Mass gatherings of people challenge public health capacities at host locations and the visitors' places of origin. Hajj--the yearly pilgrimage by Muslims to Saudi Arabia--is one of the largest, most culturally and geographically diverse mass gatherings in the world. With the 2009 pandemic influenza A H1N1 and upcoming Hajj, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Health (MoH) convened a preparedness cons...

BACKGROUND Since 2001, state and local health departments in the United States (US) have accelerated efforts to prepare for high-impact public health emergencies. One component of these activities has been the development and conduct of exercise programs to assess capabilities, train staff and build relationships. This paper summarizes lessons learned from tabletop exercises about public health...

Climatic changes have increased the world-wide frequency of extreme weather events such as heat waves, cold spells, floods, storms and droughts. These extreme events potentially affect the health status of millions of people, increasing disease and death. Since mitigation of climate change is a long and complex process, emphasis has recently been placed on the measures required for adaptation. ...

Background: Disasters are stressful events not only for individuals who suffer from personal loss but also for the community at large. It seems necessary to study the mental health of the community in disaster situations so as to endorse their health, care planning and prevent disorders. A pure understanding of the community mental health preparedness, based on the experiences and perceptions o...

Global concerns about an impending influenza pandemic escalated when highly pathogenic influenza A subtype H5N1 appeared in Nigeria in January 2006. The potential devastation from emergence of a pandemic strain in Africa has led to a sudden shift of public health focus to pandemic preparedness. Preparedness and control activities must work within the already strained capacity of health infrastr...

Individual preparedness within a local public health community is essential to support governmental initiatives surrounding the Center for Disease Control (CDC), Department of Health and Human Services (DHSS), and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The changing dimensions of local communities increase the need for individual preparedness of our healthrelated practitioners. Information c...

The World Health Organization (WHO) has established a system of collaborating centers known as the Radiation Emergency Medical Preparedness and Assistance Network (REMPAN) to promote radiation emergency medical preparedness, assistance, and advice to countries in cases of overexposure of populations from any source of radiation. This network consists of 13 specialized institutions located in 10...

BACKGROUND Concerns have arisen over recent years about the absence of empirically derived evidence on which to base policy and practice in the public health system, in general, and to meet the challenge of public health emergency preparedness, in particular. Related issues include the challenge of disaster-caused, behavioral health surge, and the frequent exclusion of populations from studies ...

Iwould like to take this opportunity in this final issue of 2009 to underscore the insightful observations made by the newly appointed Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Dr Nicole Lurie, in recognizing the essential links between prevention, wellness, and preparedness. It is generally known and widely accepted that even though the United States spends more than $2 trillion annua...

BACKGROUND Public health nurses have a central function in the public health system. Nurses conduct disease surveillance, which is an important first step in recognizing diseases caused by bioterrorist agents. Unfortunately, the current public health infrastructure and expectations for public health nurses are not clearly defined and therefore pose serious difficulties for conducting disease su...