News Archive: Health Security
Key components of public health emergency preparedness outlined — April 9, 2007
A panel of experts issued a report consisting of 16 key actions communities can take in the event of bio-terrorist attacks, pandemic flu outbreaks, or other large-scale public health emergencies. The experts also proposed a standard definition for public health emergency preparedness. The report was produced by RAND Health's Center for Domestic and International Health Security.
News release
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How Prepared Are State and Local Response Organizations to Combat Terrorism? — Nov. 2006
The results of a national survey by RAND's National Defense Research Institute are presented regarding state and local activities for emergency preparedness and readiness against terrorism. Results include updated mutual-aid agreements and response plans for chemical, biological, and radiological incidents.
Aiding children in long-term recovery from traumatic events — Oct. 2006
RAND has released a toolkit that shows how to provide school-based mental health programs for students exposed to violence, natural disasters and other traumatic events. The toolkit will enable schools to help students displaced by natural disasters like Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
More tools from RAND Health
Infectious disease and national security: Strategic information needs — Aug. 2006
This report from the RAND Center for Military Health Policy Research examines infectious disease within the context of national security and assesses the need for and adequacy of information that will enable U.S. policymakers to prevent and respond to such threats.
Full document
Evolution of public health systems due to increases in preparedness — July 2006
Public health agencies are being affected by public health preparedness in a variety of ways, including the emergence of new partnerships and technologies, changes in the workforce, and evolving organizational structures. Challenges remain for the integration of preparedness with other public health functions.
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Pandemic influenza preparedness must address psychological and social factors — July 2006
Existing pandemic influenza preparedness plans in the U.S. address disease surveillance, containment, and mass vaccination strategies, but little attention has been directed to psychological and social factors that may influence human behavior during a pandemic. This article provides timely expert panel recommendations for pandemic influenza response and recovery by addressing human behavior and adaptation.
Early detection key to controlling smallpox outbreaks — June 2006
A review of the literature describing smallpox outbreaks in post-World War II Europe and North America revealed that the majority of outbreaks were controlled within a few generations when detected early. Early detection and implementation of control measures can reduce the magnitude of outbreaks and may be crucial to minimizing the effects of a biological attack.
Protecting emergency responders from pathogens and hazardous materials — June 2006
This report provides guidelines for personal protective equipment (PPE) for emergency responders, focusing on modifications to PPE ensembles due to the duration of response and the need to prevent exposures to likely hazards from pathogens, airborne dusts, and gaseous hazardous materials.
Pandemic influenza preparedness in local public health agencies — June 2006
A set of RAND Health documents that includes a fully customizable template for a tabletop exercise for pandemic influenza preparedness for use by state and local health agencies and their healthcare and governmental partners as an exercise in training, relationship building, and evaluation.
Quality improvement methods can enhance public health preparedness — May 2006
Since 2001, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has worked to enhance public health emergency preparedness. For quality improvements to flourish, preparedness practices should be integrated into daily work and attention should be paid to organizational development and changes.
Trauma tool-kit for schools helps students with recovery — May 2006
This tool helps schools support the long-term recovery of students who have been traumatized by exposure to violence, natural disasters, and terrorism. Summaries of each selected program are included, with details about implementation, personnel training and materials, and contact information.
Patients successfully use electronic monitoring system to report reactions to smallpox vaccination — May 2006
Patients who received a smallpox vaccination successfully used an Internet and telephone-based electronic monitoring system to report symptoms and reactions to the vaccine. This system may be useful in public health emergencies, such as mass vaccination during a bioterrorism event or a pandemic influenza outbreak.
Protecting emergency responders at large building collapses — Apr. 2006
In an effort to reduce the extent of injuries like those suffered by emergency responders at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, RAND has proposed guidelines to better protect responders from the chemical, biological and physical hazards that exist following the collapse of large buildings.
Nation-building efforts hampered by failures to address health problems — Apr. 2006
The United States missed opportunities to help win the support of the public in Iraq and Afghanistan by failing to make health a bigger focus of reconstruction efforts after U.S.-led invasions of the nations.
Preparing health providers to treat trauma in conflict-affected countries — Apr. 2006
Extensive training in mental health services can better prepare primary healthcare providers to treat people traumatized by widespread violence in developing nations.
Forum focuses on catastrophe preparedness — Apr. 2006
Leaders in homeland security, emergency response, and occupational safety and health convened in San Francisco on April 7, 2006 to discuss individual, worker and employer preparedness for catastrophic risks. The forum was sponsored by RAND, UC-Berkeley, and the California Commission on Health and Safety and Workers' Compensation (CHSWC).
New congressional testimony on public health preparedness in the 21st century — Mar. 2006
New congressional testimony describes RAND Health research on public health preparedness from recent years, including evaluations of preparedness in the states of California and Georgia and exercises on a range of public health issues. Progress has been made, but significant challenges remain, particularly with regards to the threat of pandemic influenza.
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Most Los Angeles residents unprepared for terrorist attack — Jan. 2006
Although most Los Angeles County residents expect the region to be struck by a terrorist attack in the year ahead, only one-third have prepared for the aftermath of an attack, with African Americans and Latinos showing the highest levels of preparedness.
New Public Health Preparedness Database available online — Jan. 2006
RAND Health has launched a new website featuring a searchable database designed to help local and state public health departments identify the best exercises to prepare for emergencies, including incidents of bioterrorism.
RAND's Executive Vice President discusses a vision for a successful, independent Palestine — Dec. 2005
Recent commentary about RAND's research on Palestine presents a vision for the success of an independent Palestinian state. The RAND study includes a comprehensive set of recommendations to provide access to jobs, food, water, health care, housing and public services, along with improved internal and external security.
Public health readiness project helps agencies be more responsive — Oct. 2005
An evaluation of the pilot year of Project Public Health Ready (PHR), which aims to prepare local public health agencies to respond to bioterrorism and to protect the public’s health. Agencies that participated in PHR were better prepared and more responsive.
Electronic self-reporting of smallpox vaccine reactions shows promise for large vaccination efforts — Sep. 2005
During a mass vaccination event, self-reports of vaccine reactions using an electronic monitoring system could facilitate tracking of reactions and provide an early warning system for adverse events.
RAND Health study among most-read articles in Health Affairs — Sep. 2005
RAND Health article "Public Health Response to Urgent Case Reports" made the top 50 list at Health Affairs this past month.
See Health Affairs Top 50
Gaps in public health agency responsiveness to reports of suspicious illnesses — Aug. 2005
Results of a new RAND study indicate that many local public health agencies in the U.S. are unprepared to quickly learn about and respond to naturally occurring outbreaks of deadly infectious diseases and to acts of bioterrorism.
Effectiveness of instruments used for assessing public health preparedness — Aug. 2005
A review of instruments that assess the level of preparedness of state and local public health departments to respond to health threats such as bioterrorism.
Bioterrorism preparedness training and assessment manual for local public health agencies — Aug. 2005
A manual of exercises that can be customized by local public health agencies to train their staff in detecting and responding to bioterrorism events and to assess their level of preparedness.
Terrorism's psychological effects and the role of physicians — July 2005
Primary care physicians can play an important role in helping the nation prepare for, respond to, and recover from the psychological consequences of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear terrorism.Helping a Palestinian state succeed. Creating a Palestinian state poses myriad political, economic, social, and environmental challenges. Overcoming these obstacles requires a comprehensive plan for nation-building and a design to meet the population's infrastructure needs. Full documents | More on the Center for Domestic and International Health Security (Posted 04/05.)
Prepare the public. If Osama bin Laden sends terrorists instead of a videotaped speech as his next message to the United States, the hospitals, clinics, doctors, nurses and other elements of our public health system in targeted cities will not have time to draw up plans to respond. More on public health... (Posted 01/05.)
Pocket guide to surviving terrorist attacks. A new pocket guide—available for home printers and Palm handhelds—focuses on simple steps individuals can take to prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks with chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear weapons. Pocket Guide; Full document. (Posted 9/04.)
Minorities are concerned about public health fairness — Sep. 2004
Trust in public health recommendations will be crucial in a bioterrorist attack. A new RAND study in Los Angeles County shows that most people believe that the public health system will respond fairly in a crisis, but that African-Americans and Asian/Pacific Islanders have the most doubts about fairness.Private doctors trump public health — Sep. 2004
Some victims of the District of Columbia anthrax attack adhered to treatment advice from public health authorities; others did not. Most of the nonadherent individuals were following the advice of their private doctors.Community-wide disaster plans should include nursing facilities — Aug. 2004
A survey of nursing facilities after the Northridge, CA earthquake identified considerable stress on nursing home services. Nevertheless, nursing facilities met important community needs.Persistent psychological consequences of the 9/11 attacks — July 2004
Many adults continued to experience terrorism-related distress and disruption of their daily lives approximately 2 months after September 11; few used clinicians as a source of information or support.Providing better protection to emergency responders. A major emergency–such as a hurricane or a terrorist attack–draws responders from many agencies, each with its own worker protection standards. A new study shows how improved coordination would save time during an emergency and assure a high level of protection for all responders. Press release; more on emergency responders... (Posted 6/04.)
Are syndromic surveillance systems effective for detecting bioterrorist attacks? — Feb. 2004
The effectiveness of syndromic surveillance systems, which aim to identify incidents of bioterrorism rapidly by detecting symptoms rather than confirmed diagnoses, is limited by inherent tradeoffs among sensitivity, timeliness, and the numbers of false positives.
Schools and bioterrorism. (PDF) Schools will likely play a critical role in helping communities recover from a bioterrorist attack. Almost all schools have natural disaster recovery plans. But bioterrorism is different: the attack may be prolonged, and the psychological effects on children and the community may be more severe. This study describes how schools can improve preparedness. (Posted 12/03.)
US vulnerability to agro-terrorism. In recent congressional testimony, a RAND expert notes that the highly concentrated nature of US farming practices, together with the increased disease susceptibility of livestock and inadequate security measures, could present an easy target to terrorists. The testimony also discusses the likely effects of such an attack. (Posted 12/03.)
Protecting yourself in a terrorist attack. Individuals can take some simple steps to protect themselves in a terrorist attack. (Posted 9/03.)
Vaccinating health care workers for smallpox will probably save lives; vaccinating the general public probably won't. Vaccination can be an effective counter to smallpox bioterrorism. But the vaccine itself is dangerous: serious complications and even death can result. A newly published study conducted by the RAND Center for Domestic and International Health Security analyzes a number of plausible smallpox attack scenarios, ranging from a simple hoax to a massive, coordinated attack, and the implications of widespread vaccination for each. More... (Posted 1/03.)
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