The Disaster Research & Information Hub aims to provide a centralised hub for the latest research, evidence, information and news relating to disasters and their human health impact.
The Disaster Research & Information Hub aims to provide a centralised hub for the latest research, evidence, information and news relating to disasters and their human health impact.
Identified in December 2019 in China, the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has been declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Pandemics share features that increase fear. While some fear can stimulate preventive health behaviors, extreme fear can lead to adverse psychological and behavioral response. The media play a major role shaping these responses. When dealing with a PHEIC, the authorities’ communication strategies are embedded in a multilevel governance and a highly hierarchal system, which adds another layer of complexity. Carrying out more ‘real-world research... read more
COVID-19 has reinforced the need to revisit the integration of health within disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategies for biological hazards in a system-wide approach. In November 2020, DRR experts attended the Asia-Pacific Partnership for Disaster Risk Reduction (APP-DRR) Forum to share progress and learnings in the areas of health system resilience, data management, residual risk management, risk communication, digital literacy, and knowledge product marketing. Advancements for health in DRR included the importance of multi-sectoral, multi-hazard action plans; adaptation to technological... read more
Background: Given the regular winter recurrence of influenza epidemics and the biologically plausible association between seasonal influenza and cardiovascular events, researchers assumed a valid and reliable influenza forecast could envision the timing and burden of winter surge in cardiovascular (CVD) hospitalizations. This, however, is well justified only in temperate regions. In this study, we aim to investigate the temporal association between ambient temperature, seasonal influenza and risk of cardiovascular events in a subtropical city.
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed pressure on many national health-care systems worldwide. Due to the rapid surge in caseloads and resource constraints in health systems, in many high-income settings, the focus has been on disease screening, with those who have severe disease prioritised for hospitalisation. But the COVID-19 pandemic has also led to an unprecedented reliance on home care as one pillar of the health-care system to support people with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Meanwhile, informal home care provision and challenges faced by care providers, excluding those who are formal... read more
Although much of the health emergency and disaster risk management (Health-EDRM) literature evaluates methods to protect health assets and mitigate health risks from disasters, there is a lack of research into those who have taken high-risk behaviour during extreme events. The study’s main objective is to examine the association between engaging in high-risk behaviour and factors including sociodemographic characteristics, disaster risk perception and household preparedness during a super typhoon. A computerized randomized digit dialling cross-sectional household survey was conducted in... read more
Background: Despite larger health burdens attributed to cold than heat, few studies have examined personal cold protection behaviours (PCPB). This study examined PCPB during cold waves and identified the associated factors in a subtropical city for those without central heating system. Methods: A cohort telephone survey was conducted in Hong Kong during a colder cold wave (2016) and a warmer cold wave (2017) among adults (≥15). Socio-demographic information, risk perception, self-reported adverse health effects and patterns of PCPB during cold waves were collected.... read more
(1) Background: The adverse health effect associated with extreme temperature has been extensively reported in the current literature. Some also found that temperature effect may vary among the population with different socioeconomic status (SES), but found inconsistent results. Previous studies on the socioeconomic vulnerability of temperature effect were mainly achieved by multi-city or country analysis, but the large heterogeneity between cities may introduce additional bias to the estimation. The linkage between death registry and census in Hong Kong allows us to perform a city-wide... read more
Introduction
Non-pharmaceutical measures to facilitate a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a disease caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, are urgently needed. Using the World Health Organization (WHO) health emergency and disaster risk management (health-EDRM) framework, behavioural measures for droplet-borne communicable diseases and their enabling and limiting factors at various implementation levels were evaluated.
Sources of data
Health-Emergency Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) emerged as the latest knowledge, research and policy paradigm shift from response to preparedness and health risk management in non-emergency times. This approach attempts to enlist and empower communities to invest and emphasize their disaster health risk reduction efforts, thereby strengthening health systems and supporting community health resilience building. This Special Issue has collected 20 scientific papers that attempt to examine the research frontier in Health-EDRM.
Background: In response to population aging, there is a need for health systems to focus on care for chronic disease, specifically palliative care, while focusing on people-centered care. The objective of this study is to explore the healthcare system enablers and barriers to the provision of quality palliative and end-of-life care from the perspective of healthcare professionals. Materials and Methods: Using purposive sampling, fifteen focus group interviews and nine individual interviews involving 72 healthcare providers were conducted. Primary qualitative data were collected between May... read more
Addressing the psychological mechanisms and structural inequalities that underpin mental health issues is critical to recovery following disasters and pandemics. The Asia Pacific Disaster Mental Health Network was established in June 2020 in response to the current disaster climate and to foster advancements in disaster-oriented mental health research, practice and policy across the region. Supported by the World Health Organization (WHO) Thematic Platform for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM), the network brings together leading disaster psychiatry, psychology... read more
Background: Maintaining health of healthcare workers with vaccination is a major component of pandemic preparedness and acceptance of vaccinations is essential to its success. This study aimed to examine impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on change of influenza vaccination acceptance and identify factors associated with acceptance of potential COVID-19 vaccination.
Background: Extreme weather events happen more frequently along with global warming and they constitute a challenge for public health preparedness. For example, many investigations showed heavy rainfall was associated with an increased risk of acute gastroenteritis. In this study, we examined the associations between different meteorological factors and paediatric acute gastroenteritis in an affluent setting in China controlling for pollutant effects.
The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic brought about several features that increased the sense of fear and confusion, such as quarantine and financial losses among other stressors, which may have led to adverse psychosocial outcomes. The influence of such stressors took place within a broader sociocultural context that needs to be considered. The objective was to examine how the psychological response to the pandemic varied across countries and identify which risk/protective factors contributed to this response. An online survey was conducted from 29 May 2020–12 June 2020,... read more
This article summarizes the proceedings of the four-session meeting (webinar) conducted by the Alliance of International Science Organizations on Disaster Risk Reduction (ANSO-DRR) on 18 May 2020. ANSO-DRR is an international, nonprofit and nongovernmental scientific alliance bringing together academies of science, research organizations and universities which share a strong interest in disaster risk reduction in the regions along the land-based and maritime routes of the Belt and Road Initiative. ANSO-DRR convenes an annual meeting to review its work progress and discuss its scientific... read more
The editorial on complete protection for healthcare workers (HCW) resonated with Liu and colleagues’ study and re-emphasized the effectiveness of appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) on protecting frontline healthcare workers during the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. We applaud the authors’ well-articulated arguments on defining the “appropriateness” of PPE based on evidence rather than irrational fears; yet, as we learned from the local experience in Hong Kong, especially those from the SARS-CoV-1 outbreak, appropriate PPE is only one of the few factors that could help protect HCWs.
Climate change is expanding the global at-risk population for vector-borne diseases (VBDs). The World Health Organization (WHO) health emergency and disaster risk management (health-EDRM) framework emphasises the importance of primary prevention of biological hazards and its value in protecting against VBDs. The framework encourages stakeholder coordination and information sharing, though there is still a need to reinforce prevention and recovery within disaster management. This keyword-search based narrative literature review searched databases PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase and Medline... read more
Climate change, especially as reflected in heat waves, is a rising threat worldwide. Appropriate use of cooling devices can protect people from health impacts during a heat wave. A population-based telephone survey was conducted in a representative sample of residents in Hong Kong to investigate ownership and use of domestic cooling devices, identify correlates, and examine their associations with risk perception of potential health impact of climate change. More than 90% of the 1002 respondents owned and used cooling devices at home. The majority (57.7%) perceived the potential health... read more
An Ebola virus outbreak taking place in the complex political and social context of The Democratic Republic of the Congo has forced the research community to reflect on their approach to community engagement. Katharine Wright and Michael Parker, on behalf of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Working Group on research in global health emergencies, say that those affected need to influence research choices from the very beginning and that the value of their knowledge must be recognized.
Climate change-related extreme events are increasing in frequency and severity. Understanding household emergency preparedness capacity in Health-Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) for at risk urban communities is limited. The main objective of the study is to explore the association among risk perception, household preparedness, and the self-reported short-term impacts of Typhoons for urban residents. A population-based, cross-sectional telephone survey using random digit-dialling was conducted among Hong Kong adults within 2 weeks following 2018 Typhoon Mangkhut, the... read more
Food safety and unhealthy dietary pattern are important global health problems. Understanding food-related health needs and providing corresponding support are important to health risk reduction. A needs assessment, education intervention for food labelling, and another intervention for salt-intake reduction were conducted in a rural Kunge community in Yunnan, China in 2014, 2015 and 2016, respectively. Not checking the expiry date of packaged food (37.1%) and a high salt diet (53.9%) were the most common problems in the community. Both topics were selected for education intervention. Pre... read more
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
Background: Pneumonia is a common cause of childhood hospitalization. Both host and pathogen factors are associated with environmental conditions, but the associations between childhood pneumonia and meteorological variables are unclear. This study investigated the short-term associations between childhood pneumonia admissions and meteorological variables.
Methods: A retrospective time-series analysis was conducted using distributed lagged nonlinear models. Daily pneumonia admissions among children <15-year-old in Hong Kong during 2004-2011 were... read more
Introduction: As a subtropical urbanized city in Southeast Asia, Hong Kong is prone to frequent typhoons. With increasing number of severe typhoons, usual preparedness measures should be explored to assess their adequacy to safeguard health and wellbeing. Typhoon Mangkhut (2018) serves as an example of the successes and limitation of community preparedness for a severe typhoon. Aim: To explore how Hong Kong residents prepared for Typhoon Mangkhut and whether their usual preparedness measures provided enough protection. Method: A population-based randomized telephone survey of Hong Kong... 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
Heated debates over the Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2019 introduced by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government have led to numerous public marches and demonstrations since June 9, 2019.
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
Health-emergency disaster risk management (health-EDRM) aims to reduce the health risks and vulnerability associated with emergencies and disasters, such as natural disasters, infectious disease epidemics, complex emergencies, technology failure, or global population movement. Medical care and health responses in emergency contexts often rely on best-fit interventions rather than best practices to protect communities in suboptimally functioning systems and complex contexts. Unlike health emergency actions that are focused on the response, the health-EDRM approach emphasises emergency... 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
Introduction
Disaster epidemiological studies indicate that Asia has the highest frequency of natural disasters. Rural communities are heavily impacted by natural disasters and have different healthcare needs to urban ones. Referencing Asian countries, this paper’s objective is to provide an overview of health impacts and the current evidence for designing programmes and policies related to rural health emergency and disaster risk management (health-EDRM).
Sources of data
This paper uses published English-only reports and papers retrieved from PubMed, Google Scholar,... 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
Water security is essential for maintaining health and well-being, and for reducing a population’s vulnerability in a disaster. Among resource-poor villagers in China, water-related disasters and climate change may increasingly affect people’s water security. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between perceived water security and disaster risk perception in a rural ethnic minority community. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in 2015 in Xingguang village, Chongqing, China, examining the association between villagers’ perceptions of household water... 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
OBJECTIVE:
The effects of high temperature on existing allergic conditions are unclear. This study explored the prevalence of allergic symptoms and the effects of high temperature on existing allergic symptoms among an adult population. The effects of high temperature on other non-allergic health outcomes were compared between adults with and without a history of allergic symptoms.
METHOD:
A cross-sectional telephone survey study was conducted in Hong Kong two weeks after a heat wave in 2017. Socio-demographic information, history of allergic symptoms, non-allergic... 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
The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is a major driver of climatic variability that can have far reaching consequences for public health globally. We explored whether global, regional and country-level rates of people affected by natural disasters (PAD) are linked to ENSO. Annual numbers of PAD between 1964-2017 recorded on the EM-DAT disaster database were combined with UN population data to create PAD rates. Time-series regression was used to assess de-trended associations between PAD and 2 ENSO indices: Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) and multivariate El Niño Index (MEI). Over 95% of PAD... 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
The global travel and tourism industry has been rapidly expanding in the past decades. The traditional focus on border screening, and by airline and cruise industries may be inadequate due to the incubation period of an infectious disease. This case study highlights the potential role of the hotel industry in epidemic preparedness and response.
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: Web-based public health courses are becoming increasingly popular. “Public Health Principles in Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response” is a unique Web-based course in Hong Kong. This course aimed to fill a public health training gap by reaching out to postgraduates who are unable to access face-to-face learning.
Objective: The aim of this paper was to use a structured framework to objectively evaluate the effectiveness of a Web-based course according to Greenhalgh et al’s quality framework and the Donabedian model to make... read more
Objective How high temperature affects existing allergic conditions are unclear. This study examines the effects of high temperature on Hong Kong adult populations who have existing allergic symptoms. To explore the health outcomes of non-allergic symptoms, comparison was explored between adults with and without a history of allergic symptoms. Method Two week aster a health wave in 2017, a cross-sectional telephone survey study was conducted in Hong Kong. Socio-demographic information, history of allergic symptoms, non-allergic health symptoms, and self-reported changes of allergic... read more
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
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:
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:
Objective: To understand the community‘s response to hot weather in terms of risk perception, awareness of warning signal and personal protective measure taken for heat planning suggestions. Method: A telephone survey was conducted 2 weeks after a heatwave in Hong Kong, August 2017, and 436 respondent (≥15 years) were included. Respondents were the follow-up sample of a previous cold wave study. Sociodemographic characteristics, risk perception, awareness of the issue of Very-Hot-Weather Warning and the uptake of personal protective measure during study during the study period were... read more
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
Background/Aim: As numerous climate change mitigation measures promote health as well as environmental benefits, it is imperative to assess their uptake in communities. A previous study in Hong Kong showed women and older people practiced health and environmental co-benefit behaviours more frequently. However, the attitude and awareness behind those behaviours have not been explored. This study examines the patterns and predictors among dietary-related co-benefit behaviours. Methods: We conducted a population-based random-digit dialling telephone survey for n=1000 Hong Kong residents in... 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
Background: Extreme temperatures are increasing due to climate change, however research of their impacts on health behaviour are rare. While cold winter temperatures have been identified as a barrier to physical activity, an increase of extremely hot temperatures due to climate change may also potentially affect frequency of physical activity. This study aims to estimate the change of self-reported frequency of outdoor physical activity (PA) during cold and heat waves in a sub-tropical urban population and identify its predictors. Methods: A prospective population-based cohort telephone... 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
Introduction: Dioxin emissions from burning plastic waste are known to contain human carcinogens detrimental to health, yet indoor burning of household waste is a common practice in rural China. As part of the Ethnic Minority Health Project (EMHP), a drama-and -song based health education on household waste management was conducted at Dacao village, to improve individual and community health through primary education at increasing knowledge in the Manchu ethnic minority-based village in China. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2017, in Dacao village in Jilin Province,... 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
Background: With the increasing evidence of climate change, human health impact associated with rising global temperature has received more attention. Studies from higher latitudes, with cooler climates, have reported positive temperature-mental disorders association but the association from lower latitudes with warmer climates is still unclear. This study showed the short- term temperature-mental disorders association in a subtropical city located below the Tropic of Cancer with an annual mean temperature over 21°C.
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
Background/Aim: Previous studies have found increased fall incidence during winter months. However, most of the studies were conducted among the elderly only. Few studies have directly examined the impact of weather on the occurrence of falls. The findings of these studies are also not consistent. Therefore, this study aimed to explore the influences of temperatures on falls. Methods: Between 1998 and 2011, daily falls-related hospital admission were obtained from Hong Kong Hospital Authority, which were compiled with daily meteorological and air pollutants data obtained from the 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
BACKGROUND:
Rotavirus and norovirus are infectious pathogens primarily affecting children under 5 years old. The impact of rainfall on diarrheal diseases remains inconclusive. This study aimed to evaluate the association between short-term variation in rainfall, temperature and humidity, and rotavirus and norovirus hospitalizations among young children in Hong Kong.
METHODS:
Generalized additive negative binomial regression models with distributed lag non-linear terms, were fit with daily counts of hospital admissions due to rotavirus and norovirus infection... read more
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
In recent years, “health” has been recognized explicitly as both a determinant and an outcome of the human dimension of disaster risk reduction (DRR). Every disaster creates significant public health needs that can exceed local capacity to respond, resulting in excess mortality and morbidity. The European Union report on Science for Disaster Risk Management 2017: Knowing Better and Losing Less recommended that health sciences should be more involved in the community of disaster risk management to advance our understanding of outbreaks and pandemics and the health impacts of all... 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
There is an important opportunity to build coherence across different policy areas with the 2015–16 adoption of four landmark UN agreements—the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030, the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Paris Agreement, and the New Urban Agenda (Habitat III). Ensuring that health is at the heart of the Sendai Framework is crucial. The 2030 targets of the Sendai Framework call for substantial global reductions in disaster-related mortality, number of affected people, direct economic loss, and damage to critical infrastructure (panel).
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
Objective
This study aims to examine the patterns and socio-demographic predictors of health and environmental co-benefit behaviours that support climate change mitigation in a densely populated Asian metropolis—Hong Kong.
Methods
A population-based, stratified and cross-sectional random digit dialling telephone survey study was conducted between January and February 2016, among the Cantonese-speaking population aged 15 and above in Hong Kong. Socio-demographic data and the self-reported practice of 10 different co-benefit behaviours... 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
Objectives
To investigate specific challenges to Hong Kong’s capacity for effective disaster response, we assessed perceived barriers to evacuation and citizens’ self-efficacy.
Methods
Global positioning system software was used to determine random sampling locations across Hong Kong, weighted by population density. The resulting sample of 1023 participants (46.5% female, mean age 40.74 years) were invited to complete questionnaires on emergency preparedness, barriers to evacuation and self-efficacy. Latent profile analysis and multinomial logistic regression were used... read more
Study/Objective: This study primarily aimed to investigate the relationship among different types of household injuries with sociodemographic attributes in Hong Kong, an urban Chinese setting. Background: Injury is a major global disease burden for the 21th century. However, there is little research about unintentional household injury, especially in Asian urban area. Methods: A cross‐sectional retrospective recall study was conducted in 2009 using a random telephone survey with a modified Chinese version of the World Health Organization Injury and Violence instrument. Ethics approval and... 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
Background: Previous research has shown winter peaks for both hospitalizations and mortality from HF, but few studies have examined the association between meteorological parameters and HF.
Methods: Daily HF admissions to Hong Kong public hospitals, which cover about 83% of total admissions, and daily HF deaths, were obtained for 2002–2011. Generalized additive (Poisson) regression models were used with daily HF admissions/mortality as outcomes and dailymean temperature, humidity, and wind speed as predictors, while controlling for pollutant levels, time trend, season, day of theweek... 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
Disasters occur almost daily in the world. Because emergencies frequently have no precedent, are highly uncertain, and can be very destructive, improving a country's resilience is an efficient way to reduce risk. In this article, we collected more than 20,000 historical data points from disasters from 207 countries to enable us to calculate the severity of disasters and the danger they pose to countries. In addition, 6 primary indices (disaster, personal attribute, infrastructure, economics, education, and occupation) including 38 secondary influencing factors are considered in analyzing... 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
Remote, rural ethnic-minority communities face greater disaster-related public health risks due to their lack of resources and limited access to health care. The Ethnic Minority Health Project (EMHP) was initiated in 2009 to work with remote, disaster-prone ethnic-minority villages that live in extreme poverty. One of the project’s aims is to develop and evaluate bottom-up health risk reduction efforts in emergency and disaster risk management (Health-EDRM). This article shares project updates and describes field intervention results from the Yi ethnic community of Hongyan village in China... 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.
Health and disaster risk reduction are important and necessary components in building a smart city, especially when climate change may increase the frequency of extreme temperatures and the health risks of urban dwellers. However, limited knowledge is available about the best way to disseminate weather warnings and health protection information. This study explores the weather information acquisition patterns of the Hong Kong public and examines the sociodemographic predictors of these patterns to establish the potential public health implications of smart city development. A population-... 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: Some carbon-reducing behaviours are environmental-friendly and good for health. Such co-benefits are promoted since the millennium in Hong Kong (HK). This study aims to found out how the practice of these behaviours may have changed during the past decade in HK. Methods: This 2-stage sequential randomized cross-sectional and population-based telephone survey collected data in 2008 and 2016. Six kinds of behaviours (less electricity, less unnecessary package, less A/C, less meat, more walk/cycling, and more organic food) were investigated. The respondents self-reported their... 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
Increasingly practitioners and policy makers working across the globe are recognising the importance of bringing together disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. From studies across 15 Pacific island nations, a key barrier to improving national resilience to disaster risks and climate change impacts has been identified as a lack of capacity and expertise resulting from the absence of sustainable accredited and quality assured formal training programmes in the disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation sectors.
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.
Background: Climate change has increased extreme temperature events. The study aims to examine the community risk awareness and perceptions of temperature warning system in subtropical city in Asia which is rarely studied. Design and data collection: A cross-sectional, self-administrated questionnaire survey on all incoming students of the Faculty of Medicine (both clinical and non-clinical) in the University was conducted in September 2015. Personal backgrounds, knowledge, attitudes and practices towards current extreme temperature warning systems were collected. Ethics approval and... read more
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
A better understanding of knowledge gaps and global civil societal learning patterns will support the building of “bottom up” disaster resilience through online global accessible education platforms. Through collaborative efforts between Chinese University of Hong Kong and University of Oxford, a free-of-charge 18-hours online course titled Public Health Principles in Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response" was developed by CCOUC. Enrolled students may access all learning materials and activities online within each of the four time-study cohorts.
“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
BACKGROUND: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is an emerging enterovirus-induced infectious disease for which the environmental risk factors promoting disease circulation remain inconclusive. This study aims to quantify the association of daily weather variation with hospitalizations for HFMD in Hong Kong, a subtropical city in China. METHODS: A time series of daily counts of HFMD public hospital admissions from 2008 through 2011 in Hong Kong was regressed on daily mean temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, solar radiation and total rainfall, using a combination of negative... 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
Objectives: The study aims to investigate the effectiveness of Cold Weather Warning in Hong Kong via evaluation whether such can enhance the adoption of protective measures against cold spell in the community. 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... 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
Objectives Globally, the effects of climate change pose significant threats to human health. Individual environmental actions are advocated to not only leave a lower carbon footprint, but also to improve health and even reduce daily life expenses. The objective of this study is to assess the community patterns of economical, health and environmental co-benefit behaviours among the Hong Kong public. Methods A randomised cross-sectional population-based telephone survey was conducted between January and February 2016, surveying Cantonese-speaking Hong Kong residents over age 15. Ethics... 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 Since SARS epidemic in 2003, Hong Kong has experienced several major epidemic risks, but how general community might react to the repeated infectious diseases health risks have not been studied. In 2013, imported human H7N9 influenza infected cases from China were reported. Our study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) concerning A/H7N9 among Hong Kong general population regarding pandemic preparedness in early 2014. METHODS A cross-sectional, population-based telephone survey study was conducted among the Cantonese-speaking population aged over 15 years in... 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
Introduction: In 2011, north-eastern Japan was struck by ‘a triple disaster’ with a magnitude 9.0 earthquake, tsunamis and nuclear plants meltdown that caused nearly 20,000 deaths. Despite of the pre-event community disaster preparedness and drills, mortalities vary among disaster affected schools. This qualitative case study aims to identify factors that were associated with positive health outcomes.
Accidental industrial disasters are often associated with illegal and unethical industrial and commercial practices. A warehouse explosion on Aug 12, 2015, in Tianjin, a major port city in China, caused 158 deaths and 698 hospital admissions. Post-disaster investigations at the explosion site reported illegal storage of dangerous chemical substances comprising 1300 tonnes of oxide and nitrate compounds (mainly potassium nitrate and ammonium nitrate), 500 tonnes of flammable materials (consisting of metallic sodium and magnesium), and 700 tonnes of highly toxic substances (mainly sodium... 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
Study Objectives To assess the effectiveness of using train-the-trainer approach, framed with social-cognitive perspective, to enhance participants’ self-efficacy in planning disaster-related projects in Chinese rural communities.
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
Study/Objective To equip the villagers living with NCDs (NCD villagers) with adequate health risk literacy for managing their diseases in times of disasters in rural China. Background NCDs are prevalent in China, including rural villages. These villagers may not have adequate health risk literacy for managing their NCDs when disaster comes. As such, packing an easytomake emergency rescue bag, inclusive of adequate medication for disasters, can be an important means for disaster risk management. Particular focus on addressing disease management when the supply of medication is interrupted... 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
Study/Objective To enhance boarding school teachers' health literacy in disaster risks in disasterprone area in China. Background Yushu in Qinghai Province of China has suffered from a massive earthquake in 2010 and disaster preparedness has yet been emphasised in schools since then. As such, school children will be destined to severely suffer when the next disaster comes. Given a high altitude on high mountains, students usually live in dormitories. Teachers are the most important health promoters in this boarding school setting. However, teachers are equipped with respect to disaster... 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
Background: Hong Kong is an urban Asian community connected to mainland China characterized by a very high population density. Since SARS epidemic in 2003, the city had experiences several major epidemic risks but how general community might react to the repeated infectious diseases health risks are not studied. In 2013, imported human H7N9 influenza infected cases from China have been reported. Our study aims to assess the knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) concerning A/H7N9 among Hong Kong general population during the second wave of the pandemic preparedness Methods: A cross-... read more
This study aims to quantitatively summarize the association between night shift work and the risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS), with special reference to the dose–response relationship with years of night shift work. We systematically searched all observational studies published in English on PubMed and Embase from 1971 to 2013. We extracted effect measures (relative risk, RR; or odd ratio, OR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) from individual studies to generate pooled results using meta-analysis approach. Pooled RR was calculated using random- or fixed-effect model. Downs and Black scale... 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
Disaster preparedness is an important preventive strategy for protecting health and mitigating adverse health effects of unforeseen disasters. A multi-site based ethnic minority project (2009-2015) is set up to examine health and disaster preparedness related issues in remote, rural, disaster prone communities in China. The primary objective of this reported study is to examine if previous disaster experience significantly increases household disaster preparedness levels in remote villages in China. A cross-sectional, household survey was conducted in January 2011 in Gansu Province, in a... read more
Objectives: There is limited evidence on perceptions of disaster risk and household level preparedness among urban Asian communities. 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
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
BACKGROUND The chronic health effects from exposure to ambient air pollution are still unclear. This study primarily aims to examine the relationship between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and respiratory morbidities in Chinese children. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2,203 school children aged 8-10 in three districts with different air pollution levels in Hong Kong. Annual means for ambient PM10, SO2, NO2 and O3 in each district were used to estimate participants' individual exposure. Two questionnaires were used to collect children's respiratory... 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
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
OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and lung function among Chinese schoolchildren in Southern China (Hong Kong). METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study among 3168 schoolchildren (aged 8-10 years) in 3 districts in Hong Kong. Annual means of ambient PM10 (particulate matter <10 µm), SO2, NO2 and O3 from 1996 to 2003 were used to estimate the individual exposure of the subjects. Children's lung function was measured for forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), forced expiratory flow between 25% and 75% of... 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
The recent Super Typhoon Haiyan, the third category 5 typhoon to strike the Philippines since 2010, tore through Tacloban in the province of Leyte and affected about 13 million people; only 4 weeks after Super Typhoon Usagi affected more than 2.7 million people in southern China. With increasing numbers of disasters related to climate change (from 99 in 1980 to 269 in 2011), Asia is likely to be hit by more typhoons with stronger intensity in the coming decades......
Objectives Millions of children and adolescents in rural China are left behind as their parents move away for work. Little is known about the impact of parental migration on their smoking and self-efficacy. This study explores the associations among parental migration, self-efficacy and smoking. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among middle school students in Liangying Township, Guangdong, China. Socio-demographic and parental migration characteristics, as well as adolescent past 30-day smoking and self-efficacy level were collected using a self-administered questionnaire.... 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.
研究证实受灾地区的当地居民是发生灾害时能够最早做出反应的潜在救援力量,可以在黄金时间内施以救助,从而有效地降低灾害招致的人员伤亡。因次,在易受灾灾区对当地居民进行普及教育,提供与灾害救援有关的基本知识和技能,可以最大的发挥这一潜力。Angus在1993年提出“八项急救的基本步骤”的建议,以期达到在社区居民中有效普及灾难教育的目的。以Angus的建议为框架,以5•12汶川大地震为例,本文总结了汶川大地震的经验和教训,探讨了社区健康工作者在灾害发生时应当扮演的角色,从而尽可能地降低灾害对人类生命和健康的影响。
Objective To explore the relationship between weather phenomena and pollution levels and daily hospital admissions (as an approximation to morbidity patterns) in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR), China, in 1998–2009. Methods Generalized additive models and lag models were constructed with data from official sources on hospital admissions and on mean daily temperature, mean daily wind speed, mean relative humidity, daily total global solar radiation, total daily rainfall and daily pollution levels. Findings During the hot season, admissions increased by 4.5% for every increase... read more
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.
目的:评估在少数民族地区进行灾害教育对居民防灾备灾知-信-行的改变。 方法:2011年-2012年3月期间,对甘肃省黄土高原上的大滩村(回族)和四川省金沙江马鞍桥村(傣族)的居民予以灾害教育,干预前、后、及之后10-14个月的随访期间用自制问卷,采用面对面调查方式收集研究参加者干预前后防灾备灾的知-信-行情况,同时收集个人及家庭等有关资料。统计分析使用SPSS 19.0统计软件包,显著性取值0.05,双侧检验。 结果:133个大滩村居民和110个马鞍桥村居民参加了研究,参与率分别为62.4%和43.1%。经过干预后,居民的防灾备灾知识、态度、信心等指标都有显著提高,然而10-14个月之后,除了马鞍桥村居民对灾前准备的重要性的态度、以及两村居民对如何紧急应对灾害知识的提高继续保持外,其他指标都有显著性回弹,但仍然高于干预前的水平。 结论:在容易遭受灾害影响、少数民族聚居的偏远农村推行适合的灾害教育可以有效地提高居民抗灾减灾的知识、态度和水平,从而降低灾害引致的伤亡和损失。为了避免“回弹”,定期的强化教育可能是有效的方法之一。
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......
This study aimed to conduct a systematic review to sum up evidence of the associations between different aspects of night shift work and female breast cancer using a dose-response meta-analysis approach. We systematicly searched all cohort and case-control studies published in English on MEDLINE, Embase, PSYCInfo, APC Journal Club and Global Health, from January 1971 to May 2013. We extracted effect measures (relative risk, RR; odd ratio, OR; or hazard ratio, HR) from individual studies to generate pooled results using meta-analysis approaches. A log-linear dose-response regression model... read more
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
Background: Six of the ten deadliest natural disasters, as measured by death toll, have occurred in China. First-aid knowledge and skills can be useful in treating injuries that commonly result from natural disasters. Yet there have been no studies examining first-aid as a potential means of disaster preparedness and/or emergency response in either Hong Kong or Mainland China. The present study focuses on the relationship between first-aid training and disaster preparedness within the general public community in Hong Kong. Methods: Cross sectional study was performed using a randomized,... 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
The 2008 Wenchuan earthquake highlights some of the successes of government-led schemes to mitigate the impact of natural disasters. A stronger focus on individuals and local communities could reduce losses even further in the future.
Gaps in training have been identified from reviews of the experiences of prehospital medical personnel faced with previous disasters like the Sichuan earthquake in 2008. It would be useful to identify and develop standardised training and educational core competencies in pre-hospital disaster training adapted to the local situation and health system in China. This paper identified six areas of training needs for responders to enhance their effectiveness in disaster settings. Two levels of training for frontline first responders and disaster response managers may be the best approach to... 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 Flooding is one of the most common natural disasters in China. With climate change, the Chinese communities will further increase their vulnerabilities to extreme weather events. In order to mitigate disaster risk, a better understanding of flood disaster profile and human health impact of floods in China will provide evidence to support the development of interventions to facilitate recovery of affected population in field setting. The study objective is to summarize update knowledge of health impact of floods in China. Flood assessing methodologies and mapping techniques will... 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
Background: Globally, China is the most natural disaster prone country and its remote area population faces the highest natural disaster risk. These communities are often characterized by ethnic minority based, in extreme poverty. In China, non-Han Chinese constitutes to 8.4% of her population and generally fare worse in economic status than the Han majority. Since 2009, the health education team from the School of Public Health has been to rural villages in China to deliver health education. Four key principles of site selection include: 1. geographic remoteness, 2. ethnic minority based... read more
Background: Disaster risk literacy refers to the ability to identify, understand, interpret and communicate disaster risk-related information. Whilst literature review indicates that health literacy is directly associated with health outcomes, there is currently a literature gap on the predictors of disaster health risk literacy and how risk literacy might be associated with the uptake of first aid trainings for better community disaster preparedness.
BACKGROUND Prior studies from around the world have indicated that very high temperatures tend to increase summertime mortality. However possible effect modification by urban micro heat islands has only been examined by a few studies in North America and Europe. This study examined whether daily mortality in micro heat island areas of Hong Kong was more sensitive to short term changes in meteorological conditions than in other areas. METHOD An urban heat island index (UHII) was calculated for each of Hong Kong's 248 geographical tertiary planning units (TPU). Daily counts of all natural... 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
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
Previous studies examining daily temperature and stroke incidence have given conflicting results. We undertook this retrospective study of all stroke admissions in those aged 35 years old and above to Hong Kong public hospitals from 1999 through 2006 in order to better understand the effects of meteorological conditions on stroke risk in a subtropical setting. We used Poisson Generalized Additive Models with daily hemorrhagic (HS) and ischemic stroke (IS) counts separately as outcomes, and daily mean temperature, humidity, solar radiation, rainfall, air pressure, pollutants, flu... 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
BACKGROUND Heatwaves are hot weather events, which breach regional or national thresholds, that last for several days. They are likely to occur with increasing frequency in some parts of the world. The potential consequences were illustrated in Europe in August 2003 when there were an estimated 30,000 excess deaths due to a heatwave. Electric fans might be used with the intention of reducing the adverse health effects of a heatwave. Fans do not cool the ambient air but can be used to draw in cooler air from outside when placed at an open window. The aim of the fans would be to increase... 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
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
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: Several studies from Europe and the United States have reported sharp drops in the incidence of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) following the introduction of smoking bans for public places in various cities. In addition some studies have reported that daily AMI hospitalization rates are associated with meteorological conditions, particularly temperature. Hong Kong banned smoking in restaurants, workplaces and outdoor public areas in 2007 and in bars and karaokes in mid-2009. In this study we examine whether AMI hospitalization rates dropped following introduction of the... 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
Sleep disturbances are common symptoms during the immediate and long-term aftermath of exposure of traumatic events. While stress affects sleep in all age groups, due to differences in physiological, psychological, and socio-behavorial risk factors, the clinical management of pediatric patients with sleep disturbances post-disaster might be different. This study aims to systematically review scientific literature on the clinical management of pediatric sleep disturbances post-disaster and its clinical implication in developing countries. Methods: A keyword-based, systematic review was... read more
Speed and accuracy are major considerations in triage in emergency field settings. Traditional physical examination techniques often are limited in detecting the true nature and full extent of internal visceral injuries, for which delayed recognition and treatment may lead to catastrophic results. Ultrasound has a well-established role in the rapid initial assessment of intraabdominal pathologies, including trauma, and contemporary portable ultrasound machines are available for use in the field. This presentation will introduce the basic principles of diagnostic ultrasound and its use in... 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
The negative impact of extreme temperatures on health is well-established. Individual help-seeking behavior, however, may mitigate the extent of morbidity and mortality during elevated temperatures. This study examines individual help-seeking behavior during periods of elevated temperatures among a Chinese population. Help-seeking patterns and factors that influence behavior will be identified so that vulnerable subgroups may be targeted for health protection during heat crises. A retrospective time-series Poisson generalized additive model analysis, using meteorological data of Hong Kong... 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
Knowledge about disasters plays an essential role in managing and responding to disasters and emergencies, especially among a group of health care professionals who are actively or will potentially be involved in disaster and emergency settings. A set of training materials that aims to enhance understanding of disasters and their impact of health has been developed. This project aims to examine the effectiveness of the disaster knowledge training to improve technical knowledge and perceptions of health impact of disasters in health care professionals and responders. “Understanding... 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
Few studies have focused on chronic health needs immediately after natural disasters in middle-income countries. This study examines chronic medical needs during the acute phase after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in an emergency triage clinic in Sichuan, China. Information on physical, social, and public health preparedness was collected in predesigned templates. Descriptive and Pearson's chi association analyses were conducted. One hundred and eighty-two evacuees were received at the triage site. Of these, 54% required trauma treatment... 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.
Limited research has been conducted to understand the relationship between heat wave warnings with public awareness and behavioral changes in the Asian population. The Hong Kong Observatory introduced the “very hot weather warning” in 2000 to alert the public of heatstroke and sunburn in Hong Kong. However, the population's behavioral responses to these weather alerts is unclear. Moreover, the relationship between perceived health risks and behavioral changes has not been examined. The goal of this study is to examine the health risk perceptions and behavioral changes following public heat... read more
Psychological First Aid (PFA) has become the choice of mental health intervention and integration with the current disaster relief protocols during emergencies by the Institute of Medicine, NIMH and the WHO. It can be used during or immediately after disaster. People without mental health specialized training, including public health practitioners and emergency responders can learn and apply to everyone in need. Whilst being used extensively, few studies have evaluated the effectiveness of PFA and its field applicability. A prospective randomized controlled study. 800 emergency medical... read more
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
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.
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
A devastating earthquake occurred on May 12, 2008 in Sichuan, China. This study investigated the prevalence and factors in association with psychological problems among secondary school students living in Chengdu (90 km away from the disaster epicenter) in June 2008. In a cross-sectional survey, 3,324 secondary students self-administered a structured questionnaire in classroom setting. Validated scales were used in this study. Among all respondents, 22.3% reported post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); 22.6% were probable depression cases; 10.6% reported suicidal ideation; and 14.1% would... 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 China, water resources are both inadequate and unevenly distributed. Professor Emily Chan and Professor Sian Griffiths from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, discuss the impact of water quantity, quality, cost and development on public health in China......
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......
OBJECTIVES: No published study, to date, has examined the characteristics and health outcomes of natural disaster-affected populations in unofficial rural self-settled internally displaced camps. By examining resident profiles in various unofficial rural displaced settlements after the 2005 Kashmir, Pakistan earthquake, this study aims to (i) describe the demographic and epidemiological characteristics of residents, (ii) compare their health outcomes with those of residents in official displaced camps, and (iii) highlight health needs and discuss implications for future disaster health... 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
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
AIMS: Limited published studies have examined patient characteristics and disease patterns served by mobile clinics in remote areas post natural disaster. By comparing users of a remote mountainous stationary clinic and a mobile helicopter outreach clinic in Neelam Valley, 4 months post Pakistan-Kashmir earthquake, this study aims to: (i) compare the demographic and disease profile of health service users, (ii) examine how acute and chronic disease patterns vary with clinical settings, and (iii) discuss the potential implications to mobile emergency clinical service planning acute phase of... 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
目的 探讨高温热浪对沿海城市每日居民死亡情况的影响,为预防与控制热浪对城市居民健康的不良影响提供科学依据.方法 采用半参数广义相加模型对我国某沿海城市中心城区2005-2007年日平均温度与每日居民死亡数之间关系进行研究,同时采用分布滞后模型探索夏季日平均温度对每日居民死亡数的滞后效应.结果 通过平滑2005-2007年某沿海城市中心区日全死因死亡数与日平均温度的关系,得出它们之间的关系近似呈"V"型.夏季日平均温度每升高1 ℃,相对危险度增加0.036(P<0.01).在建立的半参数广义相加模型中,日平均温度与日死亡数线性关系特别显著(P<0.001),通过逐步回归对温度迟滞项lag1、lag2、lag3进行筛选,得出lag3代入模型最有意义,线性关系特别显著(P<0.001).通过分布滞后模型,获得lag0、lag1对全死因死亡率的影响最明显(P<0.000 1).结论 高温热浪对城镇居民每日居民死亡人数产生不利的影响,为了应对热浪活动在全球范围内日趋频繁的威胁,应该根据沿海城市的地区特点,采取相应的有效预防措施,以减少热浪导致的健康危害作用,确保沿海城市居民的健康.
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
Natural disasters always cause vast mortality and morbidity......
Emily Y Y Chan took part in the relief effort after the Sichuan earthquake in May. She reports on the short-term needs of those affected and the medical and public-health challenges that will be faced by the Chinese population as rehabilitation and reconstruction continues......
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
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
Child public health is described by Kohler as “ …the organised efforts of society to develop healthy public health policies to promote child and young people’s health, to prevent disease in children and young people and to foster equity for children and young people, within a framework of sustainable development”. China has the second largest population under the age of 5 in the world and faces complex challenges resulting from legislation, such as the one child policy, as well as the problem of increasing inequity, as demonstrated by trends in infant mortality in urban and rural China.... read more
News stories about the contamination of milk with melamine in China first emerged on Sept 11, 2008, and the situation has since become an international health scare. Melamine (also known as tripolycyanamide) is an industrial chemical in the production of melamine resins, which are used in laminates, glues, adhesives, and plastics. When added to milk, melamine increases the nitrogen concentration, which suggests a false increase in protein concentration. Melamine has low oral acute toxicity but excessive exposure in animals causes renal stones. When consumed by human beings, babies and... 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
This study investigates the epidemiological characteristics of non-fatal unintentional household injuries in Hong Kong, the city with the world's highest population density. A population-based, cross-sectional, random telephone survey was conducted with a modified Chinese WHO injury and violence survey questionnarie in May 2007. Descriptive and univariate analysis was conducted to highlight the associated factors. The prevalence of all non-fatal unintentional home injuries in the preceding year was 40.2%. Contusion/crushing injuries, open wounds and burn-related scalds were the most... read more
Although natural disasters may cause massive loss of human life and destruction of resources, they also present affected populations with a rare opportunity to access external resources. Nevertheless, many post-disaster medical relief intervention programmes only focus on the provision of acute medical services and the control of communicable diseases. Currently, no specific study has examined why chronic medical needs seem to be insufficiently addressed in disaster relief interventions. This paper review current knowledge about how natural disasters affect people with chronic medical... 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
Since 1970, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has been providing medical care to vulnerable populations. This article aims to show the role of MSF as a medical nongovernmental organisation and its impact on the health of populations. Médecins Sans Frontières is best known for its emergency interventions, providing assistance to victims of natural disasters, epidemics, and armed conflicts. The expertise of this group includes setting up medical and health services that range from surgical and nutritional to psychosocial care in difficult settings.