Health in Emergencies and Disasters Quarterly
Year:2021 | Volume:6 | Issue:3|Papers Count:8

the first case of COVID-19 was reported in December 2019 in Wuhan, China. Until December 1, 2020, the number of confirmed cases and related deaths are 61. 8 million and 1. 4 million, respectively [1, 2]. After the incubation period, between 2 to 14 days, common symptoms such as fever, cough, respiratory problems, and fatigue are seen in the infected person [3-5]. In addition to human health, the pandemic threatens countries’ economies and has adverse effects on the global economy [6, 7], and the production sector, as the mainstay of the economy, is not an exception. Activating the production industries (chemical manufacturing, medical devices manufacturing, food processing, metal manufacturing, plastics industry, and pharmaceutical manufacturing) as the main branch of the economy and meeting the needs of the people and society can significantly reduce the adverse effects of this pandemic...

Background: Supply chain includes all related parts that directly or indirectly meet the customers’ demands. During disasters, the supply chain disrupts. It seems that paying attention to innovation and entrepreneurship can solve some of these disruptions. This study was conducted to extract the factors affecting the technology-oriented entrepreneurial rescue supply chain in the Red Crescent Society from experts and specialists in Iran. Materials and Methods: This qualitative content analysis was conducted in 2020. Using the content analysis method, the considered criteria were collected through open-ended questions and interviews. To determine the desired indicators, 30 people were interviewed in-depth in a purposeful manner using snowball sampling. The thematic analysis method was also used to analyze the interviews. Results: A total of 30 experts with a mean age of 46 years were interviewed, of whom 21 cases were male. Also, 16 cases had a PhD degree, and 14 had a Master’ s degree. After analyzing and extracting the criteria from the interviews, 123 codes were obtained. Finally, the codes were divided into two classes: supply chain management and technology indicators. The supply chain management class included subclasses of customer integration, supplier integration, internal integration, and innovative orientation. The technology indicators class included subclasses of individual characteristics, attitudinal factors, educational factors, technical factors, economic factors, environmental factors, and human and managerial factors. Conclusion: Supply chains are essential for entrepreneurship because of the involvement of different parts of the Red Crescent Organization of Iran in joint activities. Because of the expansion of entrepreneurship issues in the supply chain, presenting a technology-oriented comprehensive model of the entrepreneurial supply chain in the Red Crescent Organization is of great importance. In today’ s competitive environment, supply chain management is a strategic and robust basis for the Red Crescent Organization to achieve success and competitive advantage.

Background: The knowledge of Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) plays a crucial role in the outcomes of traumatic patients. This study aimed to assess the knowledge of EMTs about the prehospital care intensity index of spinal cord trauma in Ilam Province, Iran. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 98 EMTs chosen by the census sampling method. The study data were collected using a researcher-made questionnaire on the prehospital care intensity index of spinal cord trauma and were analyzed with SPSS 16. Results: The knowledge of the prehospital care intensity index of spinal cord trauma was at the advanced level in 87. 7% of EMTs and the intermediate level in 15. 3% of EMTs. There was a significant relationship between the technician’ s knowledge score and variables such as age, work record, overtime hours, and the number of missions (P˂ 0. 05). Conclusion: EMTs needed more specialized information on spinal trauma. It was recommended to hold in-service training programs more precisely and consider the training of necessary skills that most EMTs require.

Background: Sharing experiences and learning from health measures taken during the outbreak of epidemics is a critical issue that affects the right and timely decisions in health crises. In the present study, an attempt has been made to review the health policies adopted against COVID-19 and extract critical points for resolving the epidemic crisis. Materials and Methods: This article was a comparative study. The study population comprised Canada, Japan, Germany, Korea, Turkey, and Iran. Ten effective indicators in the management of epidemics were extracted by reviewing the literature and interviewing disaster management experts, and the degree of conformity of the research community with them was examined. The study data were collected from articles published in scientific databases (Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus search engines) or information from COVID-19 disease management organizations from official sites. The obtained data were processed and analyzed by matrix content analysis. Results: The results showed the importance of 10 effective indicators in the management of epidemics during the outbreak of COVID-19 studied and noticed by the health system of most countries. And the government, local and private organizations have participated in the implementation of the studied indicators according to the conditions of each country’ s health system. Therefore, the success rate of countries in managing COVID-19 disease varies according to the time, type, and manner of implementation and monitoring of measures. Conclusion: Speed of action in adopting health policies and integration in its implementation, construction of convalescence, adequate training and access to personal protective equipment, prevention of nosocomial contamination, and voluntary assistance are essential issues in the fight against epidemics. These measures should be considered and used as teachings in managing health crises, especially emerging diseases and pandemics.

Background: The role and function of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) in people’ s health and the need for continuous evaluation of its function, especially delivering services to the patients, are essential. So, the present study was conducted to determine the time indices of prehospital emergency services in Ardabil City, Iran. Materials and Methods: This study was a retrospective cross-sectional study. Out of all calls recorded in EMS centers of Ardabil in the first 6 months of 2020, 327 calls, which resulted in the patient’ s transfer to a hospital, were randomly selected. Then, the required data, including time indices and demographic information, were extracted from EMS forms filled by a medical emergency technician for each mission. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including mean, standard deviation, and inferential statistics, including 1-way analysis of variance and the Chi-square test in SPSS v. 22. Results: In terms of time indices, the average delay time (1. 01 minutes), the response time (7. 87 minutes), on-scene time (13. 81 minutes), transport time (12. 53 minutes), the total run time (transport time, response time, and on-scene time) (35. 15 minutes), and the round trip time (52. 50) had been recorded. According to the Chi-square test, there was a significant relationship between the total run time (transport time, response time, and on-scene time), transport time, round trip time, and the location of the emergency base. Conclusion: EMS time indices were at the desired level. Updating information systems, ambulances, medical equipment, and holding training courses for personnel working in this system can effectively improve time indicators.

Background: Nowadays, industrialization, using cars and consequently traffic jams are part of human life which grows every day. Along with the expansion of communication and transportation speed, the number and severity of traffic accidents increases. According to the World Health Organization, traffic accidents are now recognized as the ninth cause of death worldwide. In Iran, traffic accidents after cardiovascular diseases are the second leading cause of death. Materials and Methods: This qualitative study was designed and implemented to determine driver’ s views and opinions in two cities of Warsaw, Poland, and Tabriz, Iran, about driver’ s high-risk behaviors. This study was conducted using in-depth interviews with 27 drivers. The study results were divided into four main questions about driving behaviors, reasons for driving abnormal behaviors, the prevalence and causes of abnormal behaviors, and suggested measures to correct these behaviors. Results: The study results were divided into six main themes of driving norms, individual factors, social factors, external factors, driving skills, and driving laws. Our findings indicate that drivers are more likely to rely on individual skills in driving in unacceptable conditions. In other words, they ignore the rules and regulations. But, when driving in high standards conditions and good facilities, drivers accept the rules and prioritize them. Conclusion: Internal control should be considered a helpful complement to external control, and that external control provides the highest efficiency when it comes with internal control. To internalize norms and observe driving laws and regulations, the authors suggest removing obstacles such as distrust among drivers regarding the effectiveness of driving laws, unawareness of breaking the laws, lack of job satisfaction, low level of participation, and structural barriers. Also, roads and vehicle safety must be improved along with a better track of the drivers’ behavior.

Background: Earthquake is one of the most important and destructive natural hazards in Iranian cities, and the psychological and social consequences of catastrophe vary according to age, gender, economic and social class. Materials and Methods: The present study is qualitative research that we conducted with the method of grounded theory research and to understand the social consequences of earthquakes in the social group of women living in Bam in 2017. We collected data, interpreted the extracted concepts, and analyzed the discovered social consequences using in-depth interview techniques and purposeful and theoretical sampling in Bam women's community. Results: After interviewing five experts and 27 women, we reached the data saturation in 2 groups of the middle and lower economic class of Bam city and performed three coding steps for each narrative. According to the research findings, one of the direct and indirect consequences of the Bam earthquake disaster in women has been psycho-social trauma. Conclusion: Earthquake, death of parents and close family members with Interventional conditions such as economic and cultural status, level of education of the individual and family have affected the experience of psycho-social trauma in women. Also, women who based on pre-crisis and pre-disaster chose irrational and passive strategies experienced more negative consequences than women who chose rational and active coping strategies. Finally, the theoretical inference is that there is a direct relationship between the intervening social context and the psychological and social harms caused by the disaster in women, which in addition to the functional relationship is also effective in aggravating the consequences of this impact.

Background: Hospitals, especially their emergency departments, are among the first health systems affected by accidents and disasters. Because of its nature and obligation to provide the highest quality services, this department should have protocols for coordination and interaction with other departments and be fully prepared in critical situations. This study aims to evaluate the disaster preparedness of the Emergency Department of Shahid Motahari Hospital in Isfahan Province, Iran. Materials and Methods: This research is an applied descriptive study conducted in Shahid Motahari Hospital in Fooladshahr City, Isfahan Province, Iran. The study data were collected using the Persian version of the World Health Organization’ s Hospital Emergency Response Checklist completed through interview and document analysis. The checklist consists of 90 items and 9 domains, including command and control (7 items), communications (9 items), safety and security (11 items), triage (10 items), surge capacity (13 items), continuity of essential services (8 items), human resources (15 items), logistics and supply management (10 items) and post-disaster recovery (7 items). The obtained data were analyzed in SPSS using descriptive statistics over 4 months. Results: The disaster preparedness of the Emergency Department of the Hospital was poor in the human resources domain and good in the communication domain. Conclusion: The disaster preparedness of the study hospital is at a moderate level. Planning and implementation of practical measures such as holding crisis management courses, establishing a crisis management team, estimating necessary resources, changing the structure, providing human resources for more accurate control and ease of service delivery, maintaining and rapid repairing of equipment, timely triage, and retrofitting hospitals can play an effective role in improving the disaster preparedness of the study emergency department.