Journal of Disaster and Emergency Research
Volume:2 Issue: 1, Mar 2019

Hospitals have a very important role in responding to disasters. Since nurses are one of the largest group of the health team and play multi-roles in patient treatment, improvement of their knowledge and skills helps them to act better in disasters.The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of a disaster management training program on the level of knowledge, attitude, and practice of nursing staffs. The present interventional study was conducted in Shahid Rahnemoon Hospital, Yazd, Iran in 2018. At first, 40 nurses were randomly selected and their level of knowledge, attitude, and practice was measured using the questionnaire of nurses’ preparedness in disasters. The questionnaire consisted of 72 items; The total attainable score was 132 in the questionnaire. Then, the disaster preparedness training program was implemented. The program was conducted in the form of a one-day workshop for eight hours. One month after the education program, the nurses' level of readiness, including their knowledge, attitude, and practice was re-evaluated using the same questionnaire. Data analysis was conducted by paired samples t-test using SPSS 22. The results of the study showed that the mean score of nurses' knowledge increased from 14.23 to 21.30, the mean scores of their attitude increased from 62.20 to 71.67, and their performance mean score increased from 7.28 to 11.88. These differences were statistically significant (p <0.001). Furthermore, the total mean score of nurses’ readiness increased from 82.28 to 104.53, which was statistically significant (p <0.001). According to the results of the study, the educational program increased the nurses' preparedness containing their knowledge, attitude, and practice in responding to disasters. Consequently, continuous education courses on crisis and disaster management are necessary. The nurses are also recommended to participate in these courses to increase their readiness.

Buried pipelines used to distribute water, gas, oil, and etc. are considered as one of the vital arteries. The experiences of the past wars have confirmed that the invading country focuses on bombing and destroying vital centers, and that gas pipelines can be a source of serious personal and financial losses as an important transmission arteries during war in the event of damage The vulnerability of buried urban gas pipelines to explosion was determined and the methods for reducing the vulnerability of pipelines were investigated. To this end, the three-dimensional model of the soil-pipe system in ABAQUS software was used to study the effect of factors affecting the pipe behavior, including pipe diameters, diameter to pipe thickness, internal friction angle of soil, soil type, amount of explosives, depth of buried, the distance of explosion site to the pipe burial site, has been investigated on the pipe deformation capacity according to the ALA regulation. The soil was modeled using Solid three elements and shell element. For parametric studies, analyses were performed by the finite element method using ABAQUS software 6.10.1. Studies were conducted for 4 and 12 inch diameter, diameter/thickness ratio of 26, 21 and 35, burial depth of 1, 2, 3 and 4 meters, the explosive charge of 15, 30, 45, 60 and 200 kg TNT and for soil material, hard, soft and clay sands. The results showed that proper burial depth had the most effect in reducing the vulnerability of pipelines against explosive threats. By increasing the pipe thickness and increasing the diameter and applying soft soil around the pipe, a better behavior of the pipe was observed during the explosion To reduce the vulnerability of gas pipelines against explosive threats, the use of buried pipelines has a greater effect on reducing damage due to explosion compared to other parameters, and it is recommended to use this method to increase the resilience of highly important gas pipelines.

Natural disasters are usually a series of unpredictable incidents, which do not originate from humans. With regard to the occurrence of unexpected factors such as earthquakes, floods, and fires, individual and social preparations must be increased in the crisis management. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate the preparation of operational teams to provide an effective response to earthquakes. The statistical population included the experts of environmental health and disaster risk reduction management in the healthcare centers of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The participants were categorized into 20 operational teams. The necessary equipment of the participating teams was evaluated by checklists. The results showed that 76.2 percent of the teams had the required equipment to control the drinking water and dispose the wastewater. Furthermore, 58 percent had the required equipment for disasters' conditions and 78.1 percent had the equipment to spray and disinfect in the emergency situations. In addition, about 90 percent of the vehicles used in training were appropriate for emergencies, 95 percent of teams observed the standards to setup tents, deployed the equipment, and had the needed proficiency skills. Moreover, 81.3 percent of the operational team authorities had sufficient skills to work with technical equipment. The presence of teams in the response phase in the East Azerbaijan earthquake in 2011 and the acquisition of field experiences led to their technical coherence, made them familiar with facilities, and equipped the operational teams. We suggest the authorities to conduct executive training according to the designed twice a year based on the response plan of the deputy of health department two times a year.

Accidents are one of the most important causes of injury and death across the world, including Iran. The epidemiological data play a key role in taking effective strategic decisions for their prevention and control. This study was conducted to determine the Frequency of different types of accidents in children aged under 5 years living in Yazd province, Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, data on 2489 children under 5 years referred to hospitals in Yazd province were collected from March, 2015 to March, 2016, using the accidents registration forms and the related software. Chi-square test was incorporated to analyze the results using SPSS version 19.

The frequency of accidents in boys was 1460 (58.7%) and in girls 1029 (41.3%). Accidents occurred most frequently in April-May (n: 245, 9.8%) and the winter (n: 693, 27.8%). 93.3% of accidents occurred in the urban areas, 4.4% in the rural areas and 2.3% in outside the city and the villages. The total  number of accidents at home was 1743 (70%) and in the alleys and on the streets 495 (19%), the most frequent accident was falling (n: 743, 29.9%), followed by burns (n: 543, 21.8%) and  trauma (n: 495, 19.9%). The difference in the type of accident between different age groups was significant (P< 0.001).

The comparatively higher frequency of falling, burn, trauma, as well as the accidents at home and in the winter indicate parents’ insufficient attention to home safety standards and their lack of adequate information about protection of children under5 years against the most common accidents of this age group. Planning for and intervention in these areas might help in reducing the accidents.

Recent experiences with disasters have shown that warnings must be taken seriously and people in different groups should have necessary preparations to deal with the hazards in Iran as a natural disaster waiting country. The readiness of the relief agencies as one of the first responding organizations involved in crises as well as the readiness of their families as an effective parameter in the response of the relief agencies should be addressed. The purpose of this study was to determine the state of readiness for hazards among the staff of the Red Crescent Society of Khorasan Razavi, Iran. This cross-sectional, descriptive study was conducted in 2018. The study population consisted of all personnel of the Red Crescent Society of Khorasan Razavi province (n: 146). Sampling was done by census. The level of preparedness was assessed and evaluated by the indicators determined by the Ministry of Health and Medical Education for assessment of the level of household readiness (HDPI) using descriptive statistics. The results showed that the lowest readiness index (2.75) was observed among the staff of the Relief and Rescue Deputy. The most qualified staff of the society were in the Education Deputy who attained the highest score (5.25). Although relief the staff are expected to be present at crises immediately and conveniently, the low score in this index, that is, the lack of readiness of staff’s families, might be very effective on staff performance and could even reduce their attending the department at crisis. Therefore, special attention should be paid to promoting their readiness