Everyday life between chemistry and landfill: remaking the legacies of industrial modernity
Janine Hauer, M.A. (Researcher), Philipp Baum B.A. (Research assistant)
Janine Hauer, M.A. (Researcher), Philipp Baum B.A. (Research assistant)
The main point of this article was to display the inner workings of Rikers and what it is like within the walls. Factors such as weather conditions, solitary and its effects on mental and physical health, mistreatment, pollution and other environmental aspects, internal dangers and abuse are some of the things discussed and revealed within this article. These overall main points are supported through facts and figures, as well as first hand testimony from those that have spent time at Rikers, recounting their stay there and the conditions in which they lived in.
I followed up on this article by reading more about the Fukushima disaster, and I looked further into existing regulatory bodies such as the IAEA and and the Nuclear Energy Institute.
I followe up on the practice of palliative medicine, how hospital ethics boards deal with palliative care, particularly focussing on cancer and oncology departments, and the role of hospice and nursing homes in the palliative care process.
The article utilizes first hand testimony from those living in new Orleans that lived through the disaster and were evacuated, documenting their hardships faced. The article also cited different government agencies as well as different papers and organizations for statistics on post disaster government funding, emergency response and preparedness.
Emergency response is not addressed in this article. It focusses on long term care and the prevention of disease on the public health level.
"Health care service delivery may be challenging in the post-disaster environment and often requires coordination and cooperation among levels of government, health services programs, schools, media, and community organizations "
"The first challenge lies in identifying the correct sampling frame, which generally comprises all persons affected by the disaster. The sampling frame may be even more difficult to identify in natural disasters, when the geographic area of impact is larger and less defined."
"The second challenge lies in finding potential participants and completing interviews. Widespread displacement and communication breakdown may make it difficult to reach per- sons who have experienced the disaster, and if they can be reached, they may be consumed with recovery efforts and may not agree to participate in research . "
"Psychological first aid (PFA) has become the preferred post-disaster intervention, with three goals: Secure survivors’ safety and basic necessities (e.g., food, medical supplies, shelter), which promotes adaptive coping and problem solving; reduce acute stress by addressing post-disaster stressors and providing strategies that may limit stress reactions; and help victims obtain additional resources that may help them cope and regain feelings of control. "
Liberian emergency responders are portrayed in the film as being completely overwhelmed by the situation at hand and unable to cope with the nature of the illness, people's innitial denial to the extreme communicability of the disease, and the sheer number of patients. Most predominantly, first responders are illustrated by 2 abandoned ambulances on the side of a road and by the story of a woman saying that an ambulance was called to a dying pregnant woman and they ended up leaving her on the side of the road for an ebola crew to respond to, which came too late.
This report does not specifically address disaster, however it shows a new trend in primary care medicine, taking it out of doctor's offices and hospital emergency rooms and bringing it into people's residences. Recent trends have shown massive increases in ED usage for non emergency conditions, causing a shortage in beds and resources. The communuty paramedic program has the purpose of "respond[ing] to identified health needs in underserved communities, ultimately improving the quality of life and health of rural and remote citizens and visitors." The report also cites previous community paramedic programs in Fort Worth, TX, and Nova Scotia, Canada, where the program was shown to decrease ED usage by 23% and reduce costs by over $2 million.