Background: Recent international and national events have brought critical attention to the Canadian public health system and how prepared the system is to respond to various types of contemporary public health threats. This article describes the study design and methods being used to conduct a systems-level analysis of public health preparedness in the province of Alberta, Canada. The project ...

Background Local health departments (LHDs) operate in a complex and dynamic public health landscape, with changing demands on their emergency response capacities. Informatics capacities might play an instrumental role in aiding LHDs emergency preparedness. This study aimed to explore the extent to which LHDs’ informatics capacities are associated with their activity level in emergency preparedn...

BACKGROUND In 2003, 11 public health epidemiologists were placed in North Carolina's largest hospitals to enhance communication between public health agencies and healthcare systems for improved emergency preparedness. We describe the specific services public health epidemiologists provide to local health departments, the North Carolina Division of Public Health, and the hospitals in which they...

I appreciate the opportunity to be here today to discuss the proposed creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax incidents, there has been concern about the ability of the federal government to prepare for and coordinate an effective public health response to such events, given the broad distribution of responsi...

OBJECTIVE This paper assessed the emergency preparedness programs of health facilities for all-risks but focused on Road Traffic Accidents, (RTA) resulting in surge demand. It adopted W. H. O checklist covering hospital preparedness, equipment, manpower and surge capacity planning as best practices for the mitigation of public health emergencies. METHOD This is a cross-sectional study of purp...

I appreciate the opportunity to submit this statement for the record on the proposed creation of the Department of Homeland Security. Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the subsequent anthrax incidents, there has been concern about the ability of the federal government to prepare for and coordinate an effective public health response to such events, given the broad distribut...

BACKGROUND Since the 9/11 attack and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), the development of qualified and able public health leaders has become a new urgency in building the infrastructure needed to address public health emergencies. Although previous studies have reported that the training of individual leaders is an important approach, the systemic and scientific training model need fur...