Disaster Management & Response RSS feed: Current Issue. The Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) and Mosby proudly publish DISASTER MANAGEMENT & RESPONSE - a quarterly journal focusing on the health care management of issues associated with natural or manmade disasters, such as weapons of mass destruction, storm devastation, biological warfare, and other public health emergencies. Here is what you can expect from DISASTER MANAGEMENT & RESPONSE : Peer-reviewed, evidence-based articles reflecting strategic trends and issues Critical announcements of new technology, services, and policies Identification and discussion of models for responding to and caring for mass casualties Promotion of research, standards of practice, and leadership issues Evaluation and communication of advances in international health care practices Multidisciplinary experts as authors, reviewers and editorial board members Each issue provides healthcare providers across specialties with timely, accurate information that a provider can take to the "front lines" when dealing with mass casualties. To order this journal, and for more information, go to http://www.elsevierhealth.com .http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/?rss=yesElsevier Inc.en © 2007 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Disaster Management & Response1540-248754October 2007 © 2007 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. healthpermissions@elsevier.comhttp://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001022/abstract?rss=yesDisaster Management & Response is one of many health-related journals participating in a world-wide effort to bring attention to poverty and its impact on health. The facts regarding poverty and disaster are very clear and disconcerting: Poverty and disasters are inextricably linked, both in the United States and other countries. The overwhelming number of disaster-related deaths due to natural or human-made causes occur in underdeveloped countries. In more developed countries, the poor also are most affected, as evidenced by the New Orleans residents who experienced the impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Many factors influence both the occurrence of disasters as well as their consequences, including geography/climate change, personal resources, infrastructure, and political instability.Disasters and PovertyMargaret M. McMahon10.1016/j.dmr.2007.09.001Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1Editorial9597http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001046/abstract?rss=yesDear Editor: As we prepare for another hurricane season, the nation can't help but look back at previous storms and their level of destruction. All of us remember Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the pictures of devastation—those of us not involved were glued to our television sets every evening. National response plans call for the establishment of alternative field medical facilities, staffed by volunteers, to treat thousands of victims of large-scale events. Federal planners assume that trained and competent health care workers will volunteer to staff these facilities.Seeking Participants for Study of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita RespondersLynn A. Slepski10.1016/j.dmr.2007.09.003Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1Letter to the Editor9898http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001009/abstract?rss=yesBackground: To date, no systematic examination of the preparedness of individual health care providers and their response capabilities during a large-scale disaster has been conducted. As a result, very little is known about what knowledge, skills and abilities, or professional competencies are needed, or how professional competency requirements may change depending on the circumstances of a disaster. The objective of this pilot study was to collect, explore, and describe background data on professional competencies from health care providers who were involved in the Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita disaster responses.Methods: Utilizing an anonymous survey of a convenience sample, 200 health care providers attending 2 disaster conferences were asked to respond to open-ended questions about the competencies they needed and performed during their disaster response.Results: Of the 200 respondents, registered nurses (37%) and physicians (24%) were the largest categories of providers. Basic clinical care (39%) and triage (26%) were the most frequent response skills reported; the areas wherein respondents felt least prepared were disaster-specific response skills (22%) and systems issues (34%). Only 22% of respondents reported that they did not know a specific skill. The 200 respondents made 495 individual recommendations for future responders, including actions to improve the respondent's personal preparedness (23%) and the need for training (25%). However, only 3% of the recommendations (n = 15) actually identified a specific type of training such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support or triage.Conclusion: Few respondents reported knowledge deficits. Rather, what they described was an abrupt change or transition from their everyday practice worlds that required accommodation in order to practice effectively. Current training programs generally focus on providing skills information. Further research is required to determine if training programs should address facilitating the transition process.Emergency Preparedness and Professional Competency Among Health Care Providers During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Pilot Study ResultsLynn A. Slepski10.1016/j.dmr.2007.08.001Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1Research Studies99110http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001010/abstract?rss=yesBackground: Fires that result in a large number of deaths and injuries are quite common in India, presenting many complex emergency management challenges. While significant improvement in disaster management has been noted in recent years, full integration of government emergency management initiatives at the provincial level is still in its infancy. This article presents the findings of a study of a school fire in India that resulted in the deaths of 93 children. The effective provincial level management of this fire, in the absence of a well-defined disaster management plan, was quite encouraging and provides guidance for other disaster managers in the country.Methods: The purpose of the study was to analyze the factors leading to the tragedy, the response of the stakeholders, the relief and rehabilitation support provided to the affected families, and the perceptions of the affected parents regarding their level of satisfaction with the management of this disaster. Extensive visits were made to the damaged school, schools where the rescued and evacuated children were relocated, affected households, injured children, various stakeholders and institutions playing a significant role in managing the incident, and nongovernment organizations working in the field. The study methodology included structured interviews to determine the parents' level of satisfaction with the different elements of the response, participant observations, intensive interaction with the members of the affected families, and focused group discussion with different relevant government officials.Results: The findings indicate a high level of parent and stakeholder satisfaction in the majority of response and relief efforts associated with the disaster. Also reinforced were the importance of adherence to school safety regulations; the role of effective relief and rehabilitation; public-private partnership in disaster management; and the importance of media management, humanitarian assistance during crisis management and response, gender sensitivity in relief and rehabilitation, and services provided to reduce mental health risks for the injured children and families who lost their children in the incident.Conclusions: While the participants in the study perceived the management of the disaster as highly satisfactory, several disaster management elements, particularly disaster mental health services, require further attention at all levels.Affected Parents' and Other Stakeholders' Perception of a Fire Disaster Management in India: A Situational AnalysisSujata Satapathy, Ajinder Walia10.1016/j.dmr.2007.08.002Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1Research Studies111118http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001034/abstract?rss=yesHospitals are required to have the capability of performing patient decontamination. Incorporating the incident command structure provided by the National Incident Management System and the Hospital Incident Command System into their decontamination plans will enable hospitals to be better organized and efficient in managing events producing contaminated patients. HAZMAT Branch incident command includes the leadership positions of a HAZMAT Branch director and a Victim Decontamination Unit leader, as well as managers for each zone, logistics, triage, medical monitoring, and support roles. Coupling a well-developed decontamination command structure with staff practice in their roles will help to ensure an organized response. This article describes the specific roles and responsibilities included in an incident command system–based hospital decontamination plan than has been used successfully in a multi-hospital system.Organization of a Hospital-based Victim Decontamination Plan Using the Incident Command StructureRobert Powers10.1016/j.dmr.2007.09.002Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1Feature Article119123http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001125/abstract?rss=yesAuthor Index10.1016/S1540-2487(07)00112-5Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1Index124125http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001204/abstract?rss=yesSubject Index10.1016/S1540-2487(07)00120-4Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1Index126128http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001071/abstract?rss=yesTable of Contents10.1016/S1540-2487(07)00107-1Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1FrontmatterA1A1http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001083/abstract?rss=yesEditorial Board10.1016/S1540-2487(07)00108-3Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1FrontmatterA2A2http://www.journals.elsevierhealth.com/periodicals/ymmd/article/PIIS1540248707001095/abstract?rss=yesInformation for Readers10.1016/S1540-2487(07)00109-5Disaster Management & Response 5, 4 (2007)2007-10-01Disaster Management & Response2007-10-0154S1540-2487(07)X0022-1FrontmatterA3A3