The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has produced a three-volume series entitled Managing Hazardous Material Incidents. The series is designed to help emergency response and health care professionals plan for and respond to h...azardous material emergencies.
- Volume I Emergency Medical Services: A Planning Guide for the Management of Contaminated Patients
- Volume II Hospital Emergency Departments: A Planning Guide for the Management of Contaminated Patients
- Volume III Medical Management Guidelines for Acute Chemical Exposures
Volumes I and II are planning guides to assist first responders and hospital emergency department personnel in planning for incidents that involve hazardous materials.
Volume III is a guide for health care professionals who treat persons who have been exposed to hazardous materials.
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What are the goals of this site?
1. Provide guidance for health care providers, primarily physicians, about clinical diagnosis and treatment of radiation injury during radiological and nuclear emergencies. 2. Provide just-in-time, evidence-based, u...sable information with sufficient background and context to make complex issues understandable to those without formal radiation medicine expertise. 3. Provide web-based information that is also downloadable in advance, so that it would be available during an emergency if the internet is not accessible.
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On January 14-16, 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) held a communications roundtable in Atlanta, Georgia, to explore hospitals' challenges in communicating with internal and external audiences in communitywide emergencies in...volving radioactive materials. The roundtable, Hospital Communications in a Mass Casualty Radiological Incident, is part of CDC's effort to help prepare the nation's public health community for threats of terrorism.
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The purpose of the WHO Manual for the Public Health Management of Chemical Incidents is to provide a comprehensive overview of the principles and roles of public health in the management of chemical incidents and emergencies. While this information ...is provided for each phase of the emergency cycle, including prevention, planning and preparedness, detection and alert, response and recovery, it is recognized that the management of chemical incidents and emergencies requires a multi-disciplinary and multi-sectoral approach and that the health sector may play an influencing, complementary or a leadership role at various stages of the management process. The target audience includes public health and environmental professionals, as well as any other person involved in the management of chemical incidents.
WHO and all those involved in the development of the publication hope that the publication will have wide application, especially in developing countries and countries with economies in transition, and that in the future the health sector will be better prepared to acknowledge and fulfill its roles and responsibilities in the management of chemical incidents and emergencies, thereby contributing to the prevention and mitigation of their health consequences.
The publication is also available in French: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/246117/9789242598148-fre.pdf?sequence=1 and in Spanish: http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/246118/9789243598147-spa.pdf?sequence=1
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"La finalidad del presente MANUAL DE LA OMS PARA LA GESTIÓN DE SALUD PÚBLICA DE LOS INCIDENTES QUÍMICOS es proporcionar una panorámica general de los principios y funciones de la salud pública en materia de gestión de incidentes y emergencias ...químicos. Aunque se brinda información para cada fase del ciclo de una emergencia (prevención, planifi cación y preparación, detección y alerta, y respuesta y recuperación), es bien sabido que la gestión de los incidentes y emergencias químicos requieren un enfoque multidisciplinario y multisectorial y que el sector de la salud pública puede ejercer un papel infl uyente, complementario o directivo en las diversas etapas del proceso de gestión. El público al que nos dirigimos se compone de salubristas y expertos en cuestiones ambientales, así como de cualquiera que tenga interés en la gestión de los incidentes químicos."
also available in english and french
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A chemical release may not always be immediately apparent given the fact that many agents are odourless and colourless, and some cause no immediately noticeable effects or symptoms. Be alert to the possible presence of a chemical.
Arabic version available: http://www.who.int/environmental_health_<...span class="attribute-to-highlight medbox">emergencies/deliberate_events/warning_signs_May2017_ar.pdf
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Handbook of HUMANITARIAN HEALTH CARE LOGISTICS Designing the Supply Network and Managing the Flows of Information and Health Care Goods in Humanitarian Assistance during Complex Political Emergencies
Background paper for the Oslo Summit on Education for Development.
This paper covers the four topics of the Oslo Summit: investment in education, quality of learning, education in emergencies and girls’ education. Disability continues to be one ...of the primary causes of educational disadvantage and exclusion,
creating the largest single group of girls and boys who remain out of school. Even in those countries
close to achieving universal primary enrolment, children with disabilities are still not in school,accessing opportunities to meaningful employment and on sustainable routes out of poverty
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Reflections and a call for action after a two-year exploration of emergency response in acute conflicts
There is general consensus that the humanitarian sector is failing to mount timely and adequate responses in the acute phase of conflict-rel...ated emergencies, according to the two-year Emergency Gap Project by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The Project has explored what works for or against effective emergency responses. Its final report, Bridging the emergency gap, draws on the Project’s thematic papers and case studies, and consultations with more than 150 senior-level representatives from 60 key organisations across the humanitarian sector.
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The purpose of this Emergency Response Framework (ERF) is to clarify WHO’s roles and responsibilities in this regard and to provide a common approach for its work in emergencies. Ultimately, the E...RF requires WHO to act with urgency and predictability to best serve and be accountable to populations affected by emergencies.
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A discussion paper on the scope of the problem, its drivers, and strategies for moving forward for policy, practice, and research
In many protracted emergencies, the prevalence rates of global acute malnutrition (GAM) regularly exceed the ...ss="attribute-to-highlight medbox">emergency threshold of > 15% of children with acute malnutrition (< -2 weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) or with nutritional edema), despite ongoing humanitarian interventions. The widespread scale and long-lasting nature of “persistent GAM” means that it is a policy and programming priority.
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National Child Traumatic Stress Network National Center for PTSD | The field of school safety and emergency management has evolved significantly over the past decade. Tragically, acts of violence, natural disasters, and terrorist attacks have taught... us many lessons. We also know that other types of emergencies can impact schools, including medical emergencies, transportation accidents, sports injuries, peer victimization, public health emergencies, and the sudden death of a member of the school community. We now recognize the need for school emergency management plans that are up-to-date and take an “all-hazards” approach with clear communication channels and procedures that effectively reunite parents and caregivers with students. We have also learned that preparing school administrators, teachers, and school partnering agencies before a critical event is crucial for effective response, the value of ongoing training and emergency exercises, and that having intervention models that address the public health, mental health, and psychosocial needs of students and staff is essential to a safe school environment and the resumption of learning.
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OpenWHO is WHO’s new, interactive, web-based platform that offers online courses to people preparing to work in epidemics, pandemics and health emergencies or already doing so.
The OpenWHO platform delivers WHO’s and partners’ expertise clo...ser to where it is needed and provides information in user-friendly formats for frontline responders and decision-makers. The platform is managed by WHO’s Department for Infectious Hazards Management, in Geneva, Switzerland.
Users take part in a worldwide, social learning network that is based on interactive, online courses and materials covering a variety of subjects. OpenWHO also serves as a forum for the fast sharing of public health expertise and in-depth discussion and feedback on key issues.
Accessed 6 March 2019.
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Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of contaminated water or food. This course provides a general introduction to cholera and is intended for personnel responding to outbreaks in complex emergencies or in settings where the ...basic environmental infrastructures have been damaged or destroyed. It includes materials that can be accessed in English, Arabic and Hausa.
Free Online Course. Learning objectives: By the end of this course, participants should be able to: describe the case definition and alerts for cholera; describe main transmission routes; list list the key preventive actions; and explain how cholera control is multisectoral.
Course duration: Approximately 1 hour.
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The purpose of this document is to provide agencies with a guide with three tools containing key assessment questions that are of common relevance to all actors involved in Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) independent of the phase of the emer...gency. This guide will be useful for rapid assessments of MHPSS issues in humanitarian emergencies across sectors. The guide is designed for use by various humanitarian actors (governmental and non-governmental; local, national and global). It is based on the IASC Guidelines on Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings (IASC, 2007).
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Antibiotic resistance is a natural occurrence caused by mutations in bacteria’s genes. However, inappropriate use of antibiotics accelerates the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. When exposed to antibiotics, susceptible bacter...ia are killed; while excessive antibiotic use or their use for the wrong reasons can cause bacteria to become resistant and continue to grow and multiply. These resistant bacteria may spread and cause infections in other people.
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The IASC Sub-Working Group on Preparedness is in charge of producing the quarterly IASC Early Warning Early Action Report, an inter-agency analysis of humanitarian risks worldwide presented to the IASC, Emergency Directors of IASC Agencies and circu...lated to UNCTs to foster preparedness for potential humanitarian emergencies.
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La capacidad de respuesta de un hospital puede ser superada por la llegada masiva de pacientes que soliciten atención médica como consecuencia de una situación de emergencia. Ante este escenario, se debe considerar si el establecimiento de salud ...está organizado para garantizar la gestión integral de la respuesta hospitalaria, el funcionamiento de los mecanismos de coordinación, el manejo integral de la información, las capacidades logísticas para facilitar la respuesta, y los recursos necesarios para su ejecución, así como para una respuesta integral a los pacientes, precautelando la salud y bienestar de los trabajadores de salud. (7)
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OpenWHO is an interactive, web-based, knowledge-transfer platform offering free online courses to improve the response to health emergencies. In summary, OpenWHO currently offers courses covering the following topics and languages to support the re...sponse to COVID-19:
A general introduction to emerging respiratory viruses, including novel coronaviruses (available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Hindi, Hungarian, Indian Sign Language, Indonesian, Macedonian, Persian, Portuguese, Serbian, Turkish and Vietnamese);
Clinical care SARI (available in English, French, Russian, Spanish, Indonesian, Portuguese and Vietnamese);
Health and safety briefing for respiratory diseases – ePROTECT (available in Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Indonesian and Portuguese);
IPC for COVID-19 (available in Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Macedonian, Portuguese, Serbian and Turkish);
COVID-19 operational planning guidelines and partners platform to support country preparedness and response (available in Chinese, English, French, Russian and Portuguese);
SARI treatment facility design (available in Arabic, English and Portuguese);
An introduction to Go.Data (available in English and in additional languages); and
How to put on and remove PPE for COVID-19 (available in English and in additional languages).
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OpenWHO is an interactive, web-based, knowledge-transfer platform offering free online courses to improve the response to health emergencies. COVID-19 resources are available in the official WHO languages and in additional national language...s .The OpenWHO team is continuing to work with WHO Country Offices, public health institutes and educational entities who haveoffered voluntary translation support to help localize the response efforts. Resources in the pipeline include courses in Hindi and Macedonian.
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