The ambivalence of wearing the Red Cross.

This article, based on research into primary sources, describes and analyses the experiences of Australian Army stretcher-bearers and medics who wear the Red Cross brassard. This humanitarian symbol is supposed to ensure the safety of personnel engaged in humanitarian work. The testimonies of those who wear the Red Cross, in fields of conflict, show that they believe it makes them vulnerable to attack and that they believe themselves to be safer without it. This article compares the experiences of stretcher-bearers in World War One, and that of medics in the more contemporary War in Afghanistan.

Patient satisfaction and associated factor at red cross pharmacies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

BACKGROUND: Patient satisfaction is a crucial aspect of healthcare, reflecting the positive feelings patients experience when using a service. It serves as an indicator of the gap between expected and actual service quality from the patient's perspective. Measuring patient satisfaction is recommended for healthcare providers at all levels as it contributes to improvement efforts. In recent times, pharmacy services have evolved beyond merely supplying medications to becoming more patient-centered and caring. Given the high number of patients relying on the limited Red Cross community pharmacies in the city, this study aims to assess patient satisfaction and identify factors associated with patient satisfaction towards Red Cross Pharmacies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Cross sectional study design was conducted from August 15 to August 30, 2022 in three Red Cross Pharmacies in Addis Ababa. Patients were selected by Convenience sampling technique. Structured questionnaire was used to assess patient satisfaction. Bivariate and Multivariate logistic regression were computed to assess statistical association between the outcome variable, and independent variables. SPSS version 21 was used for analysis. RESULTS: Four hundred seven participants were willing and completed the study. The overall satisfaction towards Red Cross pharmacy service was 60.4%. Inadequate counselling was main reason for dissatisfaction (45%). Regarding associated factors, unavailability of some medications (Adjusted odds ratio = 0.393, 95% CI: 0.208-0.741), unfair medication cost (Adjusted odds ratio = 0.613, 95% CI: 0.607-0.910), and lack of organized pharmacy work flow (Adjusted odds ratio = 0.105, 95% CI: 0.049-0.221) were negatively associated with clients' satisfaction. CONCLUSION: This study provides significant insights into patient satisfaction with Red Cross pharmacy services in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, revealing an overall patient satisfaction rate of 60.4%. While a substantial number of patients had positive experiences, dissatisfaction due to inadequate counseling was a notable concern. Factors negatively associated with patient satisfaction, including medication unavailability, unfair cost, and a lack of organized workflow, further highlight the need for targeted interventions to improve patient experiences. Addressing these issues will be critical to enhance pharmaceutical care services and bridge the gap between patient needs and satisfaction.

Improving mass casualty planning in low resource settings: Médecins Sans Frontières and International Committee of the Red Cross perspective.

Mass casualty events occur on a regular although unpredictable basis within the contexts of both Mèdecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) activities. The frequency of both natural disasters and other mass casualty incidents is increasing with urbanisation and industrialisation, compounded by climate change and conflict. Both organisations have recognised that the historical training focus on full-scale mass casualty simulations has not always been followed through to the resolution of action points and dissemination of learning. Staff training for mass casualty management has been variable. This led MSF and ICRC to develop a multimodal approach to assist development of mass casualty plans and preparedness. Capitalising on our presence in these contexts we are incorporating our experience of quality improvement and change management to complement simulation to 'stress and test' systems. We examine the challenges and share our efforts to improve training of staff in field projects across both MSF and ICRC and discussing future innovations.

Complex emergencies: overcoming barriers to health care.

BACKGROUND: At the intersection of the Sustainable Development Goals, humanitarian assistance and health, the umbrella term 'health in the last mile' has gained traction. In August 2019, the Norwegian Red Cross commissioned a global report to conceptualise and assess what 'health in the last mile' refers to, in terms of access, needs and structural and geographical barriers and vulnerabilities, and describe how these vulnerabilities overlap in different humanitarian settings and regions. AIMS: The purpose of this commentary article is to highlight the report's most important findings for an academic audience, from the perspective of the Norwegian Red Cross. DISCUSSION: The aim of the report was to propose a definition and create a methodology to help identify people and populations living in the last mile of healthcare; acknowledging that these go far beyond those affected by armed conflicts and sudden onset disasters. As the report reveals, last-mile populations are not adequately reached by current universal health coverage strategies. The report highlights the key role played by local humanitarian actors in reducing barriers to access to healthcare. Local stakeholders have first-hand knowledge of the needs of populations in the last mile and on how they navigate the barriers to healthcare access. The report also addresses questions such as: Who are the people with least access to healthcare? What are their health needs and what barriers do they face? Not least, when many live without access to healthcare services, how do we determine where the last mile begins? The report proposes a definition of 'the last mile' involving converging factors that exacerbate barriers to healthcare and identifies 18 groups that are considered potential last-mile populations. Global epidemics, such as the latest COVID-19, have shown that the concept of vulnerability is continually changing. These situations can bring new vulnerable populations to the edge of the last mile which were already vulnerable and ignored before the outset of the outbreak. CONCLUSIONS: Millions of people do not and will not benefit from the global progress in universal health coverage under current health systems. To reach the Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 16, we need solutions to overcome the barriers they face to access basic healthcare.

The effectiveness of forecast-based humanitarian assistance in anticipation of extreme winters: a case study of vulnerable herders in Mongolia.

This paper presents evidence relating to a forecast-based cash and non-food item distribution among vulnerable herder households during the 2017-18 dzud (extreme winter) season in Mongolia, and analyses the results of a quasi-experimental study evaluating its impacts. An innovative approach in disaster risk reduction, forecast-based financing (FbF) can have short- and long-term benefits to vulnerable households but remains understudied. The paper contributes information on a multimodal FbF programme offering one-off cash grants and in-kind veterinary kits. The data found significant effects of reduced mortality and increased offspring survival in some types of livestock, and that the timing of FbF assistance is crucial, as reported early assistance correlated to positive outcomes in terms of reduced animal mortality. These findings can be used to design more effective FbF interventions, to understand better the appropriateness of FbF designs, and to use early warnings and early actions to help people prepare and withstand disasters such as dzuds.

Five shades of grey: variants of 'political' humanitarianism.

Humanitarianism is a contested concept. Should humanitarian action seek to address only the symptoms of crises, or also their causes? Can humanitarian agencies best achieve their goals through a commitment to neutrality, or should they take a self-consciously political approach? This paper argues that debates about the desirability of more ambitious approaches to humanitarianism have been clouded by a lack of conceptual clarity. Showing that the perspective of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is not as apolitical as is often presented, and that so-called 'political humanitarianism' conflates four conceptually distinct ways of being political, the paper suggests that a black and white characterisation of approaches to humanitarianism as either political or apolitical is more accurately rendered as (at least) five shades of grey. Distinguishing the variants of 'political' humanitarianism matters, and the paper highlights how their conflation has marred normative debates on the desirability of different approaches.

Stakeholders' perceived achievements and challenges after the safe motherhood project in Northern Uganda.

The Japanese Red Cross Society (JRCS) and the Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) implemented the Safe Motherhood project to promote mother-friendly society in northern Uganda from 2010 to 2016. The follow-up study has not been conducted and the information on achievements and challenges after the project were limited. To review the safe motherhood project in northern Uganda, the purpose of the study was to explore the stakeholders' perceived achievements and challenges after the project. Study design was qualitative content analysis using interview guides. After the approval of Institutional Review Board Clearance, the study was started (Approval Number: 2017-034). The subjects were informed about the ethical considerations (informed consent, participation on free will, confidentiality, and anonymity) in participating in the research, and they participated after signing the consent form. Six volunteers, 2 health center staff, and 2 former Uganda Red Cross staff were interviewed. Achievements were the acquisition of knowledge, attitudes changes, behavioural changes, linkage of all stakeholders, and positive influence on Safe Motherhood in community. Challenges of sociocultural barriers, attitudes toward women, accessibility and human resources, incentives and facilities, and sustainability of the project were derived from the interview. The study revealed that the project linked all stakeholders to achieve Safe Motherhood in community and all the developed registration systems were taken over. Long-term support is necessary for Safe Motherhood to take root.

Seojeon Byungwon, Jutlandia, and NORMASH: UN's Scandinavian Allies at the Korean War and Beyond (1950s-1960s).

The Korean War (1950-1953) was one of the most calamitous and brutal wars in modern history. It was fought by the post-colonial people of the peninsula, and it culminated in the creation of two ideologically opposed states, but the three years' military clash in East Asia (or the Far East) is often labelled simply as a "Forgotten War" in the West including North America. The ensuing ethnic division has been interpreted through the various geopolitical lenses of military strategy, politics, international relations, and power games. What about the situation of casualties? Which particular nations in the United Nations (UN) dispatched medical aid for the treatment of war victims? How did the Scandinavian allies participate the non-European war? What were their unique characteristics among non-military supporting nations? What legacy they left for the post-war Koreans? This paper explores the military-historical backgrounds by which each of the following Northern European nation, namely, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway, decided to send unarmed skilled personnel to aid South Korea. The paper argues the social voluntarism of the neutral group in the critical insight that the field activities of Swedish Seojeon Byungwon, Danish Jutlandia, and Norwegian NORMASH individually promoted the Red Cross spirit of advanced humanitarianism on the top of mandatory duty, in giving special attention on children (orphans), women, civilians, POWs, and medical education, as well as the post-war collaboration for the initial Korean public health system in the 1960s.

Exploring The Netley British Red Cross Magazine: An example of the development of nursing and patient care during the First World War.

Netley Hospital played a crucial role in caring for the wounded during the nineteenth century and twentieth century, becoming one of the busiest military hospitals of the time. Simultaneously, Florence Nightingale delved into the concept of health and developed the theoretical basis of nursing. This research aims to describe the experiences related to nursing and patient care described in The Netley British Red Cross Magazine during the First World War. The analysis displays different nurses' roles and the influence of environmental factors in the delivery of the soldiers' care. There are indications that Nightingale's ideas would have infiltrated the nursing practices and other aspects of the soldiers' recovery at Netley. The history of the Netley Red Cross Hospital shows the theoretical and practical advancement of nursing care towards a holistic approach.

2019 American Heart Association and American Red Cross Focused Update for First Aid: Presyncope: An Update to the American Heart Association and American Red Cross Guidelines for First Aid.

This 2019 focused update to the American Heart Association and American Red Cross first aid guidelines follows the completion of a systematic review of treatments for presyncope of vasovagal or orthostatic origin. This review was commissioned by the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation and resulted in the development of an international summary statement of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation First Aid Task Force Consensus on Science With Treatment Recommendations. This focused update highlights the evidence supporting specific interventions for presyncope of orthostatic or vasovagal origin and recommends the use of physical counterpressure maneuvers. These maneuvers include the contraction of muscles of the body such as the legs, arms, abdomen, or neck, with the goal of elevating blood pressure and alleviating symptoms. Although lower-body counterpressure maneuvers are favored over upper-body counterpressure maneuvers, multiple methods can be beneficial, depending on the situation.

The 'merciful and loving sex': Concepción Arenal's narratives on Spanish Red Cross women's war relief work in the 1870s.

Spain signed the Geneva Convention in 1864 and the Spanish Red Cross Society (SRC) was established in July of that year. Yet, only after 1870 the SRC revived and quickly expanded, forming local and provincial committees as well as ladies' sections. This revival mostly resulted from, first, the activation of humanitarian sensibilities and networks on the occasion of the Franco-Prussian war (1870-1871), and then, the general mobilization of the SRC in reaction to the Carlist war of 1872-1876. This article examines the humanitarian work of Spanish women throughout this period through the intervention of the SRC ladies' sections, especially the central one. It reveals that these women played a crucial role in organizing, deploying and sustaining its humanitarian relief to the combatants. They empowered themselves by taking advantage of, and contributing to, the spreading of a view of women - very common at the time - as having a specific gender 'instinct' that made them 'naturally' suited to charitable and compassionate tasks. Pacifism is present in the humanitarian views and practices of these women, particularly in the case of Concepción Arenal (1820-1893), a social reformer, lawyer and writer, who was fully involved with the SRC during the Carlist war.

Vatican beats Italy 1-0 in the tobacco endgame.

'The Holy See cannot be cooperating with a practice that is clearly harming the health of people'. This is the reason behind Pope Francis banning the sale of tobacco products inside the Vatican in January 2018. Just outside the Holy See, in Italy, cigarette sales produce around €13 billion of fiscal revenues every year. In Italy, proposals to increase tobacco taxation are systematically rejected and new tobacco company plants have been officially inaugurated in recent years by representatives of State. The national branch of the Red Cross also shows ambivalent attitudes towards the tobacco industry, from which it has accepted significant funding in disregard of the recommendations of the International Federation of Red Cross. Against this backdrop, it is wishful thinking to imagine that tobacco sales and consumption in Italy will be substantially reduced in the near future. To counteract this situation, more than 30 Italian scientific associations/organisations launched a Manifesto, so far ignored by public authorities, indicating a set of measures whose gradual implementation at country level may lead to a tobacco endgame within the next few decades. Authors of this article would like to express their support for Pope Francis' enlightened decision and plead with politicians worldwide to follow his example, thus acting more decisively against tobacco.

'Our work was in the service of the suffering of mankind': a case study of the motives of the Easternfront Ambulance nurses, 1941-1944.

During World War Two, a group of Dutch nurses chose to join the Nederlandse Ambulance ('Easternfront Ambulance'), a controversial though currently relatively unknown field hospital for the eastern front. In doing so, they supported the German war effort. This case study elaborates on the motives of these women to make a choice that was ultimately determined as 'wrong', by emphasising their unique gender role of nurse in the public sphere. By providing an insight into a relatively small group of 'wrong' women, this article aims to act as a call for further research into the gender context of limitations and opportunities of Dutch women during the German occupation. These nurses appear to have had various intentional and unintentional motives for enlisting. Nearly all of them later claimed they had pursued a 'calling'. They had all been Nazi or Nationalist Socialist Movement in the Netherlands sympathisers and they had all enjoyed material benefits due to their position with the field hospital. In a few cases, it seems they had longed for interaction with soldiers, or men in general, and sometimes they had simply craved for an adventurous life far from home.

Impact of Hajj on Global Health Security.

With the human society transfers from scattered pieces to a society as a whole and the advent of the aviation era, the occurrence of infectious diseases and their diffusion have led to international health security issues. As the world's largest and irrevocable annual transnational religious movement, the Hajj and its connection with health security concerns have caught attention since the ancient times, because a huge population from all over the world gathers in the holy city of Mecca, which has tropical arid climate. Currently, the international community and international organizations are implementing multilevel governance with respect to the health security issues of the Hajj. Relevant agencies include the World Health Organization and its regional branches, International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (ICRC), the Ministry of Hajj as well as the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia, and the public health sectors/agencies in various countries that are involved with Hajj activities. The international community has successfully held the Hajj events, even when facing the challenges brought by some viral respiratory diseases such as SARS and MERS. The Hajj has become a rare opportunity for all stakeholders to improve their capabilities in international health security governance.

Evolution of Blacks in Nursing: Part I, 1896-1969.

The overall historical evolution of nursing is elongated, varied, and colorful, however, the evolution of Blacks in nursing is even more involved and colorful. This article examines the historical evolution of Blacks in nursing from 1896 to 1969 in Part 1. In June of 2019, Part 2 will be offered and will include historical data from 1970 to 2018. This article traces Black nurses' participation in World War I and World War II. It also traces the development of the Veterans Bureau (Veterans Affairs) and the participation of Black nurses. Historical figures such as Eunice Rivers are examined along with the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. In addition, organizations such as the American Nurses Association, the American Red Cross, and Chi Eta Phi Sorority are examined to come to a more complete understanding of the evolution of Blacks in nursing.

Korean Red Cross Hospital (1905-1907): Focused on its Establishment, Management and Abolition.

The Korean Empire, its state sovereignty threatened by the Empire of Japan, joined the Geneva Conventions in 1903 for the purpose of neutral diplomacy and established the imperial Korean Red Cross Hospital in 1905. This hospital was a result of the effort of the Korean Empire to seek a new medical system based on the Western medicine. However, after the Russo-Japanese War, Japan interfered straightforwardly in the domestic affairs of Korea and eventually abolished the Korean Red Cross Hospital in 1907 to create Daehan Hospital under Japanese colonial rule. With newly-found historical records, this study investigates the whole process of the Korean Red Cross Hospital, which has remained unknown so far, despite its importance. From the very beginning, the Korean Red Cross Hospital was under strong influence of the Empire of Japan. The site for the hospital was chosen by a Japanese army doctor, Junryo Yoshimoto, and the construction was supervised by Rokuro Katsumata, who also later on are involved in the construction of Daehan Hospital. Moreover, all the main positions for medical treatments were held by Japanese practitioners such as Goro Tatami and Kaneko Yano. Nevertheless, the Korean government had to shoulder the all operating costs. The office of the Korean Red Cross was relocated away from the Korean Red Cross Hospital, and the government of the Korean Empire was not willing to burden the expenses of the Hospital. Moreover, the list of employees of the Korean Red Cross and that of the Korean Red Cross Hospital were drawn up separately: the former is left only in Korea and the latter in Japan. These facts suggest that those two institutes were managed dualistically unlike any other nation, implying that this may have been a means to support the Daehan Hospital project. According to the statistics, health care services in the Korean Red Cross Hospital seems to have been carried out successfully. There had been an increase in the number of patients, and the ratio of female patients was relatively high (26.4%). Only Western medications were prescribed and surgical operations with anesthesia were performed routinely. The approach to Western medicine in Korea was changing during that period. The rise and fall of the Korean Red Cross Hospital represent the urgent situation of the Korean Empire as well as the imperialistic methodology of the Empire of Japan to use medicine as a tool for colonization. Although the transition process of medical policy by the Japanese Resident-General of Korea still remains to be fully elucidated, this paper contributes to a better understanding of the history of modern medicine in Korea.

Mapping fires and American Red Cross aid using demographic indicators of vulnerability.

Social vulnerability indicators can assist with informing disaster relief preparation. Certain demographic segments of a population may suffer disproportionately during disaster events, and a geographical understanding of them can help to determine where to place strategically logistical assets and to target disaster-awareness outreach endeavours. Records of house fire events and American Red Cross aid provision over a five-year period were mapped for the County of Los Angeles, California, United States, to examine the congruence between actual events and expectations of risk based on vulnerability theory. The geographical context provided by the data was compared with spatially-explicit indicators of vulnerability, such as age, race, and wealth. Fire events were found to occur more frequently in more vulnerable areas, and Red Cross aid was found to have an even stronger relationship to those places. The findings suggest that these indicators speak beyond vulnerability and relate to patterns of fire risk.

Failing to protect humanitarian workers: lessons from Britain and Voluntary Aid Detachments in the Second World War.

This paper draws on official records of international and British organizations, newspaper reports, and volunteer memoirs to study the failure to protect humanitarian workers in the Second World War. The Second World War saw a significant expansion in the use of air warfare and flying missiles and these technological advances posed a grave threat to civilians and humanitarian workers. In this context, the International Committee of the Red Cross advocated unsuccessfully to restrict air warfare and create safe hospital zones. The British Government grappled with the tension between military and humanitarian objectives in setting its bombardment policy. Ultimately, humanitarian principles were neglected in pursuit of strategic aims, which endangered civilians and left humanitarian workers particularly vulnerable. British Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses experienced more than six-fold greater fatality rates than civil defence workers and the general population. The lessons from failures to protect humanitarian workers in the face of evolutions in warfare remain profoundly relevant.

Navigating the profits and pitfalls of governmental partnerships: the ICRC and intergovernmental relief, 1918-23.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is today a staunch proponent of the need for humanitarian organisations to remain independent of state interests, yet it deliberately solicited intergovernmental intervention in international relief after the First World War of 1914-18. This paper examines why an organisation committed to upholding the independence and impartiality of humanitarian action might still choose to partner with governmental bodies. It also highlights the historical beginnings of a linkage between international aid and geopolitics. To secure governmental funding for refugee relief during the 1920s, the ICRC argued that the humanitarian crises of the post-war years were a threat to the political and social stability of Europe. While this has become axiomatic, the interwar history of the ICRC demonstrates that the perceived connection between relief and geopolitical stability is historically constructed, and that it must continue to be asserted persuasively to be effective.