Novel respiratory viruses in the context of mass-gathering events: A systematic review to inform event planning from a health perspective

ABSTRACT Background: Mass-gathering events (MGEs) occur regularly throughout the world. As people congregate at MGEs, there is an increased risk of transmission of communicable diseases. Novel respiratory viruses, such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-1 (SARS-CoV-1), Influenza A Virus Subtype H1N1 Strain 2009 (H1N1pdm09), Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV), and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), or Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), may require specific infection prevention and control strategies to minimize the risk of transmission when planning MGEs. This literature review...

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Planning and assessment approaches towards disaster resilient hospitals: A systematic literature review

Background: Hospitals play a critical role as a frontline agency in disasters, with staff often working within extraordinary circumstances in these facilities to deliver care. This study was inspired by the authors’ interdisciplinary experiences in health and resilience engineering. Observing increasing dialogue about how hospitals could improve their resilience to disasters we sought to understand the construct of ‘hospital resilience during disasters’ and how it could be improved. Method: The study involved a systematic literature review of publications related to hospital resilience during disasters, conducted at the end of January 2020....

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Drug- and alcohol-related emergency department patient presentations during the 2018 Commonwealth Games: A multi-site retrospective analysis

Objective: To examine the impact of the 2018 Commonwealth Games on ED patient presentations related to drug(s) and/or alcohol. Methods: Retrospective observational study comparing ED patient presentations made pre, during and post the 2018 Commonwealth Games with either an International Classification of Diseases-10 diagnosis or presenting complaint related to drug and or alcohol misuse. Results: Drug- and alcohol related presentations accounted for 5% (n = 890) of all ED presentations across the 36-day study period with no significant difference between pre (n = 312), during (n = 301) and post (n = 277) periods (P = 0.2). Overall,...

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Measuring the masses: A series of papers

I was part of an international team that published a number of papers relating to mass gatherings. These papers focused on the need for consistency in the reporting of mass gathering events from a health perspective. These papers were published in a series in the journal Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. The various papers in this series are listed below.REFERENCESLund A, Turris S, Rabb H, Munn MB, Chasmar E, Ranse J, Hutton A. (2021). Measuring the masses: mass gathering medical case reporting, conceptual modelling – The DREAM model (Paper 5). Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. Full-text article available here (PDF)Turris S, Rabb H, Chasmar...

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The impact of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive events on Emergency Departments: An integrative review

 I was invited to speak at the Qatar Health 2021 conference on the topic of disaster health. This presentation focused on the findings of an integrative literature review relating to Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear [CBRN] events and their impact on Emergency Departments [EDs]. The literature review aimed to identify papers relating to the impact of CBRN events on ED and to analyze these papers for lessons learnt to strengthen ED preparedness. The presentation explored the global epidemiology of disasters, the nature of CBRN events, ED preparedness, clinician education, willingness and resources. The Qatar Health 2021...

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Recommencing mass gathering events in the context of COVID-19: Lessons from Australia

I was invited to speak at the Qatar Health 2021 conference on the topic of mass gathering events. This presentation focused on the recommencement of mass gatherings in the Australian context. In particular, this presentation focused on the Australian COVID-19 epidemiology, an overview of mass gathering events and COVID-19 in Australia, case studies from national and grass-root sports, and strategies for recommending mass gathering events during COVID-19. REFERENCE Ranse J. (2021). Recommencing mass gathering events in the context of COVID-19: Lessons from Australia; invited speaker for Qatar Health 2021, Doha, Qatar, 22nd January....

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Novel respiratory viruses in the context of mass gathering events: A systematic review to inform event planning from a health perspective

I was invited to speak at the Qatar Health 2021 conference on the topic of mass gathering events. This presentation focused on a review of the literature regarding novel respiratory viruses in the context of mass gathering events. This presentation synthesised the literature relating to SARS-CoV-1, H1N1pdm09, and SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in the context of mass gathering events.  Previously published infection prevention and control strategies were presented against a framework of pre, during, and after mass gathering event considerations. These infection preventions and control strategies o have implications for both event organisers and...

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