Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 154 in total

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  1. Sohrabizadeh S, Shojaei F, Möckel L, Jahanmehr N, Zandi A, Soori H, et al.
    Disaster Med Public Health Prep, 2023 Jul 31;17:e442.
    PMID: 37519069 DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2023.102
    BACKGROUND: Economic evaluation approaches are needed to establish useful interventions for saving lives, preventing economic damage, and saving recovery costs at the time of disasters. Thus, the present study is aimed to identify the studies that applied economic evaluation approaches/methods for evaluating the economic costs of disasters.

    METHODS: A scoping review was conducted to find the eligible studies and perform a comprehensive data analysis.

    RESULTS: Based on the findings, cost-effectiveness analysis, economic loss assessment, modeling, or mapping, as well as behavioral economic analysis were used as the economic evaluation approaches/methods.

    CONCLUSIONS: Applying economic evaluation approaches to illustrate the economic costs of disasters is highly recommended. Managing competing priorities and optimizing resources allocations to the most cost-effective interventions can be achieved by cost-effectiveness analysis. The results of economic loss assessment can be used as the basis of disaster preparedness and response planning. Economic modeling can be applied to compare different interventions and anticipate socio-economic effects of disasters. A behavioral economic approach can be effective for decision-making in the field of disaster health management. Further research is needed to identify the advantages and limitations of each economic evaluation method/approach in the field of health in disasters. Such research can preferably be designed as the systematic review and meta-analysis.

    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  2. An D, Eggeling J, Zhang L, He H, Sapkota A, Wang YC, et al.
    Sci Rep, 2023 Jul 08;13(1):11068.
    PMID: 37422491 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38317-0
    In the Asia-Pacific region (APR), extreme precipitation is one of the most critical climate stressors, affecting 60% of the population and adding pressure to governance, economic, environmental, and public health challenges. In this study, we analyzed extreme precipitation spatiotemporal trends in APR using 11 different indices and revealed the dominant factors governing precipitation amount by attributing its variability to precipitation frequency and intensity. We further investigated how these extreme precipitation indices are influenced by El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) at a seasonal scale. The analysis covered 465 ERA5 (the fifth-generation atmospheric reanalysis of the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts) study locations over eight countries and regions during 1990-2019. Results revealed a general decrease indicated by the extreme precipitation indices (e.g., the annual total amount of wet-day precipitation, average intensity of wet-day precipitation), particularly in central-eastern China, Bangladesh, eastern India, Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia. We observed that the seasonal variability of the amount of wet-day precipitation in most locations in China and India are dominated by precipitation intensity in June-August (JJA), and by precipitation frequency in December-February (DJF). Locations in Malaysia and Indonesia are mostly dominated by precipitation intensity in March-May (MAM) and DJF. During ENSO positive phase, significant negative anomalies in seasonal precipitation indices (amount of wet-day precipitation, number of wet days and intensity of wet-day precipitation) were observed in Indonesia, while opposite results were observed for ENSO negative phase. These findings revealing patterns and drivers for extreme precipitation in APR may inform climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies in the study region.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  3. Chew KS, Wong SS, Tarazi ISB, Koh JW, Ridzuan NA'B, Wan Allam SASB
    BMC Med Educ, 2023 Jun 12;23(1):432.
    PMID: 37308907 DOI: 10.1186/s12909-023-04356-4
    BACKGROUND: Although tabletop exercise is a commonly used method for disaster response training, it is labor-intensive, requires a tutor for facilitation and may not be ideal in a pandemic situation. Board game is a low-cost and portable alternative that can be utilized for this purpose. The purpose of this study was to compare the perception of interaction engagement and behavioral intention to use a newly developed board game with tabletop exercise for disaster training.

    METHODS: Using the Mechanics-Dynamics-Aesthetics' (MDA) framework, a new, tutorless educational board game known as the Simulated Disaster Management And Response Triage training ("SMARTriage") was first developed for disaster response training. Subsequently, the perceptions of 113 final year medical students on the "SMARTriage" board game was compared with that of tabletop exercise using a crossover design.

    RESULTS: Using Wilcoxon signed rank test, it was that found that tabletop exercise was generally rated significantly higher (with p 

    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  4. Jairoun AA, Al-Hemyari SS, Shahwan M, Zyoud SH, Suliman A
    Res Social Adm Pharm, 2023 Jun;19(6):841-842.
    PMID: 36918312 DOI: 10.1016/j.sapharm.2023.03.002
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*; Disaster Medicine*
  5. Mahdi SS, Jafri HA, Allana R, Battineni G, Khawaja M, Sakina S, et al.
    BMC Emerg Med, 2023 May 24;23(1):52.
    PMID: 37226121 DOI: 10.1186/s12873-023-00824-8
    INTRODUCTION: The simulation exercise (SimEx) simulates an emergency in which an elaboration or description of the response is applied. The purpose of these exercises is to validate and improve plans, procedures, and systems for responding to all hazards. The purpose of this study was to review disaster preparation exercises conducted by various national, non-government, and academic institutions.

    METHODOLOGY: Several databases, including PubMed (Medline), Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), BioMed Central, and Google Scholar, were used to review the literature. Information was retrieved using Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and documents were selected according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). To assess the quality of the selected articles, the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS) technique was utilized.

    RESULTS: A total of 29 papers were selected for final review based on PRISMA guidelines and the NOS quality assessment. Studies have shown that many forms of SimEx commonly used in disaster management including tabletop exercises, functional exercises, and full-scale exercises have their benefits and limitations. There is no doubt that SimEx is an excellent tool for improving disaster planning and response. It is still necessary to give SimEx programs a more rigorous evaluation and to standardize the processes more thoroughly.

    CONCLUSIONS: Drills and training can be improved for disaster management, which will enable medical professionals to face the challenges of disaster management in the 21st century.

    Matched MeSH terms: Disaster Planning*; Disasters*
  6. Irasanti SN, Respati T, Januarita R, Yuniarti Y, Chen HWJ, Marzo RR
    Front Public Health, 2023;11:1157837.
    PMID: 37529438 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1157837
    The COVID-19 outbreak demonstrates how unprepared the world is for a different type of crisis, especially non-physical calamities. Revitalizing community involvement in disaster management is essential for making a community resilient. Due to differing sociocultural contexts, the resilience perceptions of communities in different parts of the world may vary. This study aims to understand community resilience factors after the COVID-19 disaster in Indonesia and Malaysia. Data from 2034 questionnaires using 5-interrelated domains in the Communities Advancing Resilience (CART) Toolkit Survey were collected. This study was conducted across Indonesia and Malaysia from March to April 2022. A quantitative-based cross-sectional study design and convenience sampling were applied. Respondents for this study were Indonesian and Malaysian citizens above 18 years of age who met the inclusion criteria. A total of 2034 respondents, 715 from Indonesia and 1,315 from Malaysia responded to the survey. The results suggest that Indonesian and Malaysian communities' Transformative Potential and Informative-Communication domains differ significantly. Indonesian communities demonstrated a higher mean value on Transformative Potential domains than Malaysian communities did, while Malaysian communities indicated a higher mean value on Informative-Communication domains. This study concludes that compared to Malaysian communities, Indonesian communities have a more significant potential for transformation because they can frame collective experiences, gather, and analyze pertinent data, evaluate community performance, and develop resilience-building abilities. On the other hand, Malaysian communities are more resilient in providing information and communication. We found the need to develop a community resilience model that incorporates specific cultural and local requirements. Cooperation between the two countries would open many possibilities to emphasize the capability to bounce back sooner after a catastrophe such as the COVID-19 pandemic and achieve Sustainable Development Goals.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  7. Adnan MSB, Hart A, Hertelendy AJ, Tin D, Abelanes SM, Issa F, et al.
    Prehosp Disaster Med, 2022 Dec;37(6):836-842.
    PMID: 36373499 DOI: 10.1017/S1049023X22002187
    INTRODUCTION: Despite the increasing risks and complexity of disasters, education for Malaysian health care providers in this domain is limited. This study aims to assess scholarly publications by Malaysian scholars on Disaster Medicine (DM)-related topics.

    METHODOLOGY: An electronic search of five selected journals from 1991 through 2021 utilizing multiple keywords relevant to DM was conducted for review and analysis.

    RESULTS: A total of 154 articles were included for analysis. The mean number of publications per year from 1991 through 2021 was 5.1 publications. Short reports were the most common research type (53.2%), followed by original research (32.4%) and case reports (12.3%). Mean citations among the included articles were 12.4 citations. Most author collaborations were within the same agency or institution, and there was no correlation between the type of collaboration and the number of citations (P = .942). While a few clusters of scholars could build a strong network across institutions, most research currently conducted in DM was within small, isolated clusters.

    CONCLUSION: Disaster Medicine in Malaysia is a growing medical subspecialty with a significant recent surge in research activity, likely due to the SARS-CoV-2/coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) global pandemic. Since most publications in DM have been on infectious diseases, the need to expand DM-related research on other topics is essential.

    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*; Disaster Medicine*
  8. Thacker N, Hasanoglu E, Dipesalema J, Namazova-Baranova L, Pulungan A, Alden E, et al.
    J Pediatr, 2022 Feb;241:266-266.e3.
    PMID: 34756940 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2021.10.052
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  9. Birkmann J, Jamshed A, McMillan JM, Feldmeyer D, Totin E, Solecki W, et al.
    Sci Total Environ, 2022 Jan 10;803:150065.
    PMID: 34525713 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150065
    Climate change is a severe global threat. Research on climate change and vulnerability to natural hazards has made significant progress over the last decades. Most of the research has been devoted to improving the quality of climate information and hazard data, including exposure to specific phenomena, such as flooding or sea-level rise. Less attention has been given to the assessment of vulnerability and embedded social, economic and historical conditions that foster vulnerability of societies. A number of global vulnerability assessments based on indicators have been developed over the past years. Yet an essential question remains how to validate those assessments at the global scale. This paper examines different options to validate global vulnerability assessments in terms of their internal and external validity, focusing on two global vulnerability indicator systems used in the WorldRiskIndex and the INFORM index. The paper reviews these global index systems as best practices and at the same time presents new analysis and global results that show linkages between the level of vulnerability and disaster outcomes. Both the review and new analysis support each other and help to communicate the validity and the uncertainty of vulnerability assessments. Next to statistical validation methods, we discuss the importance of the appropriate link between indicators, data and the indicandum. We found that mortality per hazard event from floods, drought and storms is 15 times higher for countries ranked as highly vulnerable compared to those classified as low vulnerable. These findings highlight the different starting points of countries in their move towards climate resilient development. Priority should be given not just to those regions that are likely to face more severe climate hazards in the future but also to those confronted with high vulnerability already.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  10. Nur-A Yazdani DM, Abir T, Qing Y, Ahmad J, Al Mamun A, Zainol NR, et al.
    PLoS One, 2022;17(10):e0274898.
    PMID: 36264854 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274898
    BACKGROUND: Social media addiction, a recently emerged term in medical science, has attracted the attention of researchers because of its significant physical and psychological effects on its users. The issue has attracted more attention during the COVID era because negative emotions (e.g., anxiety and fear) generated from the COVID pandemic may have increased social media addiction. Therefore, the present study investigates the role of negative emotions and social media addiction (SMA) on health problems during and after the COVID lockdown.

    METHODS: A survey was conducted with 2926 participants aged between 25 and 45 years from all eight divisions of Bangladesh. The data collection period was between 2nd September- 13th October, 2020. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was conducted for data analysis by controlling the respondents' working time, leisure time, gender, education, and age.

    RESULTS: Our study showed that social media addiction and time spent on social media impact health. Interestingly, while anxiety about COVID increased social media addition, fear about COIVD reduced social media addition. Among all considered factors, long working hours contributed most to people's health issues, and its impact on social media addiction and hours was much higher than negative emotions. Furthermore, females were less addicted to social media and faced less health challenges than males.

    CONCLUSION: The impacts of negative emotions generated by the COVID disaster on social media addiction and health issues should be reconsidered. Government and employers control people's working time, and stress should be a priority to solve people's social media addiction-related issues.

    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  11. Zhang X, Chan NW, Pan B, Ge X, Yang H
    Sci Total Environ, 2021 Nov 10;794:148388.
    PMID: 34217078 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148388
    The SAR has the ability of all-weather and all-time data acquisition, it can penetrate the cloud and is not affected by extreme weather conditions, and the acquired images have better contrast and rich texture information. This paper aims to investigate the use of an object-oriented classification approach for flood information monitoring in floodplains using backscattering coefficients and interferometric coherence of Sentinel-1 data under time series. Firstly, the backscattering characteristics and interference coherence variation characteristics of SAR time series are used to analyze whether the flood disaster information can be accurately reflected and provide the basis for selecting input classification characteristics of subsequent SAR images. Subsequently, the contribution rate index of the RF model is used to calculate the importance of each index in time series to convert the selected large number of classification features into low dimensional feature space to improve the classification accuracy and reduce the data redundancy. Finally, the SAR image features in each period after multi-scale segmentation and feature selection are jointly used as the input features of RF classification to extract and segment the water in the study area to monitor floods' spatial distribution and dynamic characteristics. The results showed that the various attributes of backscatter coefficients and interferometric coherence under time series could accurately correspond with the actual flood risk, and the combined use of backscattering coefficient and interferometric coherence for flood extraction can significantly improve the accuracy of flood information extraction. Overall, the object-based random forest method using the backscattering coefficient and interference coherence of Sentinel-1 time series for flood extraction advances our understanding of flooding's temporal and spatial dynamics, essential for the timely adoption of adaptation and mitigation strategies for loss reduction.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  12. Mohd Tariq MN, Shahar HK, Baharudin MR, Ismail SNS, Manaf RA, Salmiah MS, et al.
    BMC Public Health, 2021 09 24;21(1):1735.
    PMID: 34560858 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-11719-3
    BACKGROUND: Flood disaster preparedness among the community seldom received attention. Necessary intervention must be taken to prevent the problem. Health Education Based Intervention (HEBI) was developed following the Health Belief Model, particularly in improving flood disaster preparedness among the community. The main objective of this study is to assess the effect of HEBI on improving flood disaster preparedness among the community in Selangor. This study aims to develop, implement, and evaluate the impact of health education-based intervention (HEBI) based on knowledge, skills, and preparedness to improve flood disaster preparedness among the community in Selangor.

    METHOD: A single-blind cluster randomized controlled trial will conduct at six districts in Selangor. Randomly selected respondents who fulfilled the inclusion criteria will be invited to participate in the study. Health education module based on Health Believed Theory will be delivered via health talks and videos coordinated by liaison officers. Data at three-time points at baseline, immediate, and 3 months post-intervention will be collected. A validated questionnaire will assess participants' background characteristics, knowledge, skill, and preparedness on disaster preparedness and perception towards disaster. Descriptive and inferential statistics will be applied for data analysis using IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 25. Longitudinal correlated data on knowledge, skills, preparedness, and perception score at baseline, immediate post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention will be analyzed using Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE).

    DISCUSSION: It is expected that knowledge, skills, preparedness, and flood disaster perception score are more significant in the intervention group than the control group, indicating the Health Education Based Intervention (HEBI).

    TRIAL REGISTRATION: Thai Clinical Trial TCTR20200202002 .

    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  13. Chen HY, Ahmad CA, Abdullah KL
    Chin J Traumatol, 2021 Jul;24(4):237-248.
    PMID: 34112591 DOI: 10.1016/j.cjtee.2021.04.002
    PURPOSE: Malaysian disaster relief volunteers have a long and proud history of participating in relief missions within and outside the country. Despite of a plethora of researches into the various areas of disaster relief, there has been a little scholarly activity looking into the experiences of the medical volunteers worldwide and even less research on the experiences of the relief volunteers in Malaysia. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to identify the effect of disaster relief works on volunteers in Malaysia.

    METHODS: This is a non-experimental cross-sectional design study, which was conducted using survey questionnaire to examine the incidence of burnout, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and the quality of life (QOL) among the disaster relief volunteers. And the study also examined the socio-demographic variables of the participants. In addition, the association between the sociodemographic variable and the preferred coping strategies was also investigated through self-reporting checklist.

    RESULTS: The findings of this study revealed that 90.9% volunteers (n = 312) experienced some levels of recurring stress throughout their lives, which led to burnout. Also, 96.8% (n = 332) of the participants were categorized as having at least some symptoms of PTSD. However, self-reporting QOL measurements indicated that the participants are, in general, satisfied with their lives. Significant associations between the incidence of burnout, incidence of PTSD and QOL were identified. Both positive coping measures and behavioral or avoidant coping measures were also identified. Furthermore, a number of socio-demographic factors were also seen to interact significantly with burnout, PTSD and QOL.

    CONCLUSION: This study provides some insights into the psychological challenges of disaster relief volunteers in Malaysia, and this impact can last a long time after the volunteers return to their hometowns. Several recommendations including practice development, policy and research were discussed in the study.

    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  14. Amri MF, Azizan N, Hussain FA, Hayati F, Syed Abdul Rahim SS, Azhar ZI
    Ann Med Surg (Lond), 2021 Apr;64:102242.
    PMID: 33815787 DOI: 10.1016/j.amsu.2021.102242
    The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken the world into turmoil by surprise. The rapid spreading of this virus has led to an exponential increase in the number of cases. It has created a public health disaster, causing a collapse of the health system in every part of the world. Many sectors in the health area are affected, including histopathology services. The challenges and risk of viral transmission can come from various aspects and levels. For COVID-19 tests, there are even cases of no direct contact with the specimens; the specimens received infection from individuals of unknown status. The fixatives used for histopathology specimens are believed to be inactivated viruses, which can be an inactivate coronavirus. Even so, precautions have to be put in place to prevent the spread of infection to laboratory personnel, especially to those handling underfixed and fresh frozen cytology samples. Precautions must also be taken when dealing with histopathology services, by wearing full personal protective equipment and by executing other standard safety measures. The purpose of this review is to highlight the challenges faced in managing histopathology services in our centre during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters
  15. Narita K, Hoshide S, Tsoi K, Siddique S, Shin J, Chia YC, et al.
    J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich), 2021 03;23(3):575-583.
    PMID: 33527663 DOI: 10.1111/jch.14192
    The incidence of large disasters has been increasing worldwide. This has led to a growing interest in disaster medicine. In this review, we report current evidence related to disasters and coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, such as cardiovascular diseases during disasters, management of disaster hypertension, and cardiovascular diseases associated with COVID-19. This review summarizes the time course and mechanisms of disaster-related diseases. It also discusses the use of information and communication technology (ICT) as a cardiovascular risk management strategy to prevent cardiovascular events. During the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, we used the "Disaster Cardiovascular Prevention" system that was employed for blood pressure (BP) monitoring and risk management using ICT. We introduced an ICT-based BP monitoring device at evacuation centers and shared patients' BP values in the database to support BP management by remote monitoring, which led to improved BP control. Effective use of telemedicine using ICT is important for risk management of cardiovascular diseases during disasters and pandemics in the future.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters
  16. MOHAMAD IKHRAM BIN MOHAMAD RAUZILAN, MOHAMMED ISMAIL RUSSTAM SUHRAB
    MyJurnal
    The increase in awareness and responsibilities among stakeholders in a port environment has made safety evaluation an operational priority. Operating a port is a high-risk activity with underlying potential for accidents and loss of lives, besides causing massive property and environmental damage. Kemaman Port has multiple operations and handles volatile chemicals that may lead to disaster if an accident were to occur due to negligence. Therefore, the safety tools at the port have to suit a terminal specialized in handling liquid chemicals. To determine risk level at the port, assessment may be conducted using the hazard identification method (HAZID) to determine the hazards and risk matrix. The “As low as reasonably practicable” (ALARP) principle should be adhered to in determining which risk is tolerable or intolerable. In this study, the hazard and risk data at Kemaman Port were obtained through literature review and engagements with experts. As a result, eight main hazards were identified and the risk matrix was used to find the highest frequency and consequences of the hazards, besides the risk probability during operations. The overall results may demonstrate a significant improvement to the safety of port operations.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters
  17. Saiboon IM, Zahari F, Isa HM, Sabardin DM, Robertson CE
    Front Public Health, 2021;9:628178.
    PMID: 33996711 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2021.628178
    Introduction: Teaching disaster response medicine (DRM) to medical students requires considerable resources. We evaluate the effectiveness of e-learning in teaching emergency disaster response (ELITE-DR), a novel initiative, in educating medical students of the cognitive aspect of DRM. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study among pre-clinical year medical students was carried out to determine their knowledge on DRM and perception regarding the ELITE-DR initiative using a validated online questionnaire. A three-part self-learning video covering the principles and medical management of DRM were distributed before answering the questionnaire served as the training. Results: A total of 168 students participated in the study. Their overall knowledge showed a significant increase in between pre-and-post-interventions. Recall and simple decision-making knowledge aspects were better than complex decision-making knowledge. It appeared that participants assimilate knowledge better from visual rather than audio stimuli. Participants with high perception-scores demonstrated better knowledge-scores. However, e-learning was not preferred as a substitute for face-to-face (F2F) teaching. Conclusion: ELITE-DR shows promise in teaching DRM. Simple recall and comprehension levels of knowledge were well-served through this technique. However, for more complex decision-making knowledge, a different approach might be required. ELITE-DR offers flexibility, accessibility, and personalized learning. The content presentation is improved by using several different visual stimuli. This approach is useful for cognitive aspect learning, but it should not replace standard F2F teaching.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters*
  18. Susilowati IH, Nakatani H, Nugraha S, Pengpid S, Keawpan W, Hasiholan BP, et al.
    Glob Health Med, 2020 Dec 31;2(6):350-359.
    PMID: 33409414 DOI: 10.35772/ghm.2020.01061
    In this current COVID-19 pandemic, the elderly (60 years and over) are more vulnerable populations to be infected and become victims. In a disaster cycle, the various parts are usually divided into three stages, consisting of the pre-impact stage, the trans-impact stage, and the post-impact stage. It is necessary to explain how to handle the COVID-19 disaster for the elderly at each step (explain the meaning of pre-case, case (pre-hospital and hospital), and post-case phases, respectively). This paper presents the handling of COVID-19 for elderly in pre-case, case, and post-case phases in six Asia-Pacific countries (Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Japan). The data and information come from COVID-19 official websites of each country, including information from World Health Organization (WHO), United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), mass media, and professional associations. The handling of COVID-19 in the pre-case phase has been done correctly for the elderly, especially in Indonesia, Japan, Thailand, and Singapore. In the case phase (pre-hospital and hospital), only Indonesia, Japan, and Thailand have followed special handling protocols for the elderly, particularly for those who have comorbidities and respiratory diseases. For the post-case phase, all countries have the same treatment protocol for all age groups, with none specific for the elderly.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters
  19. Henson S, Kambhampati U, Mogues T, Olsen W, Prowse M, Ramos R, et al.
    Eur J Dev Res, 2020 Nov 19.
    PMID: 33230373 DOI: 10.1057/s41287-020-00334-4
    What is COVID-19's impact on development? What lessons can be drawn from development studies regarding the effects of and recovery from COVID-19? The unprecedented scale and scope of government interventions carry implications at all levels: global, national, and local. In this introduction, our team of Editors underline the importance of systematic substantive study to further knowledge acquisition, and rigorous global-, national-, or context-specific evaluation to inform evidence-based policymaking. The 12 articles summarised here capture these values and sense of "high quality". In particular, despite early considerations in the first year of the pandemic, they illuminate the need for diverse responses beyond business-as-usual, attention to the multiplicity of impact of policies formulated, and progressive strategies to counteract the impacts of this disaster around the world. The path of future research is clear: studies need to consider and give voice to marginalised groups to counteract the short- and long-term impacts of the pandemic.
    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters
  20. Shaikh Abdul Karim S, Md Tahir FA, Mohamad UK, Abu Bakar M, Mohamad KN, Suleiman M, et al.
    Int J Emerg Med, 2020 Oct 28;13(1):50.
    PMID: 33115412 DOI: 10.1186/s12245-020-00308-7
    BACKGROUND: During the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries instituted closure of borders from international and local travels. Stranded citizens appeal to their governments to embark on citizen repatriation missions. Between February and April 2020, the Government of Malaysia directed repatriation of its citizens from China, Iran, Italy and Indonesia. We describe the preparation and execution of the repatriation mission using chartered commercial aircraft. The mission objectives were to repatriate as many citizens based on aircraft capacity and prevent onboard transmission of the disease to flight personnel.

    RESULTS: Five repatriation missions performed was led by the National Agency for Disaster Management (NADMA) with the Ministry of Health providing technical expertise. A total of 432 citizens were repatriated from the missions. The operations were divided into four phases: the pre-boarding screening phase, the boarding and in-flight phase, the reception phase and the quarantine phase. The commercial aircraft used were from two different commercial airlines. Each mission had flight crew members between 10 and 17 people. There were 82 positive cases detected among the repatriated citizens. There was a single positive case of a healthcare worker involved in the mission, based on the sample taken on arrival of the flight. There were no infections involving flight team members.

    CONCLUSION: Medical flight crew must be familiar with aircraft fittings that differ from one commercial airline to another as it influences infection control practices. A clear understanding of socio-political situation of a country, transmission routes of a pathogen, disease presentation, and knowledge of aviation procedures, aircraft engineering and design is of great importance in preparing for such missions. Our approach of multidiscipline team involvement managed to allow us to provide and execute the operations successfully.

    Matched MeSH terms: Disasters
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