BACKGROUND Communication technologies that enable bi-directional/two-way communications and cell phone texting (SMS) between public health agencies and their stakeholders may improve public health surveillance, ensure targeted distribution of alerts to hard-to-reach populations, reduce mortality and morbidity in an emergency, and enable a crucial feedback loop between public health agencies and...

Introduction: Zika epidemic in America was declared a public health emergency of

This article discusses racial and ethnic disparities from a public health perspective, specifically why they threaten to impede the efforts to improve the nation's health. The authors (1) provide background information, including a review of the Institute of Medicine report on health care disparities; (2) describe the racial and ethnic compositions of the individuals in the emergency department...

AIMS (1) To examine whether prevalence of burnout is higher among community psychiatric nurses working under recently introduced job specific work systems than among public health nurses (PHNs) engaged in other public health services. (2) To identify work environment factors potentially contributing to burnout. METHODS Two groups were examined. The psychiatric group comprised 525 PHNs primari...

PROBLEM In the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan, the World Health Organization (WHO) Representative Office in the Philippines had no social media presence to share timely, relevant public health information. CONTEXT Risk communication is essential to emergency management for public health message dissemination. As social media sites, such as Facebook, are popular in the Philippines, these were ado...

OBJECTIVES Several public health education programs and government agencies across the country have started offering virtual or online training programs in emergency preparedness for people who are likely to be involved in managing or responding to different types of emergency situations such as natural disasters, epidemics, bioterrorism, etc. While such online training programs are more conven...

a recent editorial in this journal provides a summary of key economic, social, and public health considerations of the forthcoming legislation to legalize, regulate, and restrict access to marijuana in canada. as our government plans to implement an evidence-based public health framework for marijuana legalization, we reflect and expand on recent discussions of the public health implications of...

CONTEXT Chronically homeless adults with severe mental illness are heavy users of costly inpatient and emergency psychiatric services. Full-service partnerships (FSPs) provide housing and engage clients in treatment. OBJECTIVE To examine changes in recovery outcomes, mental health service use and costs, and quality of life associated with participation in FSPs. DESIGN A quasi-experimental, ...

The recent increased threat of terrorism, coupled with the ever-present dangers posed by natural disasters and public health emergencies, clearly support the need to incorporate bioterrorism preparedness and emergency response material into the curricula of every health professions school in the nation. A main barrier to health care preparedness in this country is a lack of coordination across ...

The Online Journal of Public Health Informatics (OJPHI) was developed in recognition of the fact that, up until December, 2009, there was no journal dedicated to the dissemination of information about best informatics practices among public health practitioners, researchers, and educators. The OJPHI has attracted over 200 registered researchers, educators, policy makers, and practitioners from ...