2017 was a record year for disasters and disaster response in the U.S. Redefining and differentiating key response roles like "immediate responders" and "first responders" is critical. Traditional first responders are not and cannot remain the only cadre of expected lifesavers following a mass casualty event. The authors argue that the U.S. needs to expand its understanding of response roles to include that of the immediate responders, or those individuals who find themselves at the incident scene and are able to assist others. Through universal training and education of the citizenry, the U.S. has the opportunity increase overall disaster resiliency and community outcomes following large-scale disasters. Such education could easily be incorporated into high school curriculums or other required educational experiences in order to provide all persons with the knowledge, skills, and basic abilities needed to save lives immediately following a disaster.
In January 2013, severe haze events over northeastern China sparked substantial health concerns. This study explores the associations of fine particulate matter less than 2.5 _m (PM 2.5 ) and black carbon (BC) with hospital emergency room visits (ERVs) during a haze season in Beijing. During that period, daily counts of ERVs for respiratory, cardiovascular and ocular diseases were obtained from a Level-3A hospital in Beijing from 1 December 2012 to 28 February 2013, and associations of which with PM 2.5 and BC were estimated by time-stratified case-crossover analysis in singleand two-pollutant models. We found a 27.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 13.0, 43.9%) increase in respiratory ERV (lag02), a 19.4% (95% CI: 2.5, 39.0%) increase in cardiovascular ERV (lag0), and a 12.6% (95% CI: 0.0, 26.7%) increase in ocular ERV (lag0) along with an interquartile range (IQR) increase in the PM 2.5 . An IQR increase of BC was associated with 27.6% (95% CI: 9.6, 48.6%) (lag02), 18.8% (95% CI: 1.4, 39.2%) (lag0) and 11.8% (95% CI: ‑1.4, 26.8%) (lag0) increases for changes in these same health outcomes respectively. Estimated associations were consistent after adjusting SO2 or NO2 in two-pollutant models. This study provides evidence that improving air quality and reducing haze days would greatly benefit the population health.
The agricultural industry has some of the highest incidence rates and numbers of occupational injuries and illnesses in the United States. Injuries and illnesses in agriculture result from accidents, falls, excessive heat, repetitive motion and adverse pesticide exposure. Women working in agriculture are exposed to the same hazards and risks as their male counterparts, but can face additional adverse impacts on their reproductive health. Yet, few occupational risk assessment studies have considered the reproductive health of female farmworkers. The objective of this community-based participatory research study was to conduct a retrospective, cross-sectional survey to collect information on workplace conditions and behaviors and maternal, pregnancy and infant health outcomes among a sample of female nursery and fernery farmworkers in Central Florida. Survey results showed that nursery workers were more likely to report health symptoms during their pregnancy than fernery workers. We also observed a self-reported increased risk of respiratory illness in the first year of life for infants whose mothers worked in ferneries. Our findings confirm that agricultural work presents potential reproductive hazards for women of childbearing age.
by
Alberto Forte;
Federico Trobia;
Flavia Gualtieri;
Dorian A. Lamis;
Giuseppe Cardamone;
Vincenzo Giallonardo;
Andrea Fiorillo;
Paolo Girardi;
Maurizio Pompili
Recent studies have demonstrated that immigrants and ethnic minorities may be at higher risk of suicidal behaviour as compared to the general population. We conducted a literature search to identify studies in English from 1980 to 2017 related to suicide risk among immigrants and ethnic minorities. Six hundred and seventy-eight reports were screened, and 43 articles were included in the qualitative synthesis of the review. Some studies reported lower rates of suicide attempts, while other findings suggested higher rates of suicidal behaviour and deaths among immigrants as compared to the native population. Also, a positive correlation was found between suicidal behaviour and specific countries of origin. Non-European immigrant women were at the highest risk for suicide attempts, a group which included young women of South Asian and black African origin. Risk factors among migrants and ethnic minorities were found to be: language barriers, worrying about family back home, and separation from family. The lack of information on health care system, loss of status, loss of social network, and acculturation were identified as possible triggers for suicidal behaviour. Overall, results suggest that specific migrant populations and ethnic minorities present a higher risk of suicidal behaviour than native populations, as well as a higher risk of death by suicide.
Cervical cancer remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality for women in developing countries, despite the fact that inexpensive, simple and effective screening methods are available. Visual inspection of the cervix with acetic acid (VIA) can be used as part of a “screen and treat” program to identify precancerous lesions for cryotherapy treatment. This case report details how the VIA screening test was incorporated into the care of a patient presenting to a maternal health clinic in Thomonde, Haiti which was staffed by doctors and medical students from Emory University School of Medicine in collaboration with Haiti Medishare. As demonstrated here, the VIA test requires minimal materials, can be efficiently incorporated into a physical exams, provides immediate results, and is easily demonstrated to and performed by local healthcare providers. The straightforward and sensitive VIA technique is an ideal cervical cancer screening method for resource poor areas.