists will provide care. Our survey of United States anesthesiology residency programs demonstrated that there is limited training of residents regarding the anesthetic management of patients injured by weapons of mass destruction. This has serious public health implications.

Anesthesiology↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Disaster preparedness and response: more than major incident initiation.

To ensure an efficient and effective response to disaster situations, communities must be prepared at all levels. A disaster presents problems that go beyond the scope of major incident preparedness and requires a response that utilizes all of the available resources that a community may posses, as well as assistance from outside the affected community. In order that the optimum response to a disaster situation is forthcoming, planning must take place that ensures the appropriate response across the service spectrum, including voluntary organizations. The lessons that can be learned from non-governmental organizations in developing world contexts must also be acknowledged and incorporated into the planning process.

Disaster Planning↗

PubMed2002

Investigating factor structure of an instrument to measure social work students' preparedness for managed care environments.

This study investigated the factor structure of an instrument to measure social work students' perceptions of preparedness to enter managed care environments. Exploratory statistical procedures to reduce data through principle component analysis identified nine factors with eigenvalues greater than 1.0. These factors include: perceived understanding of agency financial agendas, managing personal risk and liability, perceived understanding of agency documentation requirements, awareness of ethical and value conflicts in documentation, classroom preparation for documentation, understanding the fit between client advocacy and managed care agendas, worrying about law suits in employment settings, perceived understanding of managed care gatekeeping and service authorization, and perceptions of field preparation for documentation. Recommendations are made for utilizing this brief self-report instrument in training students for managed care settings.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMed1996

People with AIDS as residents: preparedness and acceptance by Connecticut long-term care facilities.

The management of AIDS has become an issue of chronic care as well as acute treatment. As the number of people with AIDS increases, the demand for ongoing care and support, both informal and formal, is expected to increase. The present study is based on a survey of all licensed nursing homes in the state of Connecticut with respect to prevailing attitudes toward the admission of residents with AIDS, and the level of staff, resident and procedural preparedness that exists. Both positive attitudes among the various LTC constituent groups as well as the level of preparation in a number of areas are correlated with the admission of residents with AIDS. Implications are discussed and recommendations are offered for policy development.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

PubMed2005

Preparedness for taking care of elderly parents:"first, you get ready to cry".

The results reported in this article are from a larger, mixed-methods study of the factors influencing the preparedness of adult daughters for taking care of elderly parents. This article focuses on findings surfacing in unstructured interviews with daughters revealing an area of caregiving not addressed in survey items, that of daughters' emotional reactions to multiple losses. Actual and anticipatory losses clustered into two categories: loss of the parent and loss of one's own youth. Implications for health care providers are detailed, including: recognizing each daughter's unique life situation; providing anticipatory and long-term emotional support and counseling; and assisting with problem solving, grief work, and making meaning of losses.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Ready and willing? Physicians' sense of preparedness for bioterrorism.

Little is known about contemporary physicians' sense of preparedness for bioterrorism, willingness to treat patients despite personal risk, or belief in the professional duty to treat during epidemics. In a recent national survey few physicians reported that they or their practice are "well prepared" for bioterrorism. Still, most respondents reported that they would continue to care for patients in the event of an outbreak of "an unknown but potentially deadly illness," although only a narrow majority reported believing in a professional duty to treat patients in epidemics. Preparing physicians for bioterrorism should entail providing practical knowledge, preventive steps to minimize risk, and reinforcement of the profession's ethical duty to treat.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Women and acquired preparedness: personality and learning implications for alcohol use.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to begin the process of examining the validity of the acquired preparedness model of alcohol use for women. The model holds that trait disinhibition influences the formation of alcohol expectancies, which then influence drinking levels. METHOD: College women (N = 290) completed measures of trait disinhibition, positive and negative expectancies for alcohol and drinking measures. RESULTS: Using structural equation modeling, support was found for the hypothesized processes. Cross-sectional analyses were consistent with two hypothesized mediational pathways: disinhibition was associated with increased positive alcohol expectancies and decreased negative alcohol expectancies; both higher positive and lower negative alcohol expectancies correlated with drinking; and disinhibition's association with drinking was significantly reduced when each type of expectancy was added to a prediction model. CONCLUSIONS: Cross-sectional support for this causal model indicates the value of testing it further with longitudinal trials.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1992

The influence of "preparedness" on autoshaping, schedule performance, and choice.

Two groups of experimentally naive pigeons were exposed to an autoshaping procedure in which the response key was mounted on the wall (the conventional location) or on the floor of the chamber. In two experiments, subjects readily responded to the wall key, but floor-key subjects required shaping. A subsequent experiment compared performance of wall- and floor-key groups on an ascending series of fixed-ratio schedule values, resistance to extinction, differential reinforcement of other behavior, and reversal of key assignment. Each experiment was followed by several sessions of fixed-ratio training; the performance of the wall- and floor-key groups was almost identical throughout. In the final experiment, a fixed-ratio requirement could be completed on either or both keys. Birds initially chose the key on which they had responded during the preceding (reversal of key assignment) experiment. However, within a few sessions both groups showed almost exclusive preference for the floor key. Preference for a key located on the floor may follow from the fact that pigeons are ground feeders and may thus be more "prepared" to peck the floor than to peck a wall. However, autoshaping, under the conditions prevailing here, occurred much more readily to the wall key, suggesting that pecking a vertical surface is more highly prepared. Difficulties in determining relative preparedness seem moot, however, given the lack of between-group differences in the intervening experiments. It is thus unlikely that schedule performances critically depend upon the specific operant response involved.

Animals↗

PubMed1999

Management of animal health emergencies in North America: prevention, preparedness, response and recovery.

Animal health emergency management (AHEM) is one of the most important issues confronting the world today and is the key to both food security (safety, quality, wholesomeness, affordability and abundance) and economic stability for many countries. Although the primary objective of emergency management in each of the countries of North America (Canada, Mexico and the United States of America [USA]) is implemented through individual AHEM systems, North America shares four common goals, as follows: preventing the introduction of foreign animal pathogens into North America being prepared to manage the outbreak of a foreign animal disease developing appropriate response strategies for control and eradication of disease taking active measures to recover from the animal health emergency in question. In the course of this paper, the authors provide an introduction to, and overview of, AHEM in North America. Furthermore, they outline the general infrastructure of prevention, preparedness, response and recovery strategies for Canada, Mexico and the USA. Finally, the authors discuss the future of AHEM in North America, concluding with a review of some of the joint activities currently being conducted with regard to AHEM.

Animal Diseases↗

PubMed1999

Disease prevention and preparedness: the Food and Agriculture Organization Emergency Prevention System.

In 1994, the Food and Agriculture Organization undertook to revitalise its activities in the control of transboundary animal disease by establishing a new special programme known as the Emergency Prevention System (EMPRES) against transboundary animal and plant pests and diseases. The emphasis of the EMPRES livestock component is placed on pre-empting outbreaks and losses experienced by agriculture through the enhancement of local capacity to detect and react rapidly to plague events. EMPRES concentrates on the co-ordination of the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme--a time-bound eradication programme--whilst addressing the progressive control of the most serious epidemic diseases within a broad framework of emergency preparedness. Programme activities are discussed in relation to early warning, early reaction, facilitating research and co-ordination. In addition to rinderpest, particular attention has been paid to contagious bovine pleuropneumonia, a re-emerging disease in Africa targeted for strategic attention, and foot and mouth disease, for which co-ordinated regional control in Latin America and South-East Asia has been initiated. Tactical responses to other disease emergencies such as African swine fever, classical swine fever (hog cholera), Rift Valley fever, peste des petits ruminants and lumpy skin disease are described.

Animal Diseases↗

PubMed2002

Risk management of international trade: emergency preparedness.

Emergency preparedness and management are among the most important and critical issues facing animal health in the world today. The goals of a country for an animal health emergency management (AHEM) system should include the following: --being prepared to detect and manage an outbreak of a foreign animal disease --preventing the introduction of foreign and emerging animal pathogens --having an appropriate response system for control and eradication of the disease --having a system for recovery from animal health emergencies, including natural disasters. An AHEM system can no longer be limited to a single organisation within a country. In the event of a serious threat to the animal agriculture of a country, broader and more comprehensive participation is required. If not properly planned for, animal health emergencies can rapidly become national disasters. Therefore, it is essential that the central government of a country work towards these goals through partnerships with other Federal and State/Provincial/District organisations, academic institutions and national animal industries.

Animal Diseases↗

PubMed2006

Disease prevention and preparedness for animal health emergencies in the Middle East.

The animal health situation in the Middle East is particularly unfavourable, as this area is exposed to many serious animal diseases. The Middle East is ill-prepared to institute disease prevention and control measures, due to deficiencies at both national and regional levels. Early detection, diagnosis and reporting of diseases must become a priority within these countries and effective communication should be maintained among them. Regional animal health programmes and the support of international institutions are essential to improve preparedness for natural or human-caused emergency situations, which can seriously affect animal health. Such emergencies can also have significant impacts on related public health issues.

Animal Diseases↗

PubMed1996

Assessment of a severe-weather warning system and disaster preparedness, Calhoun County, Alabama, 1994.

Tornado preparedness warning system effectiveness, and shelter-seeking behavior were examined in two Alabama areas after tornado warnings. In the area without sirens, only 28.9% of 194 respondents heard a tornado warning of these, 73.2% first received the warning from radios or television. In the area with sirens, 88.1% of 193 respondents heard a warning, and 61.8% first received the warning from a siren. Knowledge of warnings, access to shelter, and education were key predictors for seeking shelter. Our findings indicate that installing sirens, providing access to shelter, and teaching appropriate responses to warnings are important elements of an effective disaster prevention system.

Alabama↗

PubMed2004

Health literacy and pregnancy preparedness in pregestational diabetes.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the association between functional health literacy and markers of pregnancy preparedness in women with pregestational diabetes. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: English- and Spanish-speaking pregnant women with pregestational diabetes were recruited. Women completed the Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults (TOFHLA) short form and a questionnaire. A TOFHLA score of < or =30 was defined as low functional health literacy. RESULTS: Of 74 women participating in the study, 16 (22%) were classified as having low functional health literacy. Compared with women with adequate health literacy, those with low health literacy were significantly more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy (P = 0.02) and significantly less likely to have either discussed pregnancy ahead of time with an endocrinologist or obstetrician (P = 0.01) or taken folic acid (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that low functional health literacy among women with pregestational diabetes is associated with several factors that may adversely impact birth outcomes.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Influenza pandemic: preparedness planning in Germany.

The following conceptual framework formed the basis for a common decision made by the health ministers of Germany's 16 federal states to set up an influenza pandemic preparedness plan. The worst case scenario was used, on the basis of the data from the pandemic of 'Spanish flu', in 1918-20. The priority groups for vaccination were assessed, as well as the potentially available antiviral treatments. National policies could be highly improved by a common European view.

Disease Outbreaks↗

PubMed2006

Hawaii veterinarians' bioterrorism preparedness needs assessment survey.

The purpose of this study was to assess the objective bioterrorism-related knowledge base and the perceived response readiness of veterinarians in Hawaii to a bioterrorism event, and also to identify variables associated with knowledge-based test performance. An anonymous survey instrument was mailed to all licensed veterinarians residing in Hawaii (N = 229) up to three times during June and July 2004, using numeric identifiers to track non-respondents. The response rate for deliverable surveys was 59% (125 of 212). Only 12% (15 of 123) of respondents reported having had prior training on bioterrorism. Forty-four percent (55 of 125) reported being able to identify a bioterrorism event in animal populations; however, only 17% (21 of 125) felt able to recognize a bioterrorism event in human populations. Only 16% (20 of 123) felt they were able to respond effectively to a bioterrorist attack. Over 90% (106 of 116) expressed their willingness to provide assistance to the state in its response to a bioterrorist event. Veterinarians scored a mean of 70% correct (5.6 out of 8 questions) on the objective knowledge-based questions. Additional bioterrorism preparedness training should be made available, both in the form of continuing educational offerings for practicing veterinarians and as a component of the curriculum in veterinary schools.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

SARS and biothreat preparedness--a survey of ACT general practitioners.

In late 2003 and early 2004 the ACT Division of General Practice and ACT Health conducted two concurrent surveys designed to identify knowledge, attitudes and practices of Australian Capital Territory (ACT) general practitioners around severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and biothreat preparedness. One survey asked individual general practitioners (GPs) about how they gathered information about SARS in 2003, how they preferred to receive information, current practices, and how they perceived the threat of SARS and other infectious agents. The second survey asked practice principals how they organised their practice to respond to the SARS threat in 2003, any difficulties they had with implementing this response, use of SARS infection control guidelines and current policies. The response rate for the individual GP survey was 48 per cent (184/381) and the response rate for the practice organisation survey was 54 per cent (74/136). GPS used many sources of information on SARS during the 2003 outbreak. Facsimiles from the ACT Division of General Practice were the primary source (17%) and facsimile was the preferred method of receiving information in future outbreaks. The majority of GP respondents felt adequately informed about SARS during the 2003 outbreak, but many general practices did not follow the national guidelines on telephone screening of patients, warning signs and having infection control kits available. The majority of practices reported that they had policies or procedures in place to isolate potentially infectious patients from others in the waiting room. GPs rated an influenza pandemic as a threat to themselves and their patients much more highly than SARS or bioterrorism. Suggestions and comments on how ACT GPs could be better prepared to respond to future outbreaks included the need for timeliness of information, information delivery mechanisms, communication issues, education, the availability of guidelines and protocols, planning, role delineation, the use of response teams, provision of equipment, and vaccination. Planning for future infectious disease outbreak events in the Australian Capital Territory should incorporate general practitioners so that the plans reflect what is a feasible response in the general practice setting.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

New baccalaureate graduates in care of AIDS patients: perceptions of preparedness and information accessibility.

Responding to an American Association of Colleges of Nursing's national survey, deans of baccalaureate nursing schools indicated that they are in a process of building curricula and clinical experiences to prepare practitioners who are skilled and confident in the care of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) patients. On the average, their student nurse participants in the study reported moderate feelings of preparedness. If given a choice of patient assignment, two thirds of student respondents readily would provide direct care for a patient diagnosed with AIDS, taking appropriate precautions.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗