MyMedR

Fulltext Experimental study on tsunami risk reduction on coastal building fronted by sea wall

Rahman S, Akib S, Khan MT, Shirazi SM

ScientificWorldJournal, 2014;2014:729357.

PMID: 24790578 DOI: 10.1155/2014/729357

This experimental study was conducted to idealize the efficacy of sea wall in controlling the tsunami forces on onshore structures. Different types of sea walls were placed in front of the building model. The tsunami forces and the wave heights were measured with and without the sea wall conditions. Types of sea wall, wall height, and wall positions were varied simultaneously to quantify the force reductions. Maximum of 41% forces was reduced by higher sea wall, positioned closer proximity to the model whereas this reduction was about 27% when the wall height was half of the high wall. Experimental investigations revealed that wall with adequate height and placed closer to the structures enables a satisfactory predictor of the force reduction on onshore structures. Another set of tests were performed with perforated wall placing near the building model. Less construction cost makes the provision of perforated sea wall interesting. The overall results showed that the efficacy of perforated wall is almost similar to solid wall. Hence, it can be efficiently used instead of solid wall. Moreover, overtopped water that is stuck behind the wall is readily gone back to the sea through perforations releasing additional forces on the nearby structures.

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense*

Fulltext Pandemic response requires early and robust verification

Lehtimaki S, Allotey P, Schwalbe N

Lancet, 2021 Jul 10;398(10295):115.

PMID: 34181879 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01223-X

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense*

Fulltext Primary health care: a cornerstone of pandemic prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery

Lal A, Schwalbe N

Lancet, 2023 Jun 03;401(10391):1847.

PMID: 37216957 DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(23)00963-7

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense*

PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE AMONG NURSES IN MALAYSIA

Seok CB, Cosmas G, Arsat N

J Nurs Meas, 2023 Jun 01;31(2):230-244.

PMID: 37277155 DOI: 10.1891/JNM-2021-0037

Background: Nurses' knowledge, skills and competencies are paramount for their preparedness to respond to emergency situations. This paper aims to test the psychometric properties and to determine the factor structure of the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) among nurses in Malaysia. Methods: There were 418 nurses in Sabah, Malaysia participated in this study. Besides, EPIQ, The Nurse Assessment of Readiness scale and the self-regulation scale were used to the validity of EPIQ. Results: The study revealed that the nine dimensions of EPIQ demonstrated very good reliability and construct validity. All the items showed good intercorrelation. The result of Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a 3-factor solution model of EPIQ. The first factor was recategorized into four sub-factor due to the large number of the items loaded in this factor. Conclusions: The findings revealed that the EPIQ has strong psychometric properties. This scale can be used to measure nurses' preparedness in managing the emergency event in Malaysia.

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense*

Fulltext How Prepared Was Pakistan for the COVID-19 Outbreak?

Salman M, Mustafa ZU, Khan TM, Shehzadi N, Hussain K

Disaster Med Public Health Prep, 2020 Jun;14(3):e44-e45.

PMID: 32662386 DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2020.247

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense/methods; Civil Defense/standards*; Civil Defense/trends

Radiological emergency: Malaysian preparedness and response

Yusof MA, Ali HM

Radiat Prot Dosimetry, 2011 Jul;146(1-3):38-41.

PMID: 21729940 DOI: 10.1093/rpd/ncr102

Planning and preparation in advance for radiological emergencies can help to minimise potential public health and environmental threats if and when an actual emergency occurs. During the planning process, emergency response organisations think through how they would respond to each type of incident and the resources that will be needed. In Malaysia, planning, preparation for and response to radiological emergencies involve many parties. In the event of a radiological emergency and if it is considered a disaster, the National Security Council, the Atomic Energy Licensing Board and the Malaysian Nuclear Agency (Nuclear Malaysia) will work together with other federal agencies, state and local governments, first responders and international organisations to monitor the situation, contain the release, and clean up the contaminated site. Throughout the response, these agencies use their protective action guidelines. This paper discusses Malaysian preparedness for, and response to, any potential radiological emergency.

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense*

The Heath government and British defence policy in Southeast Asia at the end of empire (1970-71)

Andrea B

20 Century Br Hist, 2009;20(1):53-73.

PMID: 19569309

This article examines the rationale behind the Heath government's 1970 decision to negotiate a Five Power Defence agreement with Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia and to maintain a small British military contingent in Southeast Asia as a part of this new politico-military framework. It argues that while its overriding foreign policy concern was to end Britain's problematic relationship with the European Economic Community and to make membership of this grouping the cornerstone of its foreign policy, the Heath government was careful not to cast Britain's post-imperial future in purely European terms. The successful negotiation of the Five Power Defence Arrangements in 1970-71 was instrumental in achieving this by ensuring that London would maintain close links with key Commonwealth partners in the Asian region. In what was not only an attempt to neutralize potential domestic opposition to Britain's entry into the EEC, but also a lingering reluctance to do away with the rhetoric of Britain as a leading power with extra-European interests, Heath was eager to show that by making a contribution to the stability of Southeast Asia, Britain still had a role to play outside Europe.

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense/history*

The burden of terrorism in Malaysia

Abul Aziz A

Prehosp Disaster Med, 2003 Apr-Jun;18(2):115-9.

PMID: 15074492

In the peace-loving, moderate and progressive country of Muslim-dominated Malaysia, violence generally is alien to the culture. Terrorism initially took shape during the post-independence, communist era by jungle recalcitrant actions. In recent years, this has been superceded by a more internationally related trend of violence. Only very few incidents were based locally, while the majority were linked to international groups or organizations abroad, including the Kumpulan Mujahidin Malaysia (KMM), Jemaah Islamiyah (JI), and the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG). Kidnapping with ransom seemed to have been the most commone modus operandi, while killing and robbery accounted for very few of these incidents. The number of victims in each event so far has been small, and smaller for those physically harmed or killed. This pattern of terrorist attacks suggests that the current level of provision of emergency medical services is sufficient to handle such incidents. Recent advances in local emergency medicine also have witnessed the establishment of various teaching and training modules, a pivotal role played by university hospitals and supported by the Ministry of Health. However, the spate of ongoing events of mass destruction such as the conflict in Israel/Palestine, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the World Trade Center and Pentagon tragedies of 11 September 2001, and the Bali bombing in Indonesia, remain as great concerns to Malaysians. Both the government and the people of Malaysia abhor such unjustified uses of terror, and take every measure to curtail them. The National Security Council policies of Arahan No. 18 and Arahan No. 20 detail specific roles and responsibilities of various agencies in managing terrorism and disasters respectively, while the use of the stern Internal Security Act that allows indefinite detention without trial, evidently has been an efficient intelligence and security apparatus. With more recent developments of terrorist events regionally and globally, Malaysia continues to face an ongoing threat from such activities. Various measures have been and will be actively undertaken both by government and non-governmental agencies in facing these challenges.

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense/organization & administration

Fulltext Safe doubling of ventilator capacity: a last resort proposal for last resorts

Chase JG, Chiew YS, Lambermont B, Morimont P, Shaw GM, Desaive T

Crit Care, 2020 05 14;24(1):222.

PMID: 32410701 DOI: 10.1186/s13054-020-02945-z

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense

Ebola: Emergency preparedness and perceived response of Malaysian health care providers

Rajiah K, Maharajan MK, Binti Samsudin SZ, Tan CL, Tan Yen Pei A, Wong San Ying A

Am J Infect Control, 2016 12 01;44(12):1720-1722.

PMID: 27499193 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajic.2016.05.019

We studied the emergency preparedness and perceived response for Ebola virus disease among various health care providers in Malaysia using a self-report questionnaire. Most of the health care providers felt that they were able to respond to Ebola virus disease and were aware of the level of preparedness needed during emergency.

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense/organization & administration*

Medical Consultations After Typhoon Haiyan in a Field Hospital in the Philippines

Gil Cuesta J, van Loenhout JAF, de Lara Banquesio ML, Mustaffa M, Guha-Sapir D

Disaster Med Public Health Prep, 2020 02;14(1):34-38.

PMID: 31679549 DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2019.99

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Typhoon Haiyan partially destroyed the Ormoc District Hospital in the Philippines. A field hospital was established to replace its outpatient department for 5 weeks. We investigated the reasons for medical consultation in the field hospital.

METHODS: We described the consultations by sex, age, week, and diagnosis according to the Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters system. We compared the number and proportion of upper respiratory tract infections (URTIs) with a control season in 2014.

RESULTS: We included 6785 consultations, 55.9% from women. The majority of consultations were communicable diseases (88.2%) followed by noncommunicable (7.1%) and injuries (5.6%). Males suffered more often from injuries than women (66.0% vs 34.0%). Consultations due to injuries decreased from 10.0% in the first to 2.9% in the last week. The most frequent diagnosis over the study period was acute respiratory infections (ARIs) (73.1%), of which 83.0% were children. The number of daily URTIs was higher than in a similar 2014 period.

CONCLUSIONS: ARI was the most prevalent diagnosis. We recommend ARI treatments being fully accessible after such a disaster. During the first week, injury prevention should focus on adult men. Studies after natural disasters should include control periods to better understand disease distribution, ultimately improving the prioritization in disasters.

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense/methods

Fulltext All together to Fight COVID-19

Momtazmanesh S, Ochs HD, Uddin LQ, Perc M, Routes JM, Vieira DN, et al.

Am J Trop Med Hyg, 2020 06;102(6):1181-1183.

PMID: 32323644 DOI: 10.4269/ajtmh.20-0281

Novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), named a pandemic by the WHO, is the current global health crisis. National and international collaboration are indispensable for combating COVID-19 and other similar potential outbreaks. International efforts to tackle this complex problem have led to remarkable scientific advances. Yet, as a global society, we can and must take additional measures to fight this pandemic. Undoubtedly, our approach toward COVID-19 was not perfect, and testing has not been deployed fast enough to arrest the epidemic early on. It is critical that we revise our approaches to be more prepared for pandemics as a united body by promoting global cooperation and commitment.

Matched MeSH terms: Civil Defense/organization & administration*

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