Local health departments (LHDs) have little guidance for operationalizing community resilience (CR). We explored how community coalitions responded to 4 CR levers (education, engagement, partnerships, and community self-sufficiency) during the first planning year of the Los Angeles County Community Disaster Resilience (LACCDR) Project.

Sixteen communities were selected and randomly assigned to the experimental CR group or the control preparedness group. Eight CR coalitions met monthly to plan CR-building activities or to receive CR training from a public health nurse. Trained observers documented the coalitions’ understanding and application of CR at each meeting. Qualitative content analysis was used to analyze structured observation reports around the 4 levers.

Analysis of 41 reports suggested that coalitions underwent a process of learning about and applying CR concepts in the planning year. Groups resonated with ideas of education, community self-sufficiency, and engagement, but increasing partnerships was challenging.

LHDs can support coalitions by anticipating the time necessary to understand CR and by facilitating engagement. Understanding the issues that emerge in the early phases of planning and implementing CR-building activities is critical. LHDs can use the experience of the LACCDR Project’s planning year as a guide to navigate challenges and issues that emerge as they operationalize the CR model. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:812–821)

Analyzing Hurricane Sandy emergency reports to assess the New York State (NYS) public health system response will help inform and improve future disaster preparedness and response.

Qualitative analysis of NYS Department of Health (NYSDOH) and Nassau and Suffolk County local health department (LHD) emergency reports was conducted. Three after-action reports and 48 situation reports were reviewed, grouped by key words and sorted into 16 Public Health Preparedness Capabilities. Within each capability, key words were labeled as strengths, challenges, or recommendations.

The NYSDOH capability most cited as a strength was successful emergency operations coordination, eg, interagency conference calls (27.4% of 1681 strengths). The most cited challenge was environmental health protection, eg, mold and oil spills (28% of 706 challenges). The LHD capability most cited both as a strength (46.7% of 30 strengths) and as a challenge (32.5% of 123 challenges) was emergency operations coordination. Strengths were exemplified by sharing local resources and challenges by insufficient memorandums of understanding for coordination.

Post-disaster emergency reports should be systematically reviewed to highlight both successes and areas for improvement. Future studies should prioritize collecting feedback from a wider spectrum of public health and service provider staff for planning of preparedness and response activities. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;10:308–313)

The purpose of this article was to examine the psychometric properties of the Crisis Counseling Assistance and Training Program (CCP) data collection instrument, the Individual/Family Encounter Log (IFEL). Data collected from disaster survivors included how they reacted to events in emotional, behavioral, physical, and cognitive domains. These domains are based on conceptual categorization of event reactions and allow CCP staff to provide survivors with referrals to appropriate behavioral health support resources, if warranted.

This study explored the factor structure of these survey items to determine how best to use the available information as a screen of disaster-related behavioral health indicators. Specifically, our first research question explored and confirmed the optimal factor structure of the event reaction items, and our second question examined whether the new factor structure was similar across disaster types: hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and wildfires. Using a factor analytic technique, we tested whether our event reaction outcomes achieved consistent and reliable measurement across different disaster situations. Finally, we assessed how the new subscales were correlated with the type of risk to which CCP disaster survivors were exposed.

Our analyses revealed 3 factors: (1) depressive-like, (2) anxiety-like, and (3) somatic. In addition, we found that these factors were coherent for hurricanes, floods, and wildfires, although the basic factor structure was not equivalent for tornadoes.

Implications for use of the IFEL in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery are discussed. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:822–831)

This study describes findings of the impacts of Hurricane Sandy on environmental factors including power outages, air quality, water quality, and weather factors and how these affected mental health during the hurricane.

An ecological study was conducted at the county level to describe changes in environmental factors—especially power outages—and their relationships to emergency department (ED) visits for mental health problems by use of a Poisson regression model.

We found that many environmental hazards occurred as co-exposures during Hurricane Sandy in addition to flooding. Mental health ED visits corresponded with the peak of maximum daily power blackouts, with a 3-day lag, and were positively associated with power blackouts in Bronx (prevalence ratio [PR]: 8.82, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.27–61.42) and Queens (PR: 2.47, 95% CI: 1.05–5.82) counties. A possible dose-response relationship was found between the quantile of maximum blackout percentage and the risk of mental health in the Bronx.

We found that multiple co-environmental hazards occurred during Hurricane Sandy, especially power blackouts that mediated this disaster’s impacts. The effects of power outage on mental health had large geographic variations and were substantial, especially in communities with low sociodemographic status. These findings may provide new insights for future disaster response and preparedness efforts. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:314–319)

During natural disasters, hospital evacuation may be necessary to ensure patient safety and care. We aimed to examine perceptions of stakeholders involved in these decisions throughout the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States during Hurricane Sandy in October 2012.

Semistructured interviews were conducted from March 2014 to February 2015 to characterize stakeholders’ perceptions about authority and responsibility for acute care hospital evacuation/shelter-in-place decision-making in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, and New York during Hurricane Sandy. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and thematically analyzed using a framework approach.

We interviewed 42 individuals from 32 organizations. Hospital executives from all states reported having authority and responsibility for evacuation/shelter-in-place decision-making. In New York and Maryland, government officials stated that they could order hospital evacuation, whereas officials in Delaware and New Jersey said the government lacked enforcement capacity and therefore could not mandate evacuation.

Among government officials, perceived authority for hospital evacuation/shelter-in-place decision-making was viewed as a prerequisite to ordering evacuation. When both hospital executives and government officials perceive themselves to possess decision-making authority, there is the potential for inaction. Future work should examine whether a single entity bearing ultimate responsibility or regional emergency response coalitions would improve decision-making. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:320–324)

Hurricane Sandy, one of the most destructive natural disasters in New Jersey history, made landfall on October 29, 2012. Prolonged loss of electrical power and extensive infrastructure damage restricted access for many to food and water. We examined the rate of dehydration in New Jersey residents after Hurricane Sandy.

We obtained data from 2008 to 2012 from the Myocardial Infarction Data Acquisition System (MIDAS), a repository of in-patient records from nonfederal New Jersey hospitals (N=517,355). Patients with dehydration had ICD-9-CM discharge diagnosis codes for dehydration, volume depletion, and/or hypovolemia. We used log-linear modeling to estimate the change in in-patient hospitalizations for dehydration comparing 2 weeks after Sandy with the same period in the previous 4 years (2008–2011).

In-patient hospitalizations for dehydration were 66% higher after Sandy than in 2008–2011 (rate ratio [RR]: 1.66; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.50, 1.84). Hospitalizations for dehydration in patients over 65 years of age increased by nearly 80% after Sandy compared with 2008–2011 (RR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.58, 2.02).

Sandy was associated with a marked increase in hospitalizations for dehydration. Reducing the rate of dehydration following extreme weather events is an important public health concern that needs to be addressed, especially in those over 65 years of age. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:188–192)

Hurricanes cause substantial mortality, especially in developing nations, and climate science predicts that powerful hurricanes will increase in frequency during the coming decades. This study examined the association of wind speed and national economic conditions with mortality in a large sample of hurricane events in small countries.

Economic, meteorological, and fatality data for 149 hurricane events in 16 nations between 1958 and 2011 were analyzed. Mortality rate was modeled with negative binomial regression implemented by generalized estimating equations to account for variable population exposure, sequence of storm events, exposure of multiple islands to the same storm, and nonlinear associations.

Low-amplitude storms caused little mortality regardless of economic status. Among high-amplitude storms (Saffir-Simpson category 4 or 5), expected mortality rate was 0.72 deaths per 100,000 people (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.16–1.28) for nations in the highest tertile of per capita gross domestic product (GDP) compared with 25.93 deaths per 100,000 people (95% CI: 13.30–38.55) for nations with low per capita GDP.

Lower per capita GDP and higher wind speeds were associated with greater mortality rates in small countries. Excessive fatalities occurred when powerful storms struck resource-poor nations. Predictions of increasing storm amplitude over time suggest increasing disparity between death rates unless steps are taken to modify the risk profiles of poor nations. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:832–837)

This study sought to identify how humanitarian actors in natural disasters coordinate (or communicate) with the military to identify the needs of disaster-affected populations, identify how coordination should be undertaken for the delivery of relief goods, perceive the effectiveness of such coordination, perceive the role that training played in preparation for coordinating with the military and the effectiveness of this training, and view the overall civil-military engagement and its implications for the independence of the humanitarian sector.

A survey instrument focused on participant perceptions of the civil-military engagement in response to Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines was sent to country directors and agency leads who played a role in the response.

Although the data supported anecdotal accounts that the coordination between civilian and military actors during the disaster relief efforts in Typhoon Haiyan worked well, they also revealed that fewer than half of the respondents were familiar with the Guidelines on the Use of Foreign Military and Civil Defence Assets in Disaster Relief (the “Oslo Guidelines”) and only 12% of respondents thought that the Oslo Guidelines were used to develop organizational policy on humanitarian aid agency engagement with military actors.

Humanitarians felt that international militaries and the Philippines Armed Forces played an important role in ensuring that aid reached people in need, particularly in the early days of the response. However, less than half of the respondents were familiar with the Oslo Guidelines. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:7-10)

Hurricane Sandy was one of the deadliest storms in US history, with at least 162 deaths and numerous injuries. This research aimed to quantify the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the New York metropolitan area.

The project included 601 volunteers aged at least 18 years who were recruited in Nassau, Suffolk, Queens, and Richmond counties and Staten Island between 2013 and 2014 through close partnerships with coalition community leaders. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire on demographics and behavioral factors and a 35-point check off list on hurricane exposure. Perceived stress was assessed by using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS).

Participants had a mean stress score of 15.6 (SD=7.3; vs general population mean of 13.0), with 30.14% of the sample categorized as “high stress” (mean≥20). In the multivariable regression analysis, age was significantly negatively associated with PSS score. A reported history of mental health issues, Hispanic ethnicity, and overall exposure to Hurricane Sandy were statistically significantly associated with PSS score in a positive direction.

Perceived stress was high in areas affected by Hurricane Sandy and was significantly associated with individual hurricane exposure. This study is a first step toward defining what segments of the population are more vulnerable and informing intervention and emergency preparedness efforts. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;10:325–332)

To retrospectively analyze the rescue and treatment of pediatric patients by the Chinese Red Cross medical team during the Nepal earthquake relief.

The medical team set up a field hospital; the pediatric clinic consisted of 1 pediatrician and several nurses. Children younger than 18 years old were placed in the pediatric clinic for injury examination and treatment.

During the 7-day period of medical assistance (the second to third week after the earthquake), a total of 108 pediatric patients were diagnosed and treated, accounting for 2.8% of the total patients. The earthquake-related injuries mainly required surgical dressing and debridement. No severe limb fractures or traumatic brain injuries were found. Infection of the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, and the skin were the most common ailments, accounting for 42.3%, 18.5%, and 16.7%, respectively, of the total treated patients.

Two to 3 weeks after the earthquake, the admitted pediatric patients mainly displayed respiratory and gastrointestinal infections. When developing a rescue plan and arranging medical resources, we should consider the necessity of treating non–disaster-related conditions. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 4)

For the past decade, emergency preparedness campaigns have encouraged households to meet preparedness metrics, such as having a household evacuation plan and emergency supplies of food, water, and medication. To estimate current household preparedness levels and to enhance disaster response planning, the Virginia Department of Health with remote technical assistance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducted a community health assessment in 2013 in Portsmouth, Virginia.

Using the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) methodology with 2-stage cluster sampling, we randomly selected 210 households for in-person interviews. Households were questioned about emergency planning and supplies, information sources during emergencies, and chronic health conditions.

Interview teams completed 180 interviews (86%). Interviews revealed that 70% of households had an emergency evacuation plan, 67% had a 3-day supply of water for each member, and 77% had a first aid kit. Most households (65%) reported that the television was the primary source of information during an emergency. Heart disease (54%) and obesity (40%) were the most frequently reported chronic conditions.

The Virginia Department of Health identified important gaps in local household preparedness. Data from the assessment have been used to inform community health partners, enhance disaster response planning, set community health priorities, and influence Portsmouth’s Community Health Improvement Plan. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:193–198)