NYU GPH Journal of Public Health Disasters
A student-led journal driven by the latest research in public health disaster preparedness and management.
More than 100 wildfires have been raging across the Canadian border over the past six weeks. Wind currents carried smoke and haze from the fire southwards across a number of U.S. states, reaching New York City earlier this week. The city recorded at its highest 484 out of 500 on E.P.A’s air quality index, a level categorized as “Hazardous” to individual health.
Continue reading “Wildfire Smoke in NYC: How to Stay Alert and Protect Yourself”
On June 24, 2021, a condominium in Surfside, Florida collapsed, resulting in 98 confirmed deaths and 145 missing. The collapse was likely caused by weakened building structure resulting from a lack of maintenance and corrosion from aggressive storms and rising sea level. The case study by Gladish provides a detailed analysis of this incident, its management, and its epidemiological aspects.
Continue reading “Kristen Gladish’s Case Study on the Collapse of Surfside”
In 2008, a man was hospitalized for ricin poisoning in Las Vegas, Nevada. The police later retrieved two vials of the poison made from ricin beans form his hotel room along with weapons and a book on anarchy. Fortunately, the toxin’s effects did not spread to the general public. The incident was later investigated on suspicion of bioterrorism.
Continue reading “Julia Bathen’s Case Study on the Las Vegas Ricin Incident”
In this THIRA, Gladish assesses the natural, technological, and human-caused threats and hazards in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The natural threats include highly infectious diseases including COVID-19 and rotavirus, air pollution, and heat related mortality. Prominent technological hazards include traffic accidents and infrastructure collapses. Human-related hazards and threats include mental health conditions, substance abuse, and anthropogenic water pollution.
Continue reading “Kristen Gladish’s Threat and Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment (THIRA) for the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Mumbai, Maharashtra”
Haiti is extremely vulnerable to hurricanes as a result of the country’s economic condition, poor infrastructure, and deteriorating environmental landscape. Considering the many complications that exacerbate natural disasters’ adverse effect on Haiti, the group created an emergency response plan which provides a proactive approach to disaster management in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Continue reading “Sofía Manzi, Tanesha Brewster, Sophie Dornevil, Yunjia Tang’s Hurricane Emergency Response Plan for Port-au-Prince, Haiti”
In September 2017, the Category 5 Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico, causing 4,645 deaths and significant damages to the archipelago’s social and infrastructural systems. Food insecurity had long been an issue in the region and was greatly exacerbated by the hurricane: the proportion of the population experiencing food insecurity jumped from 56% to 85%. Federal financial decisions and policy-related complications further worsened the situation, as they often prevented Puerto Rico from receiving much needed assistance and resources from domestic and international organizations.
Continue reading “Demí Hernández, Dareen Aloufi, Olivia Ducharme, and Jordan Neisler’s Emergency Response Plan for Acute Food Insecurity Due to Hurricanes for Puerto Rico”
In Karamoja Region in northeast Uganda, more than 61% of the population are living in poverty. Flood, drought, famine, armed conflicts, and the consequences of climate change all contribute negatively to the food insecurity crisis in the region, which caused 2,465 fatalities in 2022. Considering the mental health impact of ongoing and concurrent disasters in the affected areas, the group has created a disaster plan to raise mental health awareness and to engage local communities in Karamoja, Uganda.
Continue reading “Gina de la Chesnaye, Nelia Ekeji, Priya Nagireddy, and Prophète Yemima’s Risk Reduction and Management Strategies Surrounding Mental Health Crises Stemming from Continuous & Multiple Disasters”
Ekeji, Li, Mannan, and Xu conducted a cross-sectional study to investigate individual experience, perception, and response regarding COVID-19 and to assess trust in public health authorities during the pandemic. The group designed an online questionnaire and collected 138 responses between February 28, 2023, to March 13, 2023. Most respondents were female, between the ages of 18 and 34, and the vast majority were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and had received at least one booster shot.
Continue reading “Nelia Ekeji, Dunqing Li, Nowshin Mannan, and Lili Xu’s Qualtrics Report on COVID-19 Attitudes and Actions Three Years Later”
Heather Yu is pursuing her Master of Public Health degree at New York University’s School of Global Public Health with a concentration in Epidemiology. Heather is from St. Augustine, Florida, and graduated from the University of Florida with a BS in microbiology and a minor in mathematics.
At NYU, Heather is involved in the Applied Global Public Health Initiative. In her role as a student researcher, she assisted with data analysis and the development of data collection methods alongside researchers in maternal and neonate health in Queretaro, Mexico.
To learn more about Heather, we spoke with the master’s student about her experience and interest in public health. Read our Q&A with Heather below!
Interviewed by Selina Ma.
Continue reading “Student Spotlight: Heather Yu”
In this brief, Sarah Ortega reviews three varying perspectives on disaster management preparedness at the government, business, and community levels. Narratives from individuals with backgrounds working at each level were used to illustrate how disaster preparedness is achieved through planning, communication, and collaboration.
Continue reading “Sarah Ortega’s Brief on Three Perspectives of Disaster Preparedness”