Public Health Preparedness

Research Findings

Research Activities, August 2008:
Long-term use of antibiotics appears safe to treat a large-scale exposure to anthrax in a bioterrorism attack

Research Activities, December 2007:
AHRQ report recommends use of existing call centers to expand communications in public health emergencies

Research Activities, August 2007:
New AHRQ resources can help States and local communities with disaster planning and response involving nursing homes

Research Activities, July 2007:
Studies examine the surge capacity of U.S. hospitals to respond to bioterrorism or other public health disasters

Research Activities, May 2007:
New DVD trains health care workers to provide respiratory care during disasters

Research Activities, February 2007:
Los Angeles County hospitals are limited in disaster preparedness and severly limited in surge capacity

Research Activities, September 2006:
Anthrax in children is difficult to detect and treat
Hospitals could be better linked with other community response teams to manage public health emergencies

Research Activities, June 2006:
Better defining the role of public health nurses can improve disease surveillance necessary for bioterrorism preparedness

Research Activities, February 2006:
Regional strategies to prepare for public health disasters in Texas offer lessons about community resource allocation

Research Activities, December 2005:
New video shows clinicians how to treat children exposed to chemicals used in bioterrorist attacks

Research Activities, November 2005:
Physician knowledge and skills and team communication improve safety in intensive care units

Research Activities, July 2005:
National advisory committee on children and terrorism makes first recommendations for preparedness

Research Activities, May 2005:
Practice-based research networks can use E-mail to speed diagnosis of anthrax and other rare infectious diseases
Use of computerized simulation models can help communities plan an effective response to bioterrorism

Research Activities, February 2005:
Organizational research can help clinicians make decisions about staff and IT systems

Research Activities, January 2005:
Primary care doctors demonstrated restraint in prescribing antibiotics following the 2001 anthrax attacks

Research Activities, August 2004:
Researchers find insufficient evidence to evaluate how well surveillance systems can detect bioterrorism

Research Activities, July 2004:
Most pediatric ER workers say they are willing to receive the smallpox vaccine, but few have done so

Research Activities, June 2004:
Guidelines can help to distinguish anthrax from influenza in patients with flu-like illness and exposure to anthrax
Value to clinicians of educational Web sites on bioterrorism is unproven

Research Activities, May 2004:
Pediatricians will play a central role in caring for children in the event of a terrorist attack