The WHO Thematic Platform for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Research Network (TPRN) was established in 2016 in response to the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015⁻2030. The TPRN facilitates global collaborative action for improving the scientific evidence base in health emergency and disaster risk management (Health EDRM). In 2018, the WHO convened a meeting to identify key research questions, bringing together leading experts from WHO, TPRN, World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM), and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and... read more

Despite the importance of health vulnerability in disaster risk assessment, most of the existing disaster vulnerability indicators only emphasize economic and social vulnerability. Important underlying health risks such as non-communicable disease are not included in vulnerability measures. A three-phase methodology approach was used to construct a disaster risk model that includes a number of key health indicators which might be missing in global disaster risk analysis. This study describes the development of an integrated health vulnerability index and explains how the proposed... read more

OBJECTIVES:

Asthma can be triggered by various factors due to different etiologies. Environmental factors remain a common trigger of asthma, especially amongst children, and such ambient exposures can be harder to avoid compared to behavioral triggers. As such, the contribution of environmental factors may be enhanced when considering repeat asthma cases compared to initial presentations. To test this hypothesis, we assessed associations between ambient temperature and hospital admissions for asthma in Hong Kong and stratified admission records into first and repeat asthma... read more

Rural populations living in poverty are the most vulnerable to disaster. Despite this increased risk of recurrent disaster, previous disaster experience is not a good predictor for disaster preparedness in these populations. This was evidenced on 31 August 2012, when a major flood occurred in Sichuan, China. A health needs assessment carried out in December 2012 showed that residents of Hongyan village, a Yi-minority community in Sichuan lacked disaster preparedness. This indicated that measures were necessary to improve Health Emergency Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) in the... read more

Background

This review examines the human health impact of climate change in China. Through reviewing available research findings under four major climate change phenomena, namely extreme temperature, altered rainfall pattern, rise of sea level and extreme weather events, relevant implications for other middle-income population with similar contexts will be synthesized.

Sources of data

Sources of data included bilingual peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2018 in PubMed, Google Scholar and China Academic Journals Full-text Database.

Areas of... read more

Background

The post-disaster mental health crisis intervention (MHCI) system in China remains immature and unsystematic. We aim to report the perceptions of a large sample of MHCI workers and government administrators and provide recommendations for developing a national mental health disaster response management plan in China.

Methods

An in-depth qualitative study was conducted, collecting data from 20 focus-group discussions and 25 key stakeholder interviews. These recruited participants who had been involved in different types of disaster rescue across 7 provinces/... read more

Background: Literature on health emergency disaster risk management (Health-EDRM) for urban public transport safety is limited. This study explored: (i) the confidence in public transport safety, (ii) the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and risk perception of transport safety and (iii) the association between previous first-aid training and response knowledge. Method: This is a population-based cross-sectional telephone survey conducted in March 2017, one month after a major subway incident in Hong Kong. Respondents were randomly selected with the... read more

Background

Tuberculosis (TB) in the elderly remains a challenge in intermediate disease burden areas like Hong Kong. Given a higher TB burden in the elderly and limited impact of current case-finding strategy by patient-initiated pathway, proactive screening approaches for the high-risk group could be optimal and increasingly need targeted economic evaluations. In this study, we examined whether and under what circumstance the screening strategies are cost-effective compared with no screening strategy for the elderly at admission to residential care homes.

Methods

Background: Mental disorders have been found to be positively associated with temperature in cool to cold climatic regions but the association in warmer regions is unclear. This study presented the short-term association between temperatures and mental disorder hospitalizations in a subtropical city with a mean annual temperature over 21 °C. Methods: Using Poisson-generalized additive models and distributed-lagged nonlinear models, daily mental disorder hospitalizations between 2002 and 2011 in Hong Kong were regressed on daily mean temperature, relative humidity, and air... read more

BACKGROUND:

Acute myocardial infarction (AMI) is the leading cause of death among people with diabetes mellitus (DM) and has been found to occur more frequently with extreme temperatures. With the increasing prevalence of DM and the rising global mean temperature, the number of heat-related AMI cases among DM patients may increase. This study compares excess risk of AMI during periods of extreme temperatures between patients with DM and without DM.

METHODS:

Disaster awareness and household preparedness are crucial for reducing the negative effects of a disaster. This study aims to examine the citizens’ preparedness level in the event of a general disaster or outbreak of infectious disease and to identify suitable channels for community disease surveillance and risk communication. We used a stratified random design to conduct a digit-dialed telephone survey in Hong Kong during February 2014. Level of disaster preparedness was examined according to the possession of disaster kit items. Associations between socio-demographic factors and good... read more

Myanmar is a country in political and economic transition. Facing a wide-variety of natural hazards and ongoing conflict, the country’s under-developed infrastructure has resulted in high disaster risk. Following the devastation of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 and increased global focus on disaster management and risk reduction, Myanmar has begun development of national disaster policies. Myanmar’s Action Plan for Disaster Risk Reduction addressed multiple stages of disaster development and has made progress towards national projects, however, has struggled to implement community-based... read more

Pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases (COPD) are the commonest causes of respiratory hospitalization among older adults. Both diseases have been reported to be associated with ambient temperature, but the associations have not been compared between the diseases. Their associations with other meteorological variables have also not been well studied. This study aimed to evaluate the associations between meteorological variables, pneumonia, and COPD hospitalization among adults over 60 and to compare these associations between the diseases. Daily cause-specific hospitalization... read more

Fire is one of the major disasters in rural communities but evidence of the effectiveness of education interventions against fire risks is limited. This was a 2-year study assessed the effectiveness of face-to-face Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) education interventions for raising fire risk reduction knowledge in a fire-prone rural ethnic minority community. The study was conducted in various pre-set time points of an intervention-based project in a Dong-based community in Nanjiang Village, Guizhou Province in 2015 and 2016 to increase knowledge among the... read more

OBJECTIVE:

Restrictive food avoidance behavior among Chinese cancer patients is common. Yet, to the authors' knowledge, no study has investigated factors associated with such behavior. This study attempted to validate a new measurement tool, the Cancer Patients Food Avoidance Behaviors Scale (CPFAB), that assessed cancer patients' belief regarding 5 perceived benefits of practicing food avoidance, and to test its applicability.

DESIGN:

Cross-sectional face-to-face interviews.

SETTING:

Two outpatient oncology clinics in 2 different districts of Hong Kong... read more

Ma’an Qiao Village, a Dai and Yi ethnic minority-based community in Sichuan Province, China sustained complete infrastructure devastation during the 2008 Panzhihua earthquake. Health emergency and disaster risk management (Health-EDRM) education intervention programs were implemented in 2010 and 2011. This serial cross-sectional survey study aimed to examine the immediate and long-term impacts of the Health-EDRM interventions in this remote rural community. The findings demonstrate knowledge improvement in areas of water and sanitation, food and nutrition, and disaster preparedness... read more

BACKGROUND:

Little is known about the relationship between Salmonella infection and meteorological parameters other than air temperature. This study aimed to explore associations of Salmonella hospitalizations with temperature, relative humidity (RH) and rainfall.

METHODS:

With negative binomial distribution assumed, time-series regression model adjusting for season and time trend were constructed employing distributed lag non-linear models and generalized additive models. Meteorological variables including mean temperature, RH, and daily total rainfall as well as... read more

Objectives: Accidental risks perception, knowledge and willingness to learn about emergency responses are critical elements in disaster risk reduction. Literature on the relevant topics for public transport safety is limited. The three main study objectives include exploring i) relationship between socio-demographic characteristics with risk perception and anxiety of users of urban public transport system, ii) if a major emergency incident affected confidence and increase anxiety of public transport utilization and iii) how previous first aid training might be associated with response... read more

Introduction: Menstrual health is a sensitive topic that causes gender discrimination and segregation. A focus group conducted in Sindupalchok, Nepal (April 2017) found some women had major knowledge gaps and misconceptions regarding menstrual hygiene practices. Objective: To assess programme effectiveness for addressing menstrual health knowledge gap, promote menstrual hygiene practice, and pain relief. Method: A 3 day health education intervention was conducted in January 2018. Knowledge about the menstruation cycle and period, menstruation-related hygiene practices, and pain alleviation... read more

Study/Objective: To review research trends and evidence in the field of health emergency and disaster risk management ﴾HEDRM﴿, and to provide recommendations for the field moving forward. Background: Health is recognised as an outcome and a goal of disaster risk reduction activities, acknowledged in international agreements such as the International Health Regulations ﴾2005﴿ and Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction ﴾2015﴿. H‐EDRM has emerged as an umbrella field which encompasses emergency and disaster medicine, disaster risk reduction ﴾DRR﴿, humanitarian response and health... read more

Study/Objective: To reveal the spatial and temporal pattern of student enrolment in the Public Health Principles in Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response ﴾PHPID﴿ massive open online course ﴾MOOC﴿ and to examine the degree to which socio‐demographic variables can predict the course achievement. Background: The first cohort of PHPID online course was launched by Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response in June 2014. This online course aims to enable students to gain insight and theoretical understanding of the public health... read more

The wars in the Middle East have led to unprecedented threats and attacks on patients, healthcare workers, and purposeful targeting of hospitals and medical facilities. It is crucial that every healthcare provider, both civilian and military, on either side of the conflict become aware of the unique and inherent protections afforded to them under International Humanitarian Law. However, these protections come with obligations. Whereas Governments must guarantee these protections, when violated, medical providers have equal duty and obligations under the Law to ensure that they will neither... read more

The intersection of health and disaster risk reduction (DRR) has emerged in recent years as a field of critical inquiry. Health is recognized as an outcome and a goal of DRR, and the integration of both fields is essential to ensure the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030. Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) has emerged as an umbrella field that encompasses emergency and disaster medicine, DRR, humanitarian response, community health resilience, and health systems resilience. In September 2016, an international group of... read more

Objectives Little is known about pet-related injuries in Asian populations. This study primarily aimed to investigate the incidence rate of pet-related household injuries in Hong Kong, an urban Chinese setting.

Setting Cantonese-speaking non-institutionalised population of all ages in Hong Kong accessible by telephone land-line.

Participants A total of 43 542 telephone numbers were dialled and 6570 residents successfully completed the interviews.

Background: The Rana Plaza collapse was the global garment industry’s deadliest disaster: killing 1,134 and injuring over 2,500, the incident overwhelmed local capacity and caused great damage, destruction and human suffering. The rescue operation took three weeks, relying on a large portion of untrained and inexperienced volunteers. This incident had numerous long-term physical and mental health consequences for victims. This case study sought to understand how disaster preparedness levels of responders impacted health outcomes. Methods: A comprehensive literature review (including grey... read more

Objective To investigate the prevalence of cold related symptoms and its association with socio-economic factors Background: The impact of the temperature on human health has long been reported. Multi-city studies indicated that population in cities in lower latitude and with mild winter are more valuable to cold-weather. Previous studies were mainly focused on mortality and morbidity due to the availability of the data, while cold-related symptoms are however not well studied. It is important to enhance the understanding of prevalence of cold related symptoms and how it associates with... read more

Objectives: The study aims to identify important predictors on the adoption of various protective behaviors under cold spell in Hong Kong. Methods: This is a randomized population-based cross-sectional telephone survey study. The study was conducted three days after the coldest winter in the past 58 years in January 2016. Eligible participants are Cantonese speakers who are Hong Kong residents aged above 15. Basic demographic data, social-economic status (SES) and questions related to protective measures against cold spell were solicited. Descriptive analysis and stepwise multi-logistic... read more

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have found associations between meteorological variables and asthma hospitalisations but the nature of these associations has varied and few studies have been done in subtropical areas or evaluated effect modification by age. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate associations between asthma hospitalisations and meteorological factors and to assess effect modification of these associations by age and season in Hong Kong. METHODS: Poisson generalised additive models combined with distributed lag nonlinear models and piecewise linear models were used to model... read more

Objectives: There is limited evidence on urban Asian communities’ disaster risk perceptions and household level preparedness. Hong Kong is characterized by high population density, and is susceptible to large-scale natural disasters and health crises such as typhoons, fires and infectious disease outbreaks. This research paper investigates the rates and predictors of urban community disaster risk perception, awareness and preparedness, at individual and household levels. Methods: A randomized cross-sectional, population-based telephone survey study was conducted among the Cantonese-... read more

At the first gathering of its kind on the role of science in implementing the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, over 750 scientists, policymakers, business people, and practitioners met in Geneva from January 27–29, 2016. The UNISDR Science and Technology Conference on the Implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 featured experts from some of the world’s most disaster-prone countries.

Cruise tourism has become more popular. Long-term personal contact, complex population flows, a lack of medical care facilities, and defective infrastructure aboard most cruise ships is likely to result in the ship becoming an incubator for infectious diseases. In this paper, we use a cruise ship as a research scenario. Taking into consideration personal behavior, the nature and transfer route of the virus across different surfaces, virus reproduction, and disinfection, we studied contact infection of infectious disease on a cruise ship. Using gastroenteritis caused by the norovirus as an... read more

“Health” is mentioned 76 times in the Sendai Framework, listed repeatedly alongside economic, social, cultural and environmental components adversely affected by disasters. The Sendai Framework also advocates an inclusive and multi-stakeholder approach; recognising the need to mobilise research and scientific institutions in particular toward reducing disaster risk and building resilience. The Collaborating Centre for Oxford University and CUHK for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response (CCOUC) is a Hong Kong-based non-profit academic centre which uses a public health approach to carry... read more

Objectives: The impacts of climate change are known to be human health threats. In recent years, there are increasing advocacy to the promotion of behaviors that might reduce human carbon footprint and can provide benefits for individuals' health outcomes. This study aims to assess the patterns, knowledge and socio-economic predictors of these health and environmental co-behaviors (HEC) in urban Asia metropolis such as Hong Kong. Methods: A cross-sectional, randomized population-based telephone survey study was conducted among Hong Kong Cantonese-speaking population aged over 15 years... read more

Background A sound understanding of malaria transmission patterns in the People’s Republic of China (P.R. China) is crucial for designing effective surveillance-response strategies that can guide the national malaria elimination programme (NMEP). Using an established biology-driven model, it is expected that one may design and refine appropriate surveillance-response strategies for different transmission zones, which, in turn, assist the NMEP in the ongoing implementation period (2010–2020) and, potentially, in the post-elimination stage (2020–2050). Methods Environmental data obtained... read more

Study/Objective The project aims to explore community disaster risk perception and to evaluate the impact of disaster preparedness health intervention in Yiminority community in China. Background LiangShan Yi Autonomous Prefecture is one of the disasterprone area in Sichuan province, China. Majority of people belongs to Yiminority and live in rural mountainous area with highly susceptible to multiple natural disasters. A major flood occurred on August 31st 2012 at Hongyan Village, LiangShan Prefecture and had affected 218,000 local residents with 13,300 households collapsed. A postflooding... read more

We conducted a cross-sectional population-based telephone survey between 15 and 28 February 2014 in Hong Kong during the second wave of influenza A/H7N9 outbreak to delineate the willingness of future A/H7N9 vaccine uptake and factors affecting their choices. We found half of the respondents were willing, which was independent of demographic factors. High anxiety level and a vaccine history were associated with willingness to uptake future A/H7N9 vaccine. Understanding the willingness of A/H7N9 influenza vaccine uptake in the community help policy makers to decide suitable strategies to... read more

Study/Objective To explore the capacity building strategy for disaster preparedness through building healthliterate village in rural China. Background Health risk literacy is an important asset for capacity building and a key attribute of the development of a healthy village, a similar project as the Healthy City programme initiated by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1989. However, not much research has been conducted since then for developing health literate villages in rural settings in China. As such, a rural Chinese village is selected to explore the development of a health... read more

Asthma is one of the most common chronic conditions affecting both children and adults. Examining the health effects of environmental triggers such as temperature variation may have implications for maintenance of asthma control and prevention. We hypothesized that large diurnal temperature range (DTR) might be a source of additional environmental stress and therefore a risk factor for asthma exacerbation. Daily meteorological data, air pollution concentrations and emergency hospital admissions for asthma from 2004 to 2011 in Hong Kong were collected. Poisson regression models were used to... read more

We conducted a population telephone survey in Hong Kong during the second wave of influenza A/H7N9 outbreak in 2014. Among the respondents, 50.5% of the respondents would like to accept A/H7N9 vaccination in future. Respondents had poor knowledge of A/H7N9 influenza and vaccines. More than 60% of respondents mixed up seasonal influenza this year and A/H7N9 influenza. Results show that socio-demographic factors were all independent of the vaccine uptake willingness while anxiety level and vaccine history were the main affecting factors. Vaccine promotion strategies may focus on influenza... read more

Short-term associations between both hot and cold ambient temperatures and higher mortality have been found worldwide. Few studies have examined these associations on longer time scales. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) were calculated for 1976-2012 for Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China, defining "annual" time periods in 2 ways: from May through April of the following year and from November through October. Annual frequency and severity of extreme temperatures were summarized by using a degree-days approach with extreme heat expressed as annual degree-days >29.3°C and... read more

Study/Objective The goal of this study is to define the concept of disaster health risk literacy, identify the gaps in knowledge, and highlight implications for the use of disaster health risk literacy as a term to guide future preparedness efforts and research. Background The existing literature defined health literacy as the ability to obtain, understand and use the health related information to make the appropriate health decision and follow the health advise. This concept is particular important to the disasterprone communities, because it is hypothesized that disaster risk literacy... read more

Study/Objective 1. To understand factors that associated with better online learning outcome. 2. To discuss lessons learnt for future MOOC development for improving community disaster literacy and resilience. Background Resilience is the ability that to anticipate, withstand, respond and recovery from adverse situation. Improved public awareness and knowledge is a preventive measure to reduce adverse health impact of disaster and enhance community resilience. Collaboration Centre of CUHK and Oxford University for Disaster and Humanitarian Response (CCOUC) has been developed and launched an... read more

Background: The increasing human H7N9 influenza A infection confirmed cases in China since 2013 has attracted global attention. Disease surveillance helps situation awareness for policy makers making appropriate public health decisions. These systems need to be consulted and evaluated before implementation to achieve their maximum efficiencies. In this study, we aim to identify suitable channels for community disease surveillance and risk communication among different strata of an urban Chinese community. Methods: A cross-sectional, population-based telephone survey study (n=1,000) was... read more

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of childhood obesity among adolescents has been rapidly rising in Mainland China in recent decades, especially in urban and rich areas. There is an urgent need to develop effective interventions to prevent childhood obesity. Limited data regarding adolescent overweight prevention in China are available. Thus, we developed a school-based intervention with the aim of reducing excess body weight in children. This report described the study design. METHODS/DESIGN: We designed a cluster randomized controlled trial in 8 randomly selected urban primary schools between... read more

Background Physical activity (PA) and hypertension (HTN) are important influences on the development of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the joint impact of PA and HTN on T2D development is unknown. Methods Two community-based prospective cohort studies, with the same protocols, instruments and questionnaires, were conducted among adults in urban areas of Nanjing, China, during 2004–2007 and 2007–2010. T2D was defined using World Health Organization criteria based on physicians' diagnosis and fasting blood glucose concentration. PA level (sufficient/insufficient) and blood pressure status (... read more

Four levels of pre-travel health preparations were defined to allow the measurement of general travel health preparations by the traveling public. A cross-sectional survey of 770 travelers using Hong Kong International Airport was conducted. Important gaps were found in the self-preparation domain. Length of travel was the only factor associated with higher levels of health preparations after adjusting for potential confounders. Targeted health education should be considered to improve health risk perceptions among travelers in Hong Kong and other similar metropolitan cities that are... read more

BACKGROUND: Several previous studies examined the association between acute myocardial infarction (AMI) incidence and temperature and/or air pollution. Results of these studies have been inconsistent and few studies have been done in cities with sub-tropical or tropical climates. METHODS: Daily data on AMI hospitalizations, mean temperature and humidity, and pollutants, were collected for 2000-2009 for three warm-climate Asian cities. Poisson Generalized Additive Models were used to regress daily AMI counts on temperature, humidity, and pollutants while controlling for day of the week,... read more

Background: Numerous studies have found associations between extreme temperatures and human mortality but relatively few studies have been done in sub-tropical and tropical cities, especially in Asia. In this study we examine the impact of cold temperatures, cold waves and other meteorological and environmental variables on cool season mortality in 2 subtropical Asian cities.

A deeper understanding of extreme hot weather are needed in cities sensitive to heat effects, an investigation was done in the tropical town of Kaohsiung in Taiwan. Its 11 districts were divided into three climatic classes varying from high urban heat, low levels of green space and lack of proximity to water bodies to low urban heat, adequate green space and proximity to water bodies. Daily data on natural mortality, meteorological variables, and pollutants from May-October 1999-2008 were analysed using generalised additive models for the time-series data.

We read with interest the recent Editorial on improving the health response to humanitarian crises (June 1, p 1878). Communities worldwide face increasing threats from a myriad of hazards, so evidence-based advancements in humanitarian assistance are welcomed......

Introduction: Heatwaves have a clear impact on society, including a rise in mortality and morbidity. The aim of fans in a heatwave is to increase heat loss by increasing efficiency of all normal methods of heat loss – but particularly by evaporation and convection methods. There has been little comparative, intervention research on the physiological effects of electric fans. A Cochrane systematic review was undertaken to determine whether the use of electric fans contributes or impedes heat loss at high ambient temperatures. Results would have implications for policies such as the Heatwave... read more

Introduction: A major flood occurred in Liangshan Autonomous Prefecture on 31st August 2012. The disaster has caused massive damage to the local community. Liangshan Prefecture has the largest population of Yi minority in China, and ethnic minority groups like Yi generally attain lower educational and economical status than the Han counterparts. Limited is known in regarding its health impact and post disaster response, this paper described and examined the impact and the community preparedness in the recent forgotten disaster. Methodology: A cross sectional household survey was conducted... read more

Little is known about the health impact of air pollution on children's cardiovascular health. A cross-sectional study was conducted and data was analysed in 2048 Chinese schoolchildren (aged 8–10 years) in three districts of Hong Kong to examine the association between exposure to outdoor air pollution and cardiorespiratory fitness. Annual means of ambient PM10, SO2, NO2 and O3 from 1996 to 2003 were used to estimate individual exposure of the subjects. Cardiorespiratory fitness was measured for maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), predicted by the multistage fitness test (MFT). Height and... read more

BACKGROUND: In-flight medical emergencies are difficult to manage and medical volunteers can be valuable when these events occur. The study objective was to examine the role of medical volunteers in medical emergencies which resulted in medical flight diversions. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study of medical diversions in a large Hong Kong commercial airline from December 2003 to November 2008. This study is derived from a database of in-flight medical events which has been previously reported. The presence of medical volunteers, the need for diversion, and the outcome for all... read more

Background Medical teams might have difficulties preparing for deployment to rural towns due to a lack of prior information. The study objective was to identify the health needs and chronic disease prevalence of rural Chinese following a major earthquake. Methods Hong Kong Red Cross organised a basic healthcare team to Yanmen town, Jiangyou 3 weeks after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. A cross-sectional records-based study of all patients treated by the Hong Kong Red Cross basic healthcare team from 1 June to 19 June 2008 was conducted. Results Two thousand and thirty-four individual patient... read more

BACKGROUND: Hong Kong, a major city in China, has one of the world's highest income inequalities and one of the world's highest average increases in urban ambient temperatures. Heat-related mortality in urban areas may vary with acclimatisation and population characteristics. This study examines how the effect of temperature on mortality is associated with sociodemographic characteristics at an intracity level in Hong Kong, China, during the warm season. METHODS: Data from the Hong Kong Observatory, Census and Statistics Department, Environmental Protection Department and government... read more

Remote rural communities are often more vulnerable to health risk and have worse health outcomes than urban population. Whilst World Health Organization's “Healthy Village” initiatives have been implemented in Africa and Eastern Mediterranean region, no experience has been reported in the Western Pacific region or in China. A health need assessment was carried out in March 2009 to identify health needs and for situation analysis at Maan Village of Xinan Township at Hiuli County, Liangshan, Sichuan. Findings indicated the ethnic minority population in the area had poor health outcomes and... read more

Objective: Little is known about the epidemiology of unintentional household injury (UHI) among children with intellectual disability (ID). This study aimed to investigate the incidence rate and pattern of UHI and potential risk factors among children with ID. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among students in two mainstream and three special primary schools in Hong Kong. A self-administered questionnaire was used to collect information about children’s injury in the past 12 months, as well as other potential risk factors, including socio-demographic and household... read more

Emergency first responders, including fire fighters, police, auxiliary medical personnel, ambulance officers and rescuers, are often the first to the front line in a disaster witnessing the traumatic scene and experiencing life threatening situations. Whilst responders have to face direct exposure to the intensity of the disaster and may suffer from psychological reactions for overly prolonged time periods, the current crisis intervention protocols after natural or man-made disasters often neglect the psychological impact of crisis on responders. Psychological First Aid (PFA) has become... read more

Background Current measures for breast cancer prevention and options for treatment adopted in Hong Kong are mainly based on research data and clinical evidence from overseas. It is essential to establish a cancer-specific registry to monitor the status of breast cancer in Hong Kong. Objectives We summarized the current status of breast cancer in Hong Kong based on the data collected from Hong Kong Breast Cancer Registry (HKBCR). Methods Prevalent and newly diagnosed breast cancers (including in situ and invasive breast cancers) were registered in the HKBCR. Information on patient... read more

Background and Objectives Datan Village, which locates in Gansu Province, China, is a rural, remote, disaster-prone, in poverty Hui minority-based community. Disaster preparedness was identified to be one of the concerns from the health needs assessment conducted in August 2010. Health education campaign was implemented in January 2011 to enhance their awareness towards the issue. Research Objectives To enhance knowledge towards disaster preparedness though Knowledge, Attitude and Practice (KAP) model To document the outcome of the health intervention via questionnaires To identify the... read more

Background: Whilst Asia is ranked as the most disaster prone region of the world in both natural and man-made disasters, research in the Asia-Pacific region is limited. This study is part of a 24 months, multi-country, multidisciplinary partner based project that aims to develop a series of disaster medical and public health case study in the Asia pacific region. Using an internationally standardized disaster incident reporting template developed of WADEM (2010), this specific project aims to delineate and to critically evaluate the health implications of a fire disaster in Bhutan that... read more

Background Natural disasters are increasing in incidence and severity in recent decades and have brought adverse consequences to human and the economy. Relief workers will get involved in more traumatic situations which expose them to stress that in turn, affect workers' emotion well-being and their physical health. However, only limited literatures documented the health-related impacts of natural disasters on medical/healthcare relief workers. This review aims to analyse different health outcomes of medical/healthcare disaster relief workers in natural disaster settings. Methods A... read more

Natural disasters cannot be prevented but their human impact can be mitigated. Effective medical and public health mitigation and responses require multidisciplinary efforts and appropriate training. Whilst Asia is currently ranked as the most natural disaster prone area globally, limited disaster medical and public health response training opportunities are available in the region. Our paper reports efforts to identify the training gaps and ways to fill them to prepare frontline practitioners and academic researchers in disaster and medical humanitarian emergency relief efforts in Asia.... read more

Although China has been known for its high frequency and human toll resulting from natural disasters, limited information is available to understand the human impact of its technological disasters (TD). This study provides a time trend analysis of the TD-induced injuries and fatalities since 1979 in mainland China. Through reviewing available academic literature and the examination of two public accessible databases, descriptive analysis of TD epidemiological profile in China was conducted by Emergency Events Database of the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels... read more

China has one of the countries with highest occurrence of disasters and disasters are disproportionately affecting rural area of China where ethnic minorities are inhibiting. Mixed methods of studies were conducted in rural Sichuan, Yunnan, Gansu and Hainan province of China to understand the mental health impact and coping after natural disasters. Standardized quantitative questionnaires and over 20 focus groups were conducted among ethnic minority groups including Tai, Naxi, Li, Jiang and Hui affected by earthquake, flooding, mudslide, rain storm and snow storm. Validated psychological... read more

Disaster could greatly affect physical, psychological and social health of people affected. However, current crisis intervention protocols after natural or man-made disasters often overlook the psychosocial impact of crisis on victims. In its executive board meeting in 2005, WHO has called for action in implementing programs that can repair the psychological damage of war, conflict and natural disasters.

Background: The Sichuan earthquake on 12 May 2008 with a magnitude of 8.0 killed > 87,000 people. The response of the Hong Kong Red Cross (HKRC) included a basic healthcare team to a small rural town called Yanmen three weeks after the earthquake. The objective of this study was to review HKRC’s medical records to identify the disease pattern in the Chinese rural setting post earthquake. Methods: A cross-sectional, record-based study of all patients treated by the HKRC basic healthcare team from 01 June to 19 June 2008. This retrospective study studied the medical records collected... read more

Limited information is available on the health outcomes of the rural older population in developing countries is affected by disasters. In October 2010, Hainan Province experienced severe flooding following heavy rains. Nearly four million people were affected and many had undergone resettlement. This study investigated the impacts of the flooding on people living in the disaster-affected rural communities. The findings were compared with baseline information collected in 2010 about health issues in rural villages in Hainan. Health outcome comparisons also were made between ethnic groups (... read more

BACKGROUND: Over the last 100 years, China has experienced the world's three most fatal earthquakes. The Sichuan Earthquake in May 2008 once again reminded us of the huge human toll geological disaster can lead to. METHODS: In order to learn lessons about the impact of earthquakes on health in China during the past century, we conducted a bilingual literature search of the publicly available health-related disaster databases published between 1906 and 2007. RESULTS: Our search found that research was limited and there were major gaps in the published literature about the impact on health... read more

Five of the world's most fatal industrial accidents in the past decade (2001–10) occurred in mainland China. Since 1979, there have been at least 25 586 deaths and 24 214 injuries due to technological disasters in China. Mining-related accidents are the main subgroup of such disasters and occur ten times more frequently than in India, which ranks second in the world. The recent Shanxi Wangjialing coal-mine accident, which resulted in 36 deaths and 115 survivors rescued after being trapped underground for 8 days, reminded the international community once again of the struggle between... read more

In-flight medical emergencies are clinically challenging and may result in aircraft diversions, which are costly and inconvenient, or in-flight deaths. We provide an updated description of in-flight medical emergencies and systematically examine predictors of medical flight diversions and in-flight deaths......

BACKGROUND: This study investigated posttraumatic growth (PTG) and reduced suicidal ideation among Chinese adolescents at one month after the occurrence of the Sichuan Earthquake. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey was administered to 3324 high school students in Chengdu, Sichuan. The revised Posttraumatic Growth Inventory for Children and the Children's Revised Impact of Event Scale assessed PTG and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), respectively.

Introduction: On 08 October 2005, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale, struck Pakistan's autonomous state of Kashmir and part of Indian-administrated Kashmir. The official death toll in Pakistan was 79,000, and nearly 1,400 in Kashmir. This study reports the findings of a three-week health needs assessment to understand the needs of rural, older people postearthquake. This study was conducted in February 2006 in the Neelum Valley of Kashmir, Pakistan, four months after the earthquake. Hypothesis: During emergency relief, the vulnerability and health needs of older people in... read more

Injury is a major global disease burden for the twenty-first century. There are, however, few studies of unintentional household injury in Asian urban settings where living environments are characterized by extremely compact, high-living-density, multistory apartments. This study investigated the association between nonfatal unintentional household injuries with the resident's sociodemographic attributes and household characteristics in Hong Kong, the city with the world's highest population density. A cross-sectional retrospective recall study was conducted in May 2007 using a random... read more

Although older people may be recognized as a vulnerable group post-natural disasters, their particular needs are rarely met by the providers of emergency services. Studies about older people's health needs post disasters in the South East Asia Tsunami, Kashmir, Pakistan, China, and United States has revealed the lack of concern for older people's health needs. Recent study of older people's health needs post the Kashmir Pakistan earthquake (2005) found older peoples' health needs were masked within the general population. This survey study examines the providers' perceptions of older... read more

BACKGROUND Malaria is a major public health burden in the tropics with the potential to significantly increase in response to climate change. Analyses of data from the recent past can elucidate how short-term variations in weather factors affect malaria transmission. This study explored the impact of climate variability on the transmission of malaria in the tropical rain forest area of Mengla County, south-west China. METHODS Ecological time-series analysis was performed on data collected between 1971 and 1999. Auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were used to evaluate... read more

Background: Under the "two countries, one system" policy implemented by China to manage the return of Hong Kong's sovereignty, Hong Kong has maintained a comparatively prosperous economy within the Asian region. This has resulted in an environment which fosters migration from the mainland to Hong Kong, due largely to proximity, higher earning potential, common language, and a relaxing of border control measures. However not all mainland China citizens are equally able to access these new migration schemes and indeed a number of women such as sex workers are either migrating and/or working... read more

Natural disasters always cause vast mortality and morbidity......

BACKGROUND: Overweight and obesity pose a challenge to public health in China. According to Chinese definition, 303 million Chinese are overweight (body mass index, BMI >or= 24 kg m(-2)). Among them, 73 million are clinically obese (BMI >or= 28 kg m(-2)). In line with the global trend, the rate of obesity in China continues to increase, with associated morbidity and mortality. This study was to identify interventions, which are effective in Mainland Chinese society. METHODS: All non-drug-controlled interventions (>or=3 months) in Mainland China, which used anthropometric outcome... read more

Media coverage and the outpouring of public generosity in response to disasters often pressure institutions or organisations to act immediately without clear evidence. While it is critical to respond quickly to save lives and prevent suffering, obtaining valid information on which to make evidence-based, appropriate, and relevant relief decisions is just as important. Developed countries have better technology and equipment to assist with postdisaster data collection, with satellite surveillance providing information on population density, crop growth, and even troop movement in conflict... read more