15 research outputs found
Hospitals: soft target for terrorism?
In recent years, the world has been rocked repeatedly by terrorist attacks. Arguably, the
most remarkable were: the series of four coordinated suicide plane attacks on September 11,
2001 on buildings in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania, USA; and the recent series of
two coordinated attacks in Brussels (Belgium), on March 22, 2016, involving two bombings
at the departure hall of Brussels International Airport and a bombing at Maalbeek
Metro Station located near the European Commission headquarters in the center of
Brussels.
This statement paper deals with different aspects of hospital policy and disaster response
planning that interface with terrorism. Research shows that the availability of necessary
equipment and facilities (eg, personal protective clothing, decontamination rooms, antidotes,
and anti-viral drugs) in hospitals clearly is insufficient. Emergency teams are
insufficiently prepared: adequate and repetitive training remain necessary.
Unfortunately, there are many examples of health care workers and physicians or hospitals
being targeted in both political or religious conflicts and wars. Many health workers
were kidnapped and/or killed by insurgents of various ideology. Attacks on hospitals also
could cause long-term effects: hospital units could be unavailable for a long time and
replacing staff could take several months, further compounding hospital operations. Both
physical and psychological (eg, posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]) after-effects of a
terrorist attack can be detrimental to health care services. On the other hand, physicians
and other hospital employees have shown to be involved in terrorism. As data show that
some offenders had a previous history with the location of the terror incident, the possibility
of hospitals or other health care services being targeted by insiders is discussed.
The purpose of this report was to consider how past terrorist incidents can inform
current hospital preparedness and disaster response planning.status: publishe
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Rockin’ Yourself Asleep
Background: Sleep-related rhythmic movement disorder occurs frequently in childhood with a minority of patients having persistent symptoms in adolescence.
Phenomenology Shown: We describe a 14-year-old female showing a typical example of head banging at onset of sleep.
Educational Value: Sleep-related rhythmic movement disorder usually has a benign and self-limiting nature and medication might only be warranted in cases of severe sleep disruption or frequent injuries
Attacks on Health Care Workers in Historical Pandemics and COVID-19
Previous pandemics have been used/misused for (geo)political reasons, in wars/genocides and for terrorism. COVID-19 has been no exception with the former American president challenging the relations with China calling it the ‘Chinese virus’, and Russia and China setting up cyberterrorist actions against health care organizations in the United States and Europe.
Aside from state-driven factors, both left and right-wing activists and anti-vaxxers adhering conspiracy theories are a threat for health care organizations and patients. Socioeconomic and religious/cultural factors also play a role in why health caregivers are a possible target. Fear of viral pathogens, fear of losing jobs by lockdown measures, anger because of quarantine and proper burials of the beloved being denied, are amongst the reasons people revolt against health care providers.
We provide a review of the impact of violence against health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic and earlier pandemics and suggest preventative strategies
Work stress-related problems in physicians in the time of COVID-19
Objectives
Healthcare workers in the emergency department are exposed to a wide range of physical and psycho-social risks or hazards in the workplace.
The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of exposure to, the occurrence and perceived risks of, and the worry about, occupational
hazards among emergency and hospital physicians in the time of COVID.
Material and Methods
Based on the review of occupational hazards in
emergency physicians, a questionnaire already used and validated in another study, conducted in 2016, was constructed. The questionnaire consisted
of both socio-demographic questions and questions regarding the exposure to, the occurrence and perceived risks of, and the worry about, the following
occupational hazards: infectious diseases, COVID-19, physical hazards, violence at work, and stressful situations at work that can cause burnout.
A total of 497 questionnaires were distributed to Belgian emergency and hospital physicians in April 20–May 26, 2020.
Results
Overall, 319 responses
(out of 497 questionnaires) were collected, of which 196 were eligible for statistical analysis. Of the respondents, 32% stated to be confronted with
violence and 54% to suffer from health problems related to their work. The exposure to, and the occurrence and perceived risks of, occupational
hazards and, more specifically, the exposure to COVID-19 (88%) and its occurrence (10%), and also the worry about these hazards, appear to be
high in physicians working in the emergency department. The worry about each of these outcomes is predicted by the supposed exposure, occurrence,
and perceived risks.
Conclusions
The exposure to, and the occurrence and perceived risks of, physical hazards, violence and burnout are generally
high in physicians in the time of COVID-19. Emergency and hospital physicians in Belgium worry the most about the impact of violence, burnout
and COVID-19. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2021;34(3):373–8
Primary Care as Primary Target:A Review of Terrorist Attacks Against Primary Care Providers and Their Offices
BACKGROUND: Violence against primary care providers (PCPs) has increased during the current pandemic. While some of these violent acts are not defined as terrorist events, they are intentional events with an aim to disrupt, kill, or injure. Despite their pivotal role in health care, little is known about the risk for PCPs as targets of terrorism.METHODS: Data collection was performed using a retrospective database search through the Global Terrorism Database (GTD). The GTD was searched using the internal database search functions for all terrorist attacks against PCPs and their offices from January 1, 1970 - December 31, 2019. Years 2020 and 2021 were not yet available at the time of the study. Primary attack and weapon type, location (country, world region), and number of deaths and injuries were collated. Results were exported into an Excel spreadsheet (Microsoft Corp.; Redmond, Washington USA) for analysis.RESULTS: There were 29 terrorist attacks against PCPs and their offices from 1970-2019. The majority of attacks occurred during or after 2010. There were 58 fatalities, 52 injured, and 13 hostages. Most documented attacks took place in Pakistan, the United States, and Sri Lanka. Bombings concerned 55% of cases and 21% were hostage-takings.CONCLUSION: Although less common than attacks on other health care related targets, terrorist attacks against PCPs have occurred. The majority of attacks occurred during the last decade. Future studies are warranted to further assess the risk of terrorist attacks against PCPs: before, during, and beyond the current pandemic.</p