141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

292707
Emergency preparedness: A challenge for rapidly urbanizing regions of the world

Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 11:30 AM - 11:50 AM

Susan M. Smith, EdD, MSPH , Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana School of Public Health Bloomington, Bloomington, IN
The proposed presentation will focus on the best practices and strategies needed for rapidly urbanizing regions of the world to prepare for an effective and safer response to a terrorist attack, a natural or man-made disaster. Major areas that must be address to allow an urbanizing region to maintain a safe emergency preparedness plan will be presented. The five major factors determined through case study analysis to be effective in supporting a safer and more effective response when multiple units or organizations are responding will be discussed by the researcher. Factors to improve response including: familiarity and trust, effective communication, boundaries and resilience, collaborative training, drills/exercises, and the stress factor will be described. Documented examples of poor collaboration and the lack of preparedness by responders will also be outlined. Best practices for facility emergency preparedness will also be presented. These practices will focus on measures needed to safely and effectively evacuate and or safely shelter in place within response facilities. Specific examples of challenges urbanizing regions in emergency preparedness will be provided from at risk areas of India, the United Arab Emirates and China as well as other regions experiencing rapid growth. A 10-point Emergency Preparedness Check List designed by the presenter to meet the needs of facilities located in urban regions typically housing response agencies to assess preparedness levels will also be presented and a copy provided to session participants to assist future efforts to assess the emergency preparedness of their facility.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Administration, management, leadership
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Other professions or practice related to public health
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health administration or related administration

Learning Objectives:
Describe five characteristics of organizational disaster planning recommended as essential for responding agencies to safely and successfully response to a disaster in rapidly urbanizing regions, Define at least five actions that should be taken to support the ability of agencies to effectively evacuate or safely shelter in place in response to an emergency or disaster involving all or part of their urban region. Discuss three examples of best practices that could be used in urbanizing regions of India, United Arab Emirates or China to improve emergency preparedness and reduce the disaster risks currently facing these rapidly urbanizing regions. Outline and discuss at least 7 of the 10 primary assessment areas included in the 10 Point Emergency Preparedness Checklist and describe how the checklist can be used to as an assessment tool by an agency.

Keywords: Urban Health, Disasters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Susan Smith is an Associate Professor of Safety and Health Education and the Director of the Heartland Safety & Health Education Center at Indiana School of Public Health Bloomington, Indiana. She has 20 years of experience teaching and conducting research related to injury prevention, emergency management and safety. Her research includes: building planning tools and strategies to reduce injuries in high risk regions of the middle east, India and China from a disaster.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.