D.E.
Baker, C.M.
Hennessy, T.
Scharf, S.J.
Reynolds and J.
Sessions
NIOSH Education and Information Division
In November,
1993, The University of Iowa and the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health co-sponsored the "Farm Flood
Response Workshop: Implications for Agricultural Safety and
Health.," This workshop focused on flood-related problems
associated with stress, environmental health, and general
safety. Workshop recommendations include:
- improved
communications and coordination between service providers;
- improved
identification of needed services during new and unusual
conditions; and
- the
establishment of a peer-reviewed, information clearing house
and resource center.
To begin
the process of implementing and extending these recommendations,
organizers convened "The Legacy of the Flood of '93: A working
conference and electronic network," during April, 1994, in
St. Louis. The goals of the conference were to:
- facilitate
communications and coordination among federal, state, and
local government offices as well as public and private agencies
throughout the Midwest;
- evaluate
agencies' responses to the Flood of 1993;
- facilitate
the development of integrated service teams within each
flood-affected state;
- develop
a cooperative network for sharing information and expertise
to address both current and future flood recovery efforts;
- expand
this cooperative network into an infrastructure of health
and safety professionals and services prepared to respond
in a coordinated fashion during future disasters; and
- establish
an electronic network to promote and extend working relationships
and communications among all interested public and private
agencies.
As a
result of both the St. Louis and Iowa conferences, integrated
service teams are being established at the federal, regional,
and state levels involving both the public and private sectors.
In addition, a moderated, electronic discussion list, "Flood-L,"
has been established at the University of Missouri - Columbia
to facilitate interactive communication and information dissemination
related to safety and health issues associated with disasters.
Additional recommendations include:
- developing
a central information source for recommendations regarding
sanitation, food, water, vaccinations, environmental health
and safety, etc.;
- maintaining
a disaster infrastructure prepared to respond quickly, effectively,
and knowledgeably to future disasters; and
- standardizing
forms and other procedures to eliminate duplication and
to focus on service delivery.
Disclaimer
and Reproduction Information: Information in NASD does not represent
NIOSH policy. Information included in NASD appears by permission
of the author and/or copyright holder. More
NASD Review: 04/2002
This
research abstract was extracted from a portion of the proceedings
of "Agricultural Safety and Health: Detection, Prevention and
Intervention," a conference presented by the Ohio State University
and the Ohio Department of Health, sponsored by the Centers
for Disease Control/National Institute for Occupational Safety
and Health.
The
authors noted above are from: Univ. of Missouri, Columbia,
MO; Fed. Office of Rural Health Policy, Washington, DC; NIOSH,
Cincinnati, OH,; The Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA and The
Univ. of Iowa, Iowa City, IA respectively.
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