Public health preparedness for chemical incidents in Europe.

Global surveillance for chemical incidents of international public health concern.

OBJECTIVE In December 2001, an expert consultation convened by WHO identified strengthening national and global chemical incident preparedness and response as a priority. WHO is working towards this objective by developing a surveillance and response system for chemical incidents. This report describes the frequency, nature and geographical location of acute chemical incidents of potential inte...

An Analysis of Mass Casualty Incidents in the Setting of Mass Gatherings and Special Events.

OBJECTIVES Mass gatherings (MGs) and special events typically involve large numbers of people in unfamiliar settings, potentially creating unpredictable situations. To assess the information available to guide emergency services and onsite medical teams in planning and preparing for potential mass casualty incidents (MCIs), we analyzed the literature for the past 30 years. METHODS A search of...

Role of tactical EMS in support of public safety and the public health response to a hostile mass casualty incident.

Acute chemical incidents surveillance—Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance, nine states, 1999-2008.

PROBLEM/CONDITION Although they are infrequent, acute chemical incidents (i.e., uncontrolled or illegal release or threatened release of hazardous substances lasting <72 hours) with mass casualties or extraordinary levels of damage or disruption severely affecting the population, infrastructure, environment, and economy occur, and thousands of less damaging chemical incidents occur annually. Su...

The Effect of the Implementation of the National Program for Hospital Preparedness on the Readiness of Nurses Under Simulated Conditions of Incidents and Disasters

Background: Nurses are the largest group of health care providers to the injured people and promoting their preparedness is among the basic principles of health management in incidents and disasters. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of the implementation of the national program for hospital preparedness on the readiness of nurses under simulated conditions of incidents and dis...