Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

A Tale Of Three Systems: Improving Three Emergency Communication Systems, Elizabeth M. Williams

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

This paper examines the current state of communications between the public, first responder organizations, and hospitals during mass traumatic casualty events. While the current system that exists nationwide, the National Incident Management System (NIMS), is an effective system, there are several improvements that could be made on a community level. This paper looks at national-level plans, such as the national emergency communications plan, NIMS, Hospital Incident Command System (HICS), and national Incident Command System (ICS). This paper sets forward several cost-sensitive recommendations to add to local emergency communication plans and structures in order to make better use technology that already …

Strengths And Challenges Of A Rural Ohio Public Health Department: Considerations For Effective Service Delivery And Emergency Preparedness, Cindy L. Harris Graessle

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

The local public health department is the main entity in cities and counties established to ensure the safety, health, and well-being of its community members. In many cases, particularly in rural areas, the health department may be the community’s closest access to health care, providing not only clinical care, but preventive services as well. These rural health departments have additional challenges that may not be experienced in the larger, more populated metropolitan areas. These challenges include lack of resources and funding that impact daily operations, expanded registered sanitarian responsibilities, and emergency preparedness difficulties with resource allocation and communication. Despite these …

Development Of Population Protective Procedures For A Radiological Event, Daniel A. Baker

Master of Public Health Program Student Publications

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the execution of emergency preparedness procedures of the west central Ohio region during a radiological event. Preparedness plans were generated by the Dayton Metropolitan Medical Response System and Public Health – Dayton and Montgomery County, which would later be disseminated to eight counties in west central Ohio.

Methods: Two live scenarios, a region-wide functional exercise and a Medical Reserve Corps training exercise, were used to test different procedures and protocols for a radiological event relevant to various first response agencies (public health, law enforcement, emergency medical systems, hospitals, etc.). Exercise evaluation …

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.