Household evacuation characteristics in American Samoa during the 2009 Samoa Islands tsunami.

Tsunamis represent significant threats to human life and development in coastal communities. This quantitative study examines the influence of household characteristics on evacuation actions taken by 211 respondents in American Samoa who were at their homes during the 29 September 2009 Mw 8.1 Samoa Islands earthquake and tsunami disaster. Multiple logistic regression analysis of survey data was used to examine the association between evacuation and various household factors. Findings show that increases in distance to shoreline were associated with a slightly decreased likelihood of evacuation, whereas households reporting higher income had an increased probability of evacuation. The response in American Samoa was an effective one, with only 34 fatalities in a tsunami that reached shore in as little as 15 minutes. Consequently, future research should implement more qualitative study designs to identify event and cultural specific determinants of household evacuation behaviour to local tsunamis.

A drive through Web 2.0: an exploration of driving safety promotion on Facebook™.

This study explored Facebook™ to capture the prevalence of driving safety promotion user groups, obtain user demographic information, to understand if Facebook™ user groups influence reported driving behaviors, and to gather a sense of perceived effectiveness of Facebook™ for driving safety promotion targeted to young adults. In total, 96 driving safety Facebook™ groups (DSFGs) were identified with a total of 33,368 members, 168 administrators, 156 officers, 1,598 wall posts representing 12 countries. A total of 85 individuals participated in the survey. Demographic findings of this study suggest that driving safety promotion can be targeted to young and older adults. Respondents' ages ranged from 18 to 66 years. A total of 62% of respondents aged ≤ 24 years and 57.8% of respondents aged ≥ 25 years reported changing their driving-related behaviors as a result of reading information on the DSFGs to which they belonged. A higher proportion of respondents ≥ 25 years were significantly more likely to report Facebook™ and YouTube™ as an effective technology for driving safety promotion. This preliminary study indicates that DSFGs may be effective tools for driving safety promotion among young adults. More research is needed to understand the cognition of Facebook™ users as it relates to adopting safe driving behavior. The findings from this study present descriptive data to guide public health practitioners for future health promotion activities on Facebook™.

Smoke-Free Policies and 30-Day Readmission Rates for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

INTRODUCTION: Previous evidence has shown that smoke-free policies reduce hospital admissions due to respiratory causes, but the impact on 30-day readmission has not been determined. As 25 states in the U.S. have not adopted comprehensive smoke-free legislation, it is likely that patients return to an environment that increases risk of a secondary event. The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of smoke-free policies on 30-day readmission rates for adults aged ≥65 years following hospitalization for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in the U.S. METHODS: Data from the U.S. Tobacco Control Laws Database, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Hospital Readmissions Reduction Program, American Hospital Association, Area Health Resource File, and U.S. Census Bureau Current Population Survey were merged at the county level for years 2013-2016 and analyzed in 2018. Hierarchical Poisson regression models were utilized to calculate incidence rate ratios to determine the impact of full, partial, and no smoke-free policies on 30-day readmission rates after chronic obstructive pulmonary disease hospitalization. RESULTS: Multivariable analysis adjusting for both county and hospital characteristics revealed that the presence of full (incidence rate ratio=0.81, 95% CI=0.76, 0.88) and partial (incidence rate ratio=0.87, 95% CI=0.81, 0.92) smoke-free policies were associated with fewer 30-day readmissions for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related hospitalizations when compared with counties with no smoke-free policy. CONCLUSIONS: The implementation of smoke-free policies is an effective measure for reducing 30-day readmissions following hospitalization due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, with stronger policies resulting in decreased risk. Efforts to reduce chronic obstructive pulmonary disease-related 30-day readmissions should include the implementation of smoke-free policies.

Factors affecting household adoption of an evacuation plan in American Samoa after the 2009 earthquake and tsunami.

American Samoa is still recovering from the debilitating consequences of the September 29, 2009 tsunami. Little is known about current household preparedness in American Samoa for future earthquakes and tsunamis. Thus, this study sought to enumerate the number of households with an earthquake and tsunami evacuation plan and to identify predictors of having a household evacuation plan through a post-tsunami survey conducted in July 2011. Members of 300 households were interviewed in twelve villages spread across regions of the principle island of Tutuila. Multiple logistic regression showed that being male, having lived in one's home for < 30 years, and having a friend who suffered damage to his or her home during the 2009 tsunami event increased the likelihood of having a household evacuation plan. The prevalence of tsunami evacuation planning was 35% indicating that survivors might feel that preparation is not necessary given effective adaptive responses during the 2009 event. Results suggest that emergency planners and public health officials should continue with educational outreach to families to spread awareness around the importance of developing plans for future earthquakes and tsunamis to help mitigate human and structural loss from such natural disasters. Additional research is needed to better understand the linkages between pre-event planning and effective evacuation responses as were observed in the 2009 events.