On July 28, 2022, eastern Kentucky experienced the state’s deadliest flood in recorded history. In response to ongoing mental health concerns from community members who survived the flood, local health department directors in affected communities requested technical assistance from the Kentucky Department for Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Two simultaneous Community Assessments for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPERs) were conducted 6 weeks after the flood. Four counties were assessed in each CASPER. EpiInfo7 was used to calculate the unweighted and weighted frequencies and percentages to estimate the number and percentage of households with a particular response in each CASPER.

Approximately a third (30.5%) of households in CASPER 1 and approximately 40% of households in CASPER 2 reported experiencing ≥1 mental health problems. Individual-level mental health questions from a modified 3-stage CASPER found approximately 15% of persons in both CASPERs reported a Patient Health Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2) score ≥3 and approximately 20% of persons in both CASPERs reported Generalized Anxiety Disorder-2 (GAD-2) score ≥3.

These findings indicated households experienced mental health problems after the flood. Depression and anxiety were prevalent among persons living in flood-affected areas. If ever needed, households preferred to receive mental health services in-person and locally.

Compared with first-tier cities in China that are of abundant funds and resources like legions of high-level hospitals, the degree of nurses’ disaster nursing preparedness in non-first-tier cities (inland) is relatively lower. For example, nurses’ knowledge reserve of specific disasters is not comprehensive enough. And nurses are diffident when it comes to the skills of handling disaster rescue. Furthermore, their understanding of the roles to take in disaster coordination management is ambiguous. Conquering these challenges could be conducive to the improvement of local medical staffs’ confidence and capabilities in disaster relief. Consequently, the objective of this research is to probe for approaches of improving the strategies of disaster nursing in Chinese small cities.

In order to ascertain the factors that influence disaster preparedness, a cross-sectional study with SPSS 25.0 data analysis method is adopted. The sample of the study is nursing personnel from 4 comprehensive hospitals at or above the second level in Yongcheng, Henan Province, China, as nurses are first-line responders in disasters and pandemics and the largest group in disaster rescue.

From 813 distributed questionnaires, 784 completed questionnaires were returned, for a response rate of 96.43%. The total average score of the Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool is 146.76 ± 34.98, and the average score of all the entries is 3.26 ± 0.45, indicating moderate performance. The results indicate that age affects post disaster management (P < 0.05), meaning that as age increases, the scores also tend to be higher. Work experience, professional titles, disaster relief experience, and disaster training significantly differ in terms of knowledge, skills, post disaster management, and total scores (P < 0.01). The result of multivariate analysis indicates that titles, disaster relief experiences, and disaster training are the main factors affecting the disaster preparedness of nurses in Chinese non-first-tier (inland) cities(P < 0.05).

For the sake of upgrading the efficiency of disaster nursing preparedness in Chinese non-first-tier (inland) cities with limited funds and resources, it is very important to formulate training and education methods that are suitable for the local area, conduct characteristic simulation exercises, and expand experience exchange between hospitals. It’s certain that the local government will also play an important role in coordinating and organizing the division of labor, resource allocation, and management of hospitals at all levels in different phases of disasters, which can help nursing staff have a clearer understanding of their roles when preparing for disasters.

Fires are among the most feared incidents that can occur in a hospital. Hospital fires will disrupt care continuity, may require the evacuation of patients and have the potential to result in injuries or even deaths. The aim of this study is to gain insight into hospital fires in the Netherlands over a 20-year period.

Systematic scoping review of news articles mentioning hospital fires in the Netherlands retrieved from the LexisNexis database, Google, Google News, PubMed, and EMBASE between 2000 and 2020. Hospital fires were included if they were associated with the closure of hospital departments or intervention units and/or evacuations. The cause, location, involved departments, need for evacuation, and the number of casualties were evaluated.

Twenty-four major hospital fires were identified. More than half of these were caused by technical failures, and in 6 cases (25%), the fires were attributed to patients. In 71% of the incidents, acute care departments were affected by the fire. Twenty fires (83%) resulted in the evacuation of patients. In 2 cases, the fire resulted in the death of a patient.

Patient-attributed fires are a significant cause of major hospital fires in the Netherlands. Prevention and mitigation measures should be implemented accordingly.

Disaster preparedness plays a vital role in mitigating risks and strengthening resilience of local communities in rural areas. This study examines the linkage between psychological factors and 4 kinds of disaster preparedness intentions and explores the challenges in translating intentions into actions.

This study utilized survey data from 325 households in Chongqing, China, that are threatened by geological disasters. We conducted empirical analysis using a regression model and carried out several robustness tests. The independent variables, psychological factors, are divided into risk appraisal, coping appraisal, and stakeholder appraisal. The dependent variable, disaster preparedness intentions, includes evacuation, disaster insurance, emergency supplies storage, and behaving eco-friendly.

Multiple psychological factors have significant influence on disaster preparedness intentions, with varying impacts on different preparedness aspects. Social barriers—lack of capital, access, and triggers—hinder translating preparedness intentions into actions.

Our study integrates protection motivation theory and protective action decision model to understand psychological factors influencing disaster preparedness in rural China. We identify key factors significantly impact preparedness intentions and uncover barriers hindering the translation of intentions into actions. The findings underscore the importance of integrated approaches that bridge the gap between psychological awareness and the availability of resources, ultimately fostering a more resilient society in the face of disasters.

The objective of this study was to develop a self-report scale for the assessment of the competence of pre-hospital health professionals in responding to radiological incidents.

Based on the findings of a systematic review analyzing the literature, the instrument followed the processes of item generation, expert opinion, language control, pilot study, and field testing.

In the exploratory factor analysis, 48 items were excluded on the grounds of insufficient common variance (>0.40) and factor loading relationship (>0.50). The remaining 18 items (11 negative and 7 positive items) exhibited a Cronbach’s alpha value of 0.913 and a range of 0.740 to 0.887 in the sub-factors. As the scores on the developed scale increased, there was a corresponding increase in the perceived adequacy of the interventions.

The objective, scope, constraints and stages of the scale’s design and development were elucidated in comprehensive detail, and its intelligibility to other societies was ensured. The scale was developed as a self-report scale that can evaluate the competence of prehospital health professionals in radiological incidents.

To assess the post-earthquake trauma and hopelessness levels of nursing students due to the earthquakes that occurred on February 6, 2023.

This study was conducted between April and May 2023 in the Nursing Department in a province located in Southeastern Türkiye using the face-to-face interview technique. The study was completed with 276 students in line with the power analysis. The data were collected using a questionnaire, the Scale that Determines the Level of Post-Earthquake Trauma (SDLPET), and the Beck Hopelessness Scale (BHS).

The mean SDLPET and BHS scores of the students were 55.45±13.58 and 9.38±4.53, respectively. Some 12.3% of the nursing students lost their friends due to the earthquake, 80.4% did not receive any earthquake training, 46% needed psychological support, 48.6% needed financial support, 49.6% needed social support, 37% had sleep problems, 72.8% experienced hopelessness, and the quality of life of 67.8% of the students was negatively affected due to the hopelessness they experienced.

It was found that the level of post-earthquake trauma and hopelessness of the students was moderate, and a positive and significant correlation was found between trauma and hopelessness scores.