جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « natural disasters » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

The occurrence of crimes after crises are numerous and diverse, and their prevention and management is essential. One of the most important of these crimes is theft, which can be committed both by those affected by the crisis and by opportunists. The aim of this research is to study the social prevention of theft in disasters and provide appropriate solutions in Kermanshah province in 2023.

In this descriptive-analytical and applied survey, data was collected with a researcher-made questionnaire. The statistical population included 30 experts in the field of law, sociology, psychology and crisis management of Kermanshah province, who were selected by purposeful sampling. Data were analyzed with SPSS-24 software.

According to the findings, using the social prevention approaches will have a significant impact on reducing and preventing the crime of theft during disasters, including: creating jobs, building recreational places, improving people's living conditions, providing the minimum necessities of life, improving the condition of alleys and streets in terms of environmental design and removing them from the state of being susceptible to committing the crime of theft, taking advantage of the capacity of social institutions such as mosques and schools in strengthening people's religious beliefs, raising children and properly supervising them in choosing peer groups, determining the role of institutions and also organizations related to crisis management.

The results obtained from the analysis of statistical data in the studied sample show that economic and livelihood poverty, environmental chaos and disorder, high unemployment rate, high benefit and low risk of committing crime in the accident-affected areas and lack of security and weakness in establishing order and security. It has an effect of more than 50% on the occurrence of theft and its escalation during disasters.

Preparing hospitals for disasters and accidents is one of the fundamental elements of governmental planning to manage, control, or minimize consequences. This study aims to examine the level of preparedness and awareness of public hospital managers in the western region of Gilan Province in the face of natural disasters.

This applied cross-sectional study was conducted in 2022. The research population consisted of all public hospitals affiliated with Gilan University of Medical Sciences (a total of 8 hospitals and 56 managers). Data were collected using the standard checklist of the hospital preparedness in the face of natural disasters, and a questionnaire to assess managers’ awareness. Data were analyzed with the SPSS version 22 and Spearman's statistical tests were used to analyze the association between managers' awareness and hospital preparedness.

The score mean of managers’ awareness and preparedness of hospitals to deal with disasters were 44.23 (6.69) and 61.73 (12.96), respectively. Among the various managerial groups, nursing managers demonstrated the highest level of awareness (51.62), whereas medical records managers showed the lowest level (37.50). The area focusing on managing unforeseen events had the highest mean score of preparedness 73.11 (18.03), and the area of planning to reduce construction risks had the lowest mean score of preparedness (44.64). Spearman's correlation test revealed a direct and statistically significant relationship between managers' awareness and hospital preparedness in West Gilan (r = 0.586) (p < 0.001).

The level of preparedness and awareness of government managers in the West Gilan hospitals, concerning natural disasters, was at an average level. Enhancing hospital preparedness in the face of natural disasters could be achieved through the standardization of hospital infrastructure, training of all unit officials, and the promotion of equipment safety.

Infectious outbreaks due to disrupted social and environmental conditions after climate change-induced events complicate disasters. This research aimed to determine the contentions of bioclimatic variables and extreme events on the prevalence of the most common Climate-Sensitive Infectious Disease (CSID); Malaria in Iran.

The present narrative systematic review study was conducted on the bioclimatic variable impact on the prevalence of malaria, as a common CSID. The search was conducted in 3 sections: global climate change-related studies, disaster related, and studies that were conducted in Iran. The literature search was focused on papers published in English and Persian from Mar 2000 to Dec 2021, using electronic databases; Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar, SID, Magiran, and IranDoc.

Overall, 41 studies met the inclusion criteria. The various types of climatic variables including; Temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, and hydrological events including; flood, drought, and cyclones has been reported as a predictor of malaria. The results of studies, inappropriately and often were inconsistent in both Iran and other parts of the world.

Identifying malaria outbreak risks is essential to assess vulnerability, and a starting point to identify where the health system is required to reduce the vulnerability and exposure of the population. The finding of most related studies is not congruent to achieve reliable information, more extensive studies in all climates and regions of the country, by climatic models and high accuracy risk map, using the long period of bioclimatic variables and malaria trend is recommended.

When natural disasters occur, people with diabetes face more physical and mental challenges than healthy individuals. Therefore, innovative programs and policies are crucial for providing ongoing education to patients on how to better manage their condition.

The present study aimed to identify the components of empowerment literacy for diabetic patients during disasters.

The present research employed a qualitative content analysis approach using a conventional deductive method. Purposive sampling was conducted, and data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The panel consisted of 24 participants, including native Iranian endocrinologists, nurses, emergency medical center managers, and experts in the field of medical librarianship and information. These participants had direct experience in relief efforts during critical situations such as natural disasters. The interviews were recorded and transcribed into written format. Data analysis was performed using thematic analysis with the assistance of MaxQDA software.

The content analysis resulted in identification of 10 main categories, 61 sub-categories, and five themes, including Disaster risk perception literacy, Medication literacy, Resilience literacy, Nutrition literacy, and Self-help literacy.

The obtained findings have informed the creation of targeted health literacy education materials for policymakers in disaster scenarios specifically designed for individuals with diabetes. Diabetic individuals, particularly those residing in disaster-prone areas, should possess knowledge of emergency and disaster policies to enhance their health literacy. They should actively manage their condition while keeping abreast of policymakers' guidelines.

Knowledge about the spiritual rehabilitation of affected people after disasters is scare. The objective of the present study is to identify the factors affecting the spiritual rehabilitation of affected people after natural disasters employing a systematic review study.

The protocol of this review has been registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Review (PROSPERO) with the code CRD42021228552. Using MEDLIN (PubMed), Web of Science, Google Scholar, Embase, ProQuest, Scopus and ISC database as well as studies related to the research topic till the end of 2022. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was used to find articles related to the research objective. Thematic content analysis then was used for concepts extraction.

This systematic review identifies factors affecting the spiritual rehabilitation of affected people after natural disasters.

Both systematic review as well as qualitative study are essential in order to explore spiritual rehabilitation of affected people after natural disasters, while the current study was employed systematic review. It is expected that planners and policy-makers can use the extracted factors for improving the spiritual rehabilitation of people affected by natural disasters.

Considering the significant contribution of public education to the reduction of damages incurred by disasters and crises in the country, the identification of all the components and dimensions of public education can be of great help to policymakers in this field in order to adopt a correct policy and decision. The current research aimed to investigate public education in natural disasters with the meta-synthesis method based on the seven-step model of Sandelowski and Barroso (2007).

The current qualitative research was conducted based on a meta-synthesis approach. The statistical population of the research included articles related to the research keywords from 2000 until now. A number of 175 articles were retrieved, and after examining the title of the research, 105 articles were removed, and 70 papers were reviewed, out of which 36 papers were removed, and 34 articles entered the final stage for full analysis. Articles were searched in databases, such as Scopus, Emerald, Science Direct, Springer, Google Scholar, and Scientific Information Database (SID).

The selected sources were analyzed using Maxqda software, and the research findings were coded. In the open coding stage, 100 primary codes were extracted from 34 articles, and after extracting the primary codes, to categorize the concepts, axial coding was used, yielding 5 dimensions, 12 components, and their sub-components.

As evidenced by the obtained results, to reduce vulnerability, the responsible institutions can adopt appropriate measures that lead to learning and changes in the audience's behavior by using the presented model and considering the determined components and indicators in the process of public education. This model includes the stages of analysis, educational design, preparation and development, implementation, and evaluation.

Maintaining the performance of healthcare centers during an earthquake is essential. Evaluating the seismic vulnerability of these centers is a priority. This study aims to evaluate seismic vulnerability using geographic information systems (GIS) in urban and rural health service centers of Hamadan Province, Iran, in 2021.

This is a descriptive, analytical cross-sectional study that was conducted in comprehensive health centers. The data of this study were collected in the form of a questionnaire and a map and analyzed using the hierarchical analysis model. In the study, 10 criteria, such as the type of materials, the age of the building, the quality of the building, the number of floors, the area of ​​the centers, as well as the distance from the existing fault lines, and the proximity to the hazardous centers, are defined using a valuation questionnaire, using the chain analysis method, weighting and prioritizing, and using GIS, vulnerability maps of comprehensive urban and rural health centers of Hamadan province were obtained.

Among the indices, the distance from the fault index with a weight of 0.328 has the highest and the area distance with a weight of 0.17 has the lowest final weight. The vulnerability distribution of the centers included 46.99% very low vulnerability, 7.23% low vulnerability, 5.42% moderate vulnerability, 20.48% high vulnerability, and 19.88% very high vulnerability.

Considering that many urban and rural health service centers are vulnerable to seismic hazards, it is necessary to strengthen vulnerable centers against earthquakes.

Drought is a slow-onset natural disasters and a gradual concern. Throughout the centuries, Iranians have applied various methods to preserve water resources and adjust themselves to the drought. This study was conducted with the aim of preserving water resources by households during a drought with the approach of indigenous knowledge.

The study was carried out from April 2017 to June 2018. A qualitative content analysis method was used to obtain insight into personal experiences. A purposive sampling method was used to select 15 participants. The research population consisted of native villagers who lived in rural areas near the three main plains of Yazd province (Yazd-Ardakan plain, Abarkouh plain, and Herat Va Marvast plain). Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.

The components related to indigenous knowledge were placed in 4 categories and 15 sub-categories. The main categories were personal hygiene, conservation of scarce resources, prediction of drought, and classification of water in terms of quality and its supply sources.

Indigenous knowledge reflects several generations of experience. This knowledge is a valuable resource about how local communities interact with their ever-changing environments. We must pay attention to personal health behaviors and how our ancestors used and preserved scarce resources. It is necessary to identify and correct these behaviors and support them through proper management and financial resources at the community level. To preserve water resources in droughts, it is essential to use appropriate management and policy-making and motivational methods, and educate families.

Dear Editor-in-Chief On January 28, the city of Khoy (the northwest of Iran) was struck by a strong earthquake with a magnitude of 5.9 on the Richter scale at 21:44:44 and a depth of 7 km, X: 45.01 and Y: 38.05 (1). This earthquake occurred 117 kilometers from Urmia, the capital of the West Azerbaijan Province. Over 370,000 people were affected by this earthquake, which resulted in three deaths and more than 1,750 injuries. More than 70 villages in the area and the cities of Khoy and Firouraq were damaged to varying degrees (2). A few days before the earthquake, a rumor circulated on the internet that there would be a strong earthquake on Saturday January 29th, followed by a magnitude 9 earthquake on February 16th. After the earthquake, many of affected people left their homes in the early hours and went to the cities of Salmas, Urmia, and Tabriz. In the quake-hit area, people took shelter in makeshift camps or tents near the destroyed homes. Humanitarian aid arrived from all over the country and neighboring provinces to the affected area. Government organizations, military, religious bodies, associations, unions, and non-governmental organizations provided the basic needs and equipment needed by the people of the earthquake-affected area. However, the distribution of food and equipment among people affected by the earthquake was inappropriate. For instance, some donors were providing aid directly, essential drugs were not adequately supplied. Despite the large amount of aid sent, a distribution aid was concentrated in some areas and neglected in other areas, and some people did not yet manage to receive essential items such as food, blankets, tent heating equipment (3). In Urmia, adequate services were provided in the camps established in the mosques. Health teams had a daily presence in the mosques, providing free medical and health services. The mosques were run by the Basij (volunteer mobilization force), or Mosque Council, with most help coming from donors and official and unofficial communications from the council. One notable thing was that earthquake victims tended to receive more than actually need medical and pharmaceutical services, as well as other services. Some people were unwilling to leave their homes and settled in the makeshift camps for reasons such as fear of possible theft of their property from damaged houses. Due to rumors of a stronger earthquake on February 16th, those shelter in nearby cities did not want to return to the disaster area. Iran is located on the earthquake fault line (4), and several faults in the northwest of the country activated in the past and caused devastating earthquakes such as the earthquakes with a magnitude of 5.4 on the Richter scale that occurred in the cities of Khoy and Salmas in 1900 and 1930 (5,6). Therefore, the occurrence of similar or stronger earthquakes in this area can be expected in the region in future (6,7). In general, observations show that the scale of destruction and damage does not exceed national and even provincial capabilities. However, one thing that is evident, despite the formation of numerous crisis preparedness committees before the earthquake, the lack of complete coordination in the calculation, as well as supply and distribution of the real basic needs among stakeholders in the crisis management scene is one of the main challenges. Considering the occurrence of similar problems during similar natural disasters in the northwest region, it is suggested that policy makers focus more on the community context in disaster management. A model that can align the participation of government organizations, unions, and social groups can lead to more coordination in the proper distribution of aid and meeting the needs of the victims in the early days.

Providing early health care services in natural disaster is one of the essential applications of telemedicine. This narrative review aims to investigate the applications, advantages and challenges of telemedicine in natural disaster-stricken areas. Medline (through PubMed), Web of Science (WOS), and Scopus databases were searched for related articles published from beginning to 2022. The keywords used for the search included "telemedicine" and "natural disaster." After removing duplicate papers, irrelevant review articles and letters to editors, 44 relevant papers were selected and reviewed. Information sharing through audio, visual, and data-oriented services is among critical approaches that telemedicine services mainly use. Teleconsultation, tele-education, remote interpretation, tele-psychiatry, and tele-surgery are among measures that can be implemented in emergencies like earthquakes, fires, floods, storms, and drought. The fundamental requirements of a telemedicine-oriented system for providing emergency services in natural disasters include wireless scales, conversation tools, blood pressure monitor, respiratory rate monitor, spo2 sensor, glucometer, portable ultrasound unit, wearable thermometers, virtual stethoscopes, portable three leads electrocardiograph monitor, and digital otoscopes. Simple telemedicine systems can have many advantages in the natural disasters. However, the main challenge in this regard is to adapt the necessary communication systems to a telemedicine paradigm. Another critical challenge is to interpret and apply the summary of acquired information and the inevitable interaction outcomes at the required time and place.

 The probability of sexual violence in areas affected by natural disasters may increase. An increase in the rate of unwanted pregnancies and subsequent intentional abortions, physical and mental injuries, and death can be the consequences of sexual violence. One of the characteristics of natural disasters is their unpredictability and ambiguity. Since decisions must be made quickly during the response, there must be adequate planning in advance, and preparedness in the community will reduce surprises in the responding organizations. This study aimed to identify the factors affecting the preparedness against sexual violence in natural disasters.

 In this study, an electronic search was performed in the MEDLINE (PubMed), Scopus, Web of Science, and ProQuest databases. Other search resources, such as Science.gov, Scienceopen.cond Meta-search engines, organizational websites, including UNICEF, UNFPA, and IFRC, as well as key journals and the International Disaster and Risk Conference were hand-searched from 1/1/1990 to 8/29/2021. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) checklist was used to select the studies, and the findings were finally analyzed by thematic analysis method using MAXQDA10 software.

 A total of 40 papers out of a total of 2978 studies were considered in this analysis. Macropolicies, empowerment, contextualization, management and organization, command community-based, and responsive planning were the five primary categories that were found.

Preparedness measures are highly important to respond promptly and effectively to sexual violence and should be integrated into disaster preparedness programs. The findings of this study can be used by disaster response managers and policymakers in developing and improving preparedness programs.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between natural disasters and income inequality in Indonesia, a developing country with a high risk of natural hazards and high population densities in disaster-prone regions. This paper used cross-province panel data during the period between 2010 and 2016. Natural disasters data were obtained from Indonesia National Agency for Disaster Management (BNPB), while Gini index data as an indicator of income inequality were obtained from Indonesia Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS). To estimate the impact of natural disasters on income inequality, this paper used a fixed effect regression model. It was found that the lagged variable of natural disasters positively affected the Gini index. The coefficient of this variable was 0.0093 at a significance level of 5%. It indicated that natural disasters worsen income inequality. This study also showed that natural disasters that negatively affected the Gini index were hydrological disasters in year t (between  -0.0179 and -0.0199 at a significance level of 0.1%).  Meanwhile, meteorological disasters tended to increase income inequality in the subsequent years. The coefficients were 0.0282 and 0.0187, and were statistically significant at least 5%. In addition, meteorological disasters consistently affected income distribution in all Western Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, and Bali) and other islands. The coefficients were 0.0205 and 0.0510 at a significance level of 5% indicating that meteorological disasters tended to increase inequality in income distribution.But these climatological disasters had a negative impact on income distribution in other islands in years t and t-1 (-0.0192 and -0.0680 at the significance level of 1% and 5%, respectively).  The findings of this study imply that designing policies to deal with inequality at the regional level should also concern the different influences of various natural disasters on income inequality.

Drowning and near-drowning are the consequences of recreational activities and natural disasters. The purpose of this study was to review the microbiology literature on drowning and near-drowning and to understand its applications in the diagnosis and treatment of these injuries and diseases.

This study is the result of a short review on publications extracted by searching in scientific database s including Google Scholar, PubMed and Semantic Scholar in the period from 1961 to 2021, usingthe keywords "Microbiology" and "Drowning" or "Near-Drowning".

A search in scientific databases revealed 184 articles related to "drowning" and "microbiology" and 84 articles related to "near-drowning" and "microbiology", of which 65 and 28 articles have been published in the last twenty years, respectively. Of these, 43 articles were used for this study. Regarding the microbiology of drowning and near-drowning, no study was conducted in the Islamic Republic of Iran in this field. The findings of the present study showed that:•Near-drowning in its victims causes physical and mental injuries, and invasive polymicrobial and fungal pneumonia, brain abscesses, and sepsis.•They are mainly associated with numerous bacterial agents e.g. Aeromonas spp., Nocardia spp., Vibrio spp., Photobacteriumspp., Burkholderiapseudomallei, Pseudomonas spp.,Plesiomonas shigelloides, and Shewanella spp. and Fungal and Protozoan pathogens are limited to Aspergillus spp., Scedosporium apiospermum,and Rhizopus spp., and Cryptosporidium parvum (rare), respectively.•If bacterial, fungal, and protozoa infections are not properly diagnosed and treated in drowning victims, they can lead to death in intensive care units and even long after discharge from the hospital.•Deaths from drowningand near-drowning are candidates for organ transplants, especially lung, bone, liver, and heart.•Clinical, environmental, forensic, and eco-microbio-epidemilogy studies in pre-and post-mortem drowning victims are being developed using cultured-basedand molecular methods such as PCR, LAMP, NGS, and Metagenomics, etc. to determine the drowning microbiome pattern.

Several cases of infections and diseases caused by drowning and near-drowning have been reported among the victims of recreational activities and natural disasters in different countries. Therefore,eco-microbio-epidemiological study of drownings in our country, where there isan average of 1,200 annual drownings on the north and south coasts and inland waters is essential. Even predicting tsunami and destructive storms on the shores of the Caspian Sea and the Oman Sea are very important indetermining the microbiome pattern of natural aquatic areas and the role of microbes in diseases and complications caused by drowning. Finally, a national protocol should be developed for microbial monitoring of drowning victims from the scene of water accidents to the hospital bed and on the autopsy table.

The major events occurring in recent decades have demonstrated that human societies are constantly affected by disasters which have always posed a threat to people's lives and properties. The present study aimed to introduce and expand the concept and capacities of "the survival vehicle" in Iran. This descriptive case study was conducted based on an applied research design.

This descriptive case study was conducted based on an applied research design. The library research method was used to develop theoretical backgrounds, and to collect information, the field method was employed with observation and researcher's information.

Considering that rescue forces have to be present at the scene of the disaster for consecutive days and weeks, they are directly exposed to threats, injuries, shortages, and problems as affected people are. Therefore, rescue experts and the Rapid Reaction Team of the Red Crescent Society of Kurdistan Province embarked on designing and using a vehicle called "Survival vehicle" taking into account the priorities in the affected area. This vehicle maintains the strength and motivation of relief forces by meeting their basic needs. Moreover, it increases the productivity of the relief forces and facilitates disaster management by strengthening the resilience of relief workers.

As evidenced by the results of the present study, the use of the survival vehicle brings about numerous positive advantages for the members of the Red Crescent rapid response team, as well as relief and operational teams, at the time of crises.