Because natural and manmade disasters can occur at any time, individuals, communities, and governments must be prepared. RAND has developed guidelines for individual preparedness in response to terrorist attacks; evaluated, modeled, and enhanced preparedness policy options for government officials at all levels; and recommended actions that communities should take to prepare for bioterrorist attacks, pandemic flu outbreaks, and other large-scale emergencies.
Describes the importance of a Continuity of Operations Plan (COOP), and identifies common strengths and potential vulnerabilities of laboratory-specific COOPs.
A wide range of products and services exist to help patients convey personal health information. Health care providers should be familiar with their features, so they can access the information in a disaster or emergency.
Organizational culture differences between public health and emergency management entities may hinder inter-agency collaboration.
This study found that the number of emergency departments operating in the US from 1990 to 2009 declined by 27%. EDs with safety-net status, for-profit ownership, and low profit margin were at higher risk of closure.
In this paper, we describe a methodology for measuring a region's exposure to infrastructure-related risks that captures both a community's concentration of facilities or sites considered to be vulnerable and of the proximity of these facilities to surrounding infrastructure systems.
Preparedness exercises play central roles in both the building and assessment of organizational readiness for future incidents. Though processes for designing and evaluating exercises are well established, there are opportunities to improve the value of exercises for strengthening preparedness and as tools for gathering assessment data. This article describes the application of systems analytical approach adapted from engineering that…
This study combines a text analysis of 70 after action reports (AARs) with a failure mode effects and consequences analysis (FMECA). This approach provides a mechanism to connect the AAR process with efforts to improve emergency response planning.
Large local health departments could better inform planning and investments by using geographic information systems to align community needs and health outcomes with public health programs.
The capabilities and capacities for response are the product of a system of plans, authorities, policies,procedures, personnel, training, materials, equipment and facilities to address post-incident needs.
Children admitted to the hospital seem more likely to have a prolonged stay in the emergency department if they are Hispanic, come to the ED in the winter, and arrive early in the morning.
The quickest way to assess the strength of a community's hospital systems is to spend a few hours in the emergency department.
Analysts seeking to examine patterns of emergency department care must choose among the available datasets, bearing in mind the strengths and weaknesses of each source when conclusions based on the estimates it yields.
This paper presents research recommendations from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Working Group on emergency department management of acute heart failure.
Expert panel discussion of the emergency response in Haiti concluded that rigorous, objective after-action reports are needed both to improve ongoing operations in Haiti and to enhance future responses to large-scale population emergencies.
National performance standards for public health preparedness can be developed based on existing evidence, but would be helped immensely by a stronger evidence base.
A novel and practical quality improvement tool can help hospitals and clinics plan for and respond to the psychological consequences of catastrophic events that create a surge of psychological casualties presenting for health care.
This article describes an evaluation of the Cities Readiness Initiative, a federal program to improve communities' ability to dispense medications rapidly during emergencies.
This summary of a presentation delivered at a National Institutes of Health conference outlines specific areas for enhancing research on emergency medicine.
Compared with detection based on the presenting patient's chief complaint, data from an emergency room diagnosis can provide valuable information about influenza-like illness despite a potential delay in detection.
Paramedics need to "unlearn" traditional resuscitation methods and implement a "bundle" of proven and highly promising interventions, all delivered within a short time frame.
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