NYU GPH Journal of Public Health Disasters
A student-led journal driven by the latest research in public health disaster preparedness and management.
Edwards discusses the 1984 salmonella outbreak and its relevance to disaster management today. Looking back on this epidemic, Edwards highlights the advancements that had been achieved in public health epidemiological monitoring. The report analyzes the case’s specifics and concludes that more research is needed in the future to prevent similar events from taking place.
Continue reading “Jhadia Edwards’ Salad Bar Salmonella Case Study”In this report, Srija Gogineni analyzes the salad bar Salmonella outbreak of 1984 in Dalles, Oregon. Although investigations eventually clarified that the event was indeed a bioterrorist attack, it was initially handled as a food-borne outbreak. This mis-identification of the outbreak’s cause and a lack of inter-departmental cooperation significantly delayed effective public health response to the disaster. Gogineni comments on the inadequacies in the public health response to this disaster and considers modifications that could have improved response efforts in retrospect.
Due to their proximity to tectonic plate fault lines, Turkey and Syria are especially at risk of serious earthquakes. Patterson’s case study provides an overview of the total damage caused by casualties and destruction of industry from the February 6, 2023, magnitude 7.8 earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks in the two countries.
Continue reading “Kelsey Patterson’s Case Study on the 2023 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria”
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”
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”
The World Health Organization (WHO) has a large variety of tasks to fulfil, including fostering health security, strengthening health systems, or responding to health emergencies. For all these responsibilities, WHO faces the challenge of being cash-poor and having unpredictable funding. Only 14% of its funding (mostly fee from member countries) are fully flexible, whereas the rest are less-flexible, as they are voluntary donations purposed for specific programs.
Continue reading “The World Health Assembly Proposes New Solution to WHO’s Funding Challenge”
In this case study, Burrowes examines the effect and management efforts of air pollution in South Asia. Air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels and windblown dust remains a major public health concern in South Asian regions inlcuding Lahore, Pakistan, Bhiwandi, India, and Bangladesh. Air pollution has significant negative health impacts and is linked to lower respiratory disease, heart disease. lung cancer, and stroke.
Continue reading “Hyacinth Burrowes’ Case Study on South Asia’s Air Pollution”Witt presents the public health concerns associated with the Great Specific Garbage Patch (GPGP), a collection of marine remains and plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean. Consisting of nearly 1.8 trillion pieces of plastic, the state of the GPGP poses a significant threat to marine life. Due to microplastics and discarded fishing nets, the GPGP has led to a ghost fishing epidemic (the trapping of marine life by abandoned fishing nets) that harms fish, crustaceans, marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds.
Continue reading “Keasler Witt’s Case Study on The Great Pacific Garbage Patch”
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”