Assessing Veterinary Practice and Practitioner Preparedness for Natural and Man-Made Disasters, Including COVID-19.

Natural and man-made disasters lead to hundreds of millions of dollars in economic losses annually worldwide. Veterinarians are most qualified to support local, state, national, and international efforts in emergency management. However, they may lack the knowledge and advanced training to most effectively plan, prepare, and respond. Currently, only two colleges offer training embedded in their core veterinary curriculum. In this study, a survey was conducted to gain an understanding of veterinary practice and practitioner preparedness for natural and man-made disasters in the United States and Canada, with questions assessing pandemic preparedness. The participants graduated from 28 American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA)-accredited veterinary colleges globally and 2 non-accredited veterinary colleges, represent a diverse set of veterinary practice types, and have an average of 26 years' practice experience. Overall, 63.5% of veterinary respondents had experienced a natural disaster, while only 9.6% had experienced a man-made disaster. Approximately 66% reported having a practice disaster preparedness plan, while less than 20% of those actively maintained and updated the plan. Furthermore, less than 50% of the practices and practitioners were ready to face the challenges of a global pandemic. Approximately 68% reported using some form of communication to educate clients about family and pet disaster readiness. Many felt that some advanced disaster readiness training would have been helpful in their veterinary curriculum. Our findings indicate that additional training in the veterinary curriculum, as well as continuing education, would help veterinarians and practices be better prepared for natural and man-made disasters.

Increasing Disaster Preparedness in Emergency Nurses: A Quality Improvement Initiative.

INTRODUCTION: Emergency nurses are on the frontlines of disaster response. Current research reveals low to moderate levels of disaster preparedness in this population and suggests education as an effective means of increasing preparedness. The purpose of this study was to measure, explore, and increase the preparedness levels among emergency nurses at an acute care community hospital in Southern California. METHODS: This was a single group pre/posttest of an educational intervention. The adapted Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire was administered to all emergency nurses at the practice site to assess disaster preparedness levels before and after a 6-month education intervention. The intervention was novel because the education was delivered through existing communication channels of daily shift huddles, regular e-mails, designated whiteboard, and staff meeting presentations. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and paired t tests were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Moderate levels of disaster preparedness were reported. The number of years worked in the emergency department had the strongest correlation with perceived preparedness levels, followed by prior disaster education/training. A 16.9-point (23.5%) increase between the respondents' mean pre- and post-Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire scores (t(33) = -10.27, P ≤ 0.001) was observed. DISCUSSION: These results suggest that a tailored ED-specific disaster preparedness curriculum, delivered through established clinical communication channels, can effectively increase preparedness levels among nurses with little additional cost. The integration of concise, relevant disaster information can be implemented in any department interested in developing a more confident and prepared workforce.

Assessing Disaster Preparedness and Educational Needs of Private Veterinary Practitioners in Mississippi.

The veterinary medical education system faces increasing challenges in educating students in the most current technologies while responding to changing community needs and expectations. Communities expect veterinarians to be involved in disaster management at some level. The purpose of this study was to describe the level of disaster preparedness and educational needs of veterinary practitioners in Mississippi. A survey was mailed to 706 practitioners to assess disaster plans, disaster training, and familiarity with disaster-related organizations. Forty-three percent of veterinarians had a clinic disaster plan. Veterinary practitioners who had experienced a disaster were more likely to have a personal plan (odds ratio [OR] = 4.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.47-8.37) and a clinic plan (OR = 4.11, 95% CI = 2.28-7.44) than those who had not. Veterinarians residing in Mississippi Gulf Coast counties were more likely to have a personal plan (OR = 3.62, 95% CI = 1.54-8.72) and a clinic plan (OR = 3.09, 95% CI = 1.35-7.21) than were those residing in other areas. Only 17% of veterinarians had assistance agreements with other practices, and few veterinarians indicated having disaster education materials available for their clients. Twenty percent of respondents indicated having obtained formal disaster training, and more than two-thirds of respondents were interested in receiving disaster training, mostly in the form of online delivery. Results suggest that private veterinary practitioners have the desire and need to obtain disaster education. Providing opportunities for both veterinarians and veterinary students to obtain education in disaster management will result in better overall community disaster preparedness.

Communication With Children and Families About Disaster: Reviewing Multi-disciplinary Literature 2015-2017.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To identify strategies for communicating with youth and children pre- and post-disaster in the context of a broader survey of child participation in disaster risk reduction as well as methods for communication with children. RECENT FINDINGS: Youth and children are capable of peer and community education and activism concerning disaster issues and such participation benefits the young actors. Family and sibling support are important in easing the impact of trauma on children. Contemporary forms of psychological first aid appear to do no harm and in line with current evidence. Generally, more evidence from evaluations is necessary to guide the development of communication strategies. Children are growing up in increasingly urban environments with less contact with nature and greater reliance on techno-social systems. Thus, young people may misunderstand natural hazards. Schools and conscious parenting can play important roles in building understanding and psychological resilience.

Factors Associated with Discussion of Disasters by Final Year High School Students: An International Cross-sectional Survey.

UNLABELLED: Introduction The effect on behavioral change of educational programs developed to reduce the community's disaster informational vulnerability is not known. This study describes the relationship of disaster education, age, sex, and country-specific characteristics with students discussing disasters with friends and family, a measure of proactive behavioral change in disaster preparedness. METHODS: Three thousand eight hundred twenty-nine final year high school students were enrolled in an international, multi-center prospective, cross-sectional study using a pre-validated written questionnaire. In order to obtain information from different educational systems, from countries with different risk of exposure to disasters, and from countries with varied economic development status, students from Bahrain, Croatia, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, and Timor-Leste were surveyed. Logistic regression analyses examined the relationship between the likelihood of discussing disasters with friends and family (dependent variable) and a series of independent variables (age, gender, participation in school lessons about disasters, existence of a national disaster educational program, ability to list pertinent example of disasters, country's economic group, and disaster risk index) captured by the questionnaire or available as published data. RESULTS: There was no statistically significant relationship between age, awareness of one's surroundings, planning for the future, and foreseeing consequences of events with discussions about potential hazards and risks with friends and/or family. The national educational budget did not have a statistically significant influence. Participants who lived in a low disaster risk and high income Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) country were more likely to discuss disasters. While either school lessons or a national disaster education program had a unique, significant contribution to the model, neither had a better predictive utility. CONCLUSIONS: The predictors (national disaster program, school lessons, gender, ability to list examples of disasters, country's disaster risk index, and level of economic development), although significant, were not sufficient in predicting disaster discussions amongst teenagers.

Cross-sectional survey of the disaster preparedness of nurses across the Asia-Pacific region.

Healthcare workers who have received disaster preparedness education are more likely to report a greater understanding of disaster preparedness. However, research indicates that current nursing curricula do not adequately prepare nurses to respond to disasters. This is the first study to assess Asia-Pacific nurses' perceptions about their level of disaster knowledge, skills, and preparedness. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 757 hospital and community nurses in seven Asia-Pacific countries. Data were collected using the modified Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool. Participants were found to have overall low-to-moderate levels of disaster knowledge, skills and preparedness, wherein important gaps were identified. A majority of the variance in disaster preparedness scores was located at the level of the individual respondent, not linked to countries or institutions. Multilevel random effects modelling identified disaster experience and education as significant factors of positive perceptions of disaster knowledge, skills, and management. The first step toward disaster preparedness is to ensure frontline health workers are able to respond effectively to disaster events. The outcomes of this study have important policy and education implications.

Using comics in teaching mathematics to improve junior high school students' disaster awareness.

Students' awareness of disasters is vital, especially for those living in disaster-prone areas, so it needs to be developed during the learning. One strategy to increase students' awareness is integrating the concept of disaster awareness in learning, such as using mathematical comics based on disaster contexts. This study aimed to examine the improvement of junior high school students' awareness of disasters through mathematical comics. It also compared the improvement of awareness of the urban and rural students. This study employed a quantitative approach with a pre-test-post-test control group design. The population was all Year 7 students in one of the junior high schools in Banda Aceh (urban area) and one of the junior high schools in Aceh Besar (rural area), Indonesia. The samples were of two classes (experimental and control) in each school, which are selected randomly. Data were collected through a disaster awareness questionnaire and analysed by t-test. Contribution: This study showed that using mathematics comics in different schools with varying conditions resulted in the different levels of disaster awareness-raising. Students' disaster awareness in the urban experimental class was better on three of the four indicators, namely, pre-disaster awareness, false disaster awareness, and after disaster awareness, compared to the control class. Meanwhile, the rural experimental class did better on one of the four indicators, namely, disaster education awareness, than the control class. This study implies that comics can increase disaster awareness and the need for further research.

Disaster Preparedness and Awareness among University Students: A Structural Equation Analysis.

Students have long been among those most emotionally and physically affected by natural or manmade disasters, yet universities and colleges continue to lack effective disaster response and mitigation practices. This research identifies how students' socio-demographics and disaster preparedness indicators (DPIs) impact their awareness of the dangers of disasters and their ability to survive and cope with the changes that disasters bring. A comprehensive survey was designed and distributed to university students to gain an in-depth understanding of their perceptions of disaster risk reduction factors. A total of 111 responses were received, and the impact of the socio-demographics and DPIs on the students' disaster awareness and preparedness were evaluated by employing structural equation modeling. The results indicate that the university curriculum impacts the disaster awareness of students while the establishment of university emergency procedures impacts the disaster preparedness of students. The purpose of this research is to enable university stakeholders to identify the DPIs that are important to the students so that they can upgrade their programs and design effective DRR courses. It will also aid policymakers in redesigning effective emergency preparedness policies and procedures.

Pediatrics in Disasters: Evolution of a Hybrid Global Health Training Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

This report describes the Pediatrics in Disasters (PEDS) course during a novel hybrid in-person and virtual format due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. International and local faculty collaborated on 2021 precourse revisions and course facilitation for multinational in-person and virtual students. Student and facilitator 2021 surveys and 2019 to 2021 student feedback reported overall satisfaction with the course while suggesting needed improvements to maximize international and virtual student participation. The hybrid PEDS course structure successfully achieved course goals and incorporated international faculty. Lessons learned will guide future course revisions and fellow global health educators.

Understanding 'Tunjuk Ajar Melayu Riau': Integrating local knowledge into environmental conservation and disaster education.

Disaster education remains crucial in building resilient communities, especially in natural disaster-prone areas. An essential element of the educational strategy in this paper involves local wisdom integration into teaching and learning processes. As such, the 'Tunjuk Ajar Melayu Riau' (TAMR) offers valuable insights with its profound knowledge of nature and environmental conservation. The research in this paper explores local wisdom integration values in TAMR into disaster education to enhance knowledge and didactic transpositions. The main research objectives in this paper include understanding the perspectives and values of local wisdom in TAMR concerning nature conservation as an investment in disaster preparedness values and knowledge (RQ1) and examining how a prototype model of nature conservation values in TAMR could guide local knowledge about disaster integration into disaster education (RQ2). The descriptive qualitative research studied in this paper contains four stages: data collection, data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing. The study reveals three forms of knowledge transposition in TAMR: expressions, advice, and taboos. These aspects underline the TAMR values as guidance and local knowledge about the disaster - the keeping, utilizing, and preserving nature. The further findings split this preservation concept into land and water areas, which is crucial for spatial planning to reduce disaster risk. TAMR forms the foundation for knowledge and didactic transposition in disaster education to emphasize preventing floods, landslides, droughts, and forest and land fires. The meanings and values of TAMR necessitate further academic exploration to create a more comprehensive understanding and preservation. Integrating TAMR values as knowledge and didactic transposition based on local wisdom into disaster education emerged as a viable strategy for building a community resilient to disasters.

Malaysian Disaster Medicine Research: A Bibliographic Study of Publication Trends.

INTRODUCTION: Despite the increasing risks and complexity of disasters, education for Malaysian health care providers in this domain is limited. This study aims to assess scholarly publications by Malaysian scholars on Disaster Medicine (DM)-related topics. METHODOLOGY: An electronic search of five selected journals from 1991 through 2021 utilizing multiple keywords relevant to DM was conducted for review and analysis. RESULTS: A total of 154 articles were included for analysis. The mean number of publications per year from 1991 through 2021 was 5.1 publications. Short reports were the most common research type (53.2%), followed by original research (32.4%) and case reports (12.3%). Mean citations among the included articles were 12.4 citations. Most author collaborations were within the same agency or institution, and there was no correlation between the type of collaboration and the number of citations (P = .942). While a few clusters of scholars could build a strong network across institutions, most research currently conducted in DM was within small, isolated clusters. CONCLUSION: Disaster Medicine in Malaysia is a growing medical subspecialty with a significant recent surge in research activity, likely due to the SARS-CoV-2/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Since most publications in DM have been on infectious diseases, the need to expand DM-related research on other topics is essential.

Identify the Disaster Nursing Training and Education Needs for Nurses in Taif City, Saudi Arabia.

INTRODUCTION: Nursing is considered the healthcare profession with the most members. Emergency nurses constitute the first line of treatment in healthcare facilities when catastrophic events bring disaster victims in need of medical attention. Therefore, these nurses must be well educated and trained efficiently to be able to deal with disastrous situations properly. This study aimed to distinguish the most important elements of education and training for preparing emergency nurses to face disasters in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), specifically, the city of Taif. METHODS: This study employed a tool to measure nurses' most important training and education needs that was created by the authors based on a literature review and was approved by an expert panel in disaster nursing. Questionnaires were distributed to emergency nurses in four hospitals run by the Ministry of Health in Taif city. Survey responses were received from 210 participants, and the data were analyzed using a principal component analysis (PCA). A one-way ANOVA was used to determine the differences between groups according to their experiences. RESULTS: The following three factors were extracted from the data after redundant items were loaded and excluded: incident management systems (IMSs), disaster triage, and disaster drills. Nurses with less than three years of experience have a significant need to learn about these elements in order to be able to cope with disasters. CONCLUSION: Understanding different types of disasters and how to deal with these catastrophic events is crucial. Significant differences existed between ED nurses in their understanding of the basic elements of disaster management based on their level of experience in an ED. Therefore, disaster education must be included in nursing curricula, and more training courses, mock drills, and simulations must be conducted in hospitals for nurses, especially nurses with less experience, so they can learn to manage their responsibilities during disasters.

Qualitative content analysis as a research method to investigate hazards information in school textbooks.

This study explains how qualitative content analysis was applied to investigate natural hazards in textbooks for children with intellectual disabilities in Iran. Qualitative content analysis of textbooks is one of the ways for understanding the priorities of Iranian education system with regard to natural hazards. Data samples included whole textbooks for children with intellectual disabilities in all grades during school year 2020-2021 in Iran. Data were collected by transferring textbooks to MAXQDA 2018 software and coding themes with the software. A narrative format was used for analyzing qualitative data. Examples were presented along with tables and quotations in the study. Peer checking and expert check were employed to ensure trustworthiness of the study. The above research design showed the strengths and weaknesses of information provided in Iranian textbooks on natural hazards and disasters management. Iran is a disaster-prone country and various natural hazards happen in Iran every year including earthquake, flood, drought, and extreme weather. Children are a vulnerable population in disasters. One of the most important issues for children's health is disaster preparedness. Intersection of age with other social determinants such as disability, gender, and ethnicity can increase vulnerability. This method was recommended to researchers investigating representation of natural hazards in textbooks of children in different countries, grades, and textbooks. Furthermore, it is possible to use this method for a comparative analysis of information in two or more countries, or different school years in a country.•Explicit and implicit information on natural hazards in textbooks could be investigated with qualitative content analysis.•This method could facilitate cross-country comparisons by providing a framework to investigate the content of textbooks for children without disabilities and/or with disabilities.•It is a valuable method for evaluation of disaster programs for children in local, national, and global levels.

Key elements of disaster mitigation education in inclusive school setting in the Indonesian context.

Children with special needs are one of the most vulnerable groups when disasters occur. They are often excluded from any risk reduction conducted during such situations; therefore, introducing disaster mitigation education at the early stage has numerous benefits. This study aims to explore the critical elements of disaster mitigation education, limiting the scope to primary schools in an inclusive setting in Yogyakarta. A qualitative methodology involving focus group discussions and interviews was applied for in-depth exploration and insight into stakeholders' perspectives on education. This study identified six key elements of inclusive disaster mitigation education in schools: (1) strong initiative to conduct self-initiated disaster risk reduction (DRR) education for all students; (2) modification of infrastructure and learning environment to accommodate children with special needs and other students; (3) broadening learning methods in DRR; (4) child empowerment and meaningful participation; (5) school management awareness and strategies for conducting DRR; (6) extensive stakeholder involvement within disaster mitigation education. These elements are expected to improve implementation of such programmes, thereby increasing the quality and accessibility of children's disaster mitigation education, as well as increasing their capacity in the risk reduction process through teacher support.

"I believe this team will change how society views youth in disasters": the EnRiCH Youth Research Team: a youth-led community-based disaster risk reduction program in Ottawa, Canada.

SETTING: The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction promotes an "all-of-society" approach to disaster risk reduction (DRR). Since 2013, the EnRiCH Research Lab has implemented a community-based, participatory program to promote youth development and engagement in DRR in Ottawa-Gatineau. The EnRiCH Youth Research Team used an existing community education program called the Enrichment Mini-Course Program as a framework to engage youth in DRR. We aim to share the implementation process and lessons learned from this innovative "all-of-society" approach to DRR. INTERVENTION: The EnRiCH Youth Research Team provides high school and university students with a platform to be heard on disaster and climate change issues. Youth are given opportunities to design and lead knowledge dissemination projects intended to educate members of the community about disaster prevention and preparedness. Students have opportunities to connect with academics, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and public health practitioners to share their ideas on youth participation in DRR in Canada. OUTCOMES: To date, this public health intervention has produced DRR training modules that can be used as curriculum support by teachers, a children's book on earthquake preparedness, an educational video about youth participation in DRR, and several conference presentations. Members of the team have become well versed in disaster preparedness strategies. IMPLICATIONS: This program has demonstrated that youth can contribute to DRR through knowledge mobilization, and support public education about disaster preparedness. Offering this opportunity at a grassroots level can support participation by youth by allowing flexibility in design and adaptation to individual environmental and social contexts.

RéSUMé: CONTEXTE: Le Cadre d'action de Sendai pour la réduction des risques de catastrophe promeut une approche « de la société dans son ensemble ¼ en matière de réduction des risques de catastrophe (RRC). Depuis 2013, le laboratoire de recherche EnRiCH a mis en place un programme participatif communautaire visant à promouvoir la participation et épanouissement des jeunes à la RRC dans la région d'Ottawa-Gatineau. L'équipe de recherche Jeunesse EnRiCH a utilisé un programme d'éducation communautaire déjà existant, le programme de mini-cours d'enrichissement, comme cadre pour engager les jeunes dans la RRC et les sensibiliser à ce sujet. Notre objectif est de partager le processus de mise en œuvre et les leçons tirées de cette approche innovante « de la société dans son ensemble ¼ en RRC. INTERVENTION: L'équipe de recherche Jeunesse EnRiCH fournit aux étudiants du secondaire et universitaires une plateforme pour se faire entendre sur les sujets des catastrophes et des changements climatiques. Les jeunes ont la possibilité de concevoir et de diriger des projets de diffusion des connaissances destinés à éduquer les membres de la communauté en matière de prévention et de préparation aux catastrophes. Ils ont la possibilité de rencontrer des universitaires, des organismes gouvernementaux et non-gouvernementaux et des praticiens de la santé publique pour partager leurs idées sur la participation des jeunes à la RRC au Canada. RéSULTATS: À ce jour, cette intervention de santé publique a produit des modules de formation à la RCC pouvant être utilisés comme matériel éducatif par les enseignants, un livre pour enfants sur la préparation aux tremblements de terre, une vidéo éducative sur la participation des jeunes à la RRC, et plusieurs présentations de conférence. Les membres de l'équipe connaissent bien les stratégies de préparation aux catastrophes. IMPLICATIONS: Ce programme a démontré que les jeunes peuvent contribuer à la RRC par la mobilisation des connaissances et soutenir l'éducation du public en matière de préparation aux catastrophes. Offrir cette opportunité au niveau local peut encourager la participation des jeunes en permettant de la flexibilité dans la mise en oeuvre et une adaptation aux contextes environnementaux et sociaux individuels.

Improved Knowledge of Disaster Preparedness in Underrepresented Secondary Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

BACKGROUND: Disasters cause significant human and monetary destruction and society as a whole is underprepared to address them. Disaster preparedness education is not covered extensively enough for health professionals or for the general public. METHODS: A disaster preparedness education intervention was performed using a non-randomized controlled trial of a convenience sample with a pre- and post-intervention survey. The adapted Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ), a validated survey tool, was utilized. Participants came from a health professions educational enrichment program for students from under-resourced high schools in the Kansas City area. RESULTS: The experimental group shows statistically significant improvement in knowledge of disaster topics post-intervention. Of 18 adapted EPIQ tool questions, 17 show statistically significant improvement in disaster knowledge post-intervention for the experimental group with significance set at p < .05 (range of significant p values .000-.017). CONCLUSIONS: The education intervention was effective and cost-efficient. Disaster preparedness education should be included in THE secondary school curriculum.

An impact assessment of disaster education on children's flood risk perceptions in China: Policy implications for adaptation to climate extremes.

BACKGROUND: Children's flood risk perceptions that include their awareness and behaviors, can be cultivated through disaster education, which is crucial for improving disaster resilience and adaptation to climate extremes. However, education's co-influencing effect along with family and society was unclear. This study investigated a three-year disaster education program conducted in schools in Sichuan Province, China. METHOD: In three pilot counties, we used stratified cluster sampling in 2016 and 2018 to separately survey the risk perceptions of 2,105 children (baseline) and 1710 children (post-intervention), respectively, aged 8-12, in 45 primary schools. The Ordinary Least Squares Regression and Propensity Score Matching Method (PSM) were used to assess the effectiveness of classroom education, propaganda poster, professional guidance, social education (television, radio, friends, and internet), and risk-related parent-child interactions. Interaction items and Structure Equation Model (SEM) were performed to identify their co-influencing mechanisms. Finally, the intervention effect was assessed by categorizing different levels of parent-child interactions and left-behind status. RESULT: The classroom education (Coeff = 0.040; P < 0.05), propaganda poster (Coeff = 0.024; P < 0.05), and professional guidance (Coeff = 0.016; P < 0.1) had significantly positive effects on children's flood risk perception. But these effects were found to be underestimated using PSM. Interaction effects between disaster education and parent-child interaction were statistically significant, and parent-child interaction was a moderating factor for improving risk perception (standardized indirect effect = 0.055, p < 0.001). Additionally, the mean score of risk perception increased by 118% in 2018 compared with the baseline. It was found that the higher the level of risk-related parent-child interaction, the higher the mean scores of risk perception (Coeff = 0.055; P < 0.001) irrespective whether they are left-behind children. CONCLUSION: To improve disaster resilience and climate change adaptation, risk-related parent-child interaction should be considered in disaster education, which is an effective way to promote children's risk perceptions.

CCOUC Ethnic Minority Health Project: A Case Study for Health EDRM Initiatives to Improve Disaster Preparedness in a Rural Chinese Population.

Disasters disproportionately impact poor and marginalised populations due to greater vulnerability induced by various risk determinants, such as compromised living conditions, language barriers, and limited resources for disaster risk management. Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM) emphasises a people- and community-centred approach for building stronger capacities in communities and countries since community members are often the first responders to health emergencies and should be central to effective risk management. A key action for promoting community disaster preparedness is the provision of Health EDRM education interventions. The Ethnic Minority Health Project (EHMP) has provided community-based Health EDRM education interventions in 16 ethnic minority-based villages in remote areas of China since 2009. It aims to enhance community disaster preparedness and resilience by improving health-risk literacy and self-help capacity at the individual and household levels. This case study outlines the first EHMP project in an ethnic minority-based community (Ma'an Qiao Village) in Sichuan Province, China. It highlights the key elements for planning and managing such a project and is a good demonstration of an effective Health EDRM workforce development project in rural communities. This report concludes with five recommendations for setting up a sustainable and effective Health EDRM education intervention in similar contexts.

The Effects of Earthquake Experience on Disaster Education for Children and Teens.

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors of disaster experience that impact the effectiveness of disaster education on school students (children and teens). Following the magnitude 5.4 Pohang earthquake in 2017, Pohang City Hall conducted a school earthquake disaster education program over a period of four months (August to November) in 2018. Professors and graduate students from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology taught around 5000 middle and high school students, while also conducting surveys. The experiences of the Pohang earthquake were analyzed and divided into cognitive responses and emotional responses. Students who felt activated emotional responses, surprise and fear, but not joy, tended to have more effective educational experiences. On the other hand, unpleasant emotional reactions, such as anger and sadness, had a negative effect on educational effectiveness. The cognitive response, which is perceived intensity in this research, did not impact educational effectiveness significantly. These results imply that the emotional responses of students are more important than their cognitive responses in providing a disaster education program. This means that even though an earthquake may be small in magnitude and may not cause physical damage, we still need to provide immediate disaster education to the children and teens if they are surprised and afraid of future disasters.

Core Disaster Medicine Education (CDME) for Emergency Medicine Residents in the United States.

OBJECTIVES: Disaster Medicine (DM) education for Emergency Medicine (EM) residents is highly variable due to time constraints, competing priorities, and program expertise. The investigators' aim was to define and prioritize DM core competencies for EM residency programs through consensus opinion of experts and EM professional organization representatives. METHODS: Investigators utilized a modified Delphi methodology to generate a recommended, prioritized core curriculum of 40 DM educational topics for EM residencies. RESULTS: The DM topics recommended and outlined for inclusion in EM residency training included: patient triage in disasters, surge capacity, introduction to disaster nomenclature, blast injuries, hospital disaster mitigation, preparedness, planning and response, hospital response to chemical mass-casualty incident (MCI), decontamination indications and issues, trauma MCI, disaster exercises and training, biological agents, personal protective equipment, and hospital response to radiation MCI. CONCLUSIONS: This expert-consensus-driven, prioritized ranking of DM topics may serve as the core curriculum for US EM residency programs.