Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Knowledge, Training And Experience Of Emergency Responders In The Context Of Functional Needs In General Shelters, Athena K. Fannin

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Objective: Gathering and analyzing information on experience, training, and professional affiliation of disaster responders who will deal with functional needs clients in general shelters. Methods: The web-based survey administered in June, 2012 to 165 local Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers and 72 public health workers was part of a larger study designed to assess functional needs flow processes in general shelters. Descriptive statistics and simple logistic regression were used to analyze data.

Results: The response rate was 16.5%. The percent of survey respondents that had any disaster, medical, or functional needs training were approximately 80%, 70%, and 40% respectively. The …

Reception Centers In Response To Radiological Hazards: Correctly Triaging Survivors, Ameer Matariyeh

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

A disastrous incident involving radiological materials has the potential to cause mass casualties exceeding several thousand. Early diagnostic screening and triage at community reception centers (CRC) are excellent tools to keep communities safe from unidentified radiological material. Community receptionists quickly screen survivors with portable radiation detectors before triaged first aid survivors are transported to a nearby hospital. Screening for radiation immediately upon arrival to a community reception center reduces internal and external radiation dose levels, as well as the chance of chronic radiation illness. This culminating experience sought to determine if different CRC flow charts affect survivor triage.