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This article investigates the current state of disaster mental health research. They look at the presentation, burden, correlates, and treatment of mental disorders following disasters and look at the challenges surrounding those aspects of research. 

The article discusses major psychopathology that is found in populations affected by disasters. They investigate disorders such as PTSD and MDD and pre-disaster risk factors associated with them. They discuss vulnerable groups, such as women and children. They also look at during and post-disaster factors and how they correlate to an increase in mental health disorders. 

This report then discusses current interventions utilized and their effects on the prevalence of mental health issues. An issue they address is that many victims or those suffering do not seek help, making accurate research difficult.

1)      How is Ebola best contained? From a report studying how Ebola was handled in Nigeria, there were several practices that were credited with its relatively quick eradication.  "The dense population and overburdened infrastructure create an environment where diseases can be easily transmitted and transmission sustained" (cdc.gov). In Nigeria, all 900 or so people who came in contact with the original patient zero were identified and monitored in isolation. The Nigerian CDC made over 18 thousand visits to screen suspected patients who would be moved to isolated treatment centers if highly suspect. Nigeria also holds a virology laboratory in Lagos University Teaching Hospital which allowed for quick and accurate testing. (http://www.livescience.com/48359-nigeria-how-ebola-was-contained.html)

2)      I also investigated the shooting of the boy who died, and why they shot him and what the circumstances were. I found that the boy, Shakie Kamara, was with a group of people trying to leave the neighborhood— against the government directive quarantine. The soldiers who fired on him and two other men were trying to prevent them from leaving. (http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/22/world/africa/liberian-boy-dies-after-being-shot-during-clash-over-ebola-quarantine.html)

3)      The last point I investigated further was why it took international aid so long to arrive in West Africa (almost six months). The main reason for the long delay was due to logistics. Sites need to be located to store supplies and medical equipment which has to be transported to their sites in West Africa via underdeveloped roads. Just the transportation alone, mind sake organizing the manpower to run it, is an enormous task. Trying to find trucks, helicopters, and ambulances to move gear and get them in place takes time on the logistics end. "I need everything. I need it everywhere. And I need it super-fast." (http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29654974)

On the iTunes App Store, there is another app called Medical Management of Radiological Casualties that appears to be similar, but costs $7.99 to download, while REMM's app is free. This app appears to serve a similar function with providing support for healthcare providers, but also includes psychological support information, which REMM does not provide. This app also appears geared toward EMS responders, while the other is primarily made for physicians. 

1. "But with every explosion that shook the Japanese plant it became clearer: there was nobody -- not in Japan, nor Russia, nor the United States -- who had the relevant know-how, equipment, or strategy to handle a nuclear disaster. No international nuclear emergency response group exists today." pg 194

2. "But in the interest of sustainable, socially legitimate solutions, arguably deisions about even the technical responses to disasters should not be left to scientists and engineers alone." pg 196

3. "While national and international disaster relief organizations have refined their response techniques over the past decades, nuclear emergency preparedness and response has hardly gained traction." pg 200

Per Bech - Danish Psychiatrist who provided the author with a story about a patient of his. He is an innovator in clinical psychometrics. 

Journal of the American Medical Association - in 1992 published an article about giving weight to the combination of doctor's experience and biological plausibility. 

Hellmuth Kaiser - a teacher to the author and taught him about fictional cases portrayed on stage. 

Oxford University Press - began publishing a journal devoted to case reports of patients. 

New England Jounrl of Medicine - opened an issue with a case history to highlight patient experience. 

Lone Lindberg - coauthor for Dr. Bech, point out that spontaneous recovery from depression late in life is rare

Leston Havens - psychoanalyst - uses an interesting approach with his patients

Hailey-Means was incarcerated at Rikers and provides an inside view of the deteriorating conditions of the facility.

Freddie McGrier talked about the extreme heat the cells faced in the warm season and the dangers to his life that he faced because of his heart condition. Johnny Perez echoed Freddie’s input. Susi Vassallo, who is professor at NY University Medical School, deemed the heat conditions a serious threat to the health of the inmates.

Omar Smith, also incarcerated at Rikers, has developed asthma during his sentence which is likely due to the poisonous gases released by the decomposing landfill under the prison.

Michael Bloomberg was Mayor of NYC during the Sandy super-storm and while he announced a plan for the evacuation of the surrounding islands there was not one for Rikers.

The New York Times is also referenced in the article for their reports on the prison’s poor welfare.