Author: Editor

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Cindy Martinez Interviews Nancy Daneau

Nancy is a student at NYU GPH and was originally a business major but has dedicated a lot of her spare time volunteering and encouraging her family to volunteer. She first started working in the engineering department at Florida Atlantic University and then moved on to become the Associate Vice Provost for Research here at NYU. Her career in research administration supporting faculty and researchers across the disciplines spans 30 years. Nancy works with researchers to develop and submit grant proposals, negotiate the terms and conditions of contracts, ensures investigator and university-wide compliance with regulatory requirements, and facilitates the dissemination of research results, all leading to discoveries and advancements that benefit the scientific community and the public. 

With the progression of the pandemic, she was inspired to take a 3 month accelerated course offered by the Smithtown local fire department to become an EMT. Simultaneously, she came across and became interested in the Advanced Certificate in Public Health Disaster Science, Policy and Practice after repeated reports of the pandemic and climate change have taken light in the news. In this opportunity, she is trying to combine her experience in research and volunteering to be in a better position to improve herself and her own communities’ disaster preparedness and response. She is looking for ways to apply the knowledge she is learning from the various courses into practice. She recounts her first experience with the field when the pandemic first struck, and her department’s Vice Provost was faced with the task of keeping the work going, protecting human and animal subject research, while maintaining the safety of everyone.

 

Watch the interview here. 

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Kate Porterfield’s Case Study On the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster

In early April 2010, an explosion in a mine in Montreal, West Virginia killed over 90% of the workers that day and only 2 survived making it the most fatal explosion incident since 1970. The source of the ignition is still unknown but the high flammable methane levels were likely to have been a major contributor to the disaster. Initially, 25 out of the 29 men that were killed were discovered immediately and their deaths were attributed to the explosion or inhalation of toxic gases that resulted. Four more individuals, who were presumed missing, were later identified in the blast debris. The underlying problems with occupational health and safety protocols and processes and the response of the mine management company led to heavy criticism by the families of the deceased and public officials. 

 

Download the case study here. 

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Callie Seaman’s Case Study on the Devastating December 2021 Tornado Event

Callie presents the case by describing the human and economic impact of the deadliest tornado event in Kentucky’s history. Although the devastation from the “violent” level tornadoes spanned multiple states, Kentucky had the highest number of human casualties. Allowing this event to be labeled as a federal disaster by President Biden and facilitating the rapid mobilization of resources, aid, and assistance. Even though early warning systems were activated, Callie makes an interesting point that they may be less effective during the hours that people are usually sleeping, thus hindering response to the alerts. The slow civilian response may have played a role in this disaster as well as the vulnerability of the populations that live in the southern U.S. states. 

Download Callie’s case study here. 

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Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment of Jordan by Sabaa Alnsour

Sabaa assesses the risks of drought and flooding in the country of Jordan, which could potentially be further complicated by power outages. Civil unrest and terrorism are the human-caused threats included in this assessment; inspiring Sabaa to use this table to explore the connections of some of these issues with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, unsafe roads have claimed the lives of many people, making it a top risk to address. 

Download the THIRA table here. 

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Eco-Psychology: a Growing Science

With the increasing threats of disasters, the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly hard to ignore. Awareness of the damage caused by human behavior and consumption is leading young people to develop anxiety and guilt over their choices and the choices of others. Although the data supporting eco-psychology is still in the infantile stages, and diagnosis and treatment of related mental health conditions such as climate anxiety are still unsupported by rigorous evidence, a recent study published by the Lancet may be one of the largest to shed light on this emerging issue. The publication focuses on the indirect impacts of climate change policies on young people and children around the world. The 10,000 people surveyed in the study (ages ranging from 16 to 25 years old) were living in Australia, Brazil, Finland, France, India, Nigeria, Philippines, Portugal, the UK, or the USA. Results show that over three-quarters of respondents had negative thoughts, feelings, and worry about the future of climate change. Dr. Thomas J. Doherty attributes these feelings of consumption guilt from a construct that large corporations created to “shift the burden to individuals”. 

Read the New York Times article here, Thomas J. Doherty’s Abstract here, and the Lancet’s publication here. 

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Mentalla Abbas, Marissa Sogluizzo, and Ashlynn McCool Create a Flooding Response and Evacuation Plan for Basement Apartments

In September 2021, Hurricane Ida resulted in the flooding of many basement dwellings and the death of 13 people. NYU students have identified the vulnerability of illegal residences and the lack of adherence to emergency preparedness measures against flooding. Their plan proposes to mitigate the deaths, injuries and displacement of tenants in New York City basement and cellar apartments that may occur after major flooding events.

Continue reading “Mentalla Abbas, Marissa Sogluizzo, and Ashlynn McCool Create a Flooding Response and Evacuation Plan for Basement Apartments”
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Chelsea Gibson, Eleni Kokolakis, Jade Elena Smart, Katrina Paleologos, and Marissa Sogluizzo Survey US Adults on Compliance with COVID-19 Public Health Measures

NYU MPH students distributed a Qualtrics survey to a convenience sample of 63 US adults and found that over 90% of respondents are compliant and vaccinated. After conducting a univariate analysis between compliance and variables such as age, gender, political affiliation, level education, race, and region of residence, the students were able to make some interesting conclusions.

Continue reading “Chelsea Gibson, Eleni Kokolakis, Jade Elena Smart, Katrina Paleologos, and Marissa Sogluizzo Survey US Adults on Compliance with COVID-19 Public Health Measures”