Disaster medicine and public health preparedness
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Dec 2012
Incidences, types, and influencing factors of snow disaster-associated injuries in Ningbo, China, 2008.
The incidence, types, and influencing factors of injuries due to snow-ice disasters are essential for public health preparedness. This study was designed to assess such factors of injuries during the 22-day snowstorm in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, China, in 2008. ⋯ Frostbite and falling injury were the major injuries caused by an unprecedented snow-ice disaster. Keeping warm and maintaining regular physical exercise appeared to reduce frostbite risk. Public health intervention also reduced the risk of falling and traffic accident-related injuries.
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Dec 2012
Planning for baseline medical care needs of a displaced population after a disaster.
To build a tool to assist disaster response planning and estimate the numbers of displaced persons that will require special medical care during a disaster. ⋯ A substantial number of persons with preexisting conditions will need suitable medical care following a disaster. The MedCon:PreEvent tool can assist disaster planners to prepare for medical care needs of large numbers of evacuees and consider re-evaluating the approach to utilizing and augmenting medical care services.
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Disaster Med Public Health Prep · Dec 2012
ReviewMedical lessons learned from chernobyl relative to nuclear detonations and failed nuclear reactors.
The Chernobyl disaster in 1986 involved the largest airborne release of radioactivity in history, more than 100 times as much radioactivity as the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bombs together. The resulting emergency response, administrative blunders, and subsequent patient outcomes from this large-scale radiological disaster provide a wealth of information and valuable lessons for those who may find themselves having to deal with the staggering consequences of nuclear war. Research findings, administrative strategies (successful and otherwise), and resulting clinical procedures from the Chernobyl experience are reviewed to determine a current utility in addressing the appropriate protocols for a medical response to nuclear war. As various myths are still widely associated with radiation exposure, attention is given to the realities of a mass casualty medical response as it would occur with a nuclear detonation.