Thesis. 1975. M.C.P.--Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Urban Studies and Planning. / Bibliography: leaves 186-189. / by Shelley F. Bernstein, E. Michael Paul Thomas. / M.C.P.

A Thesis Submitted to the School of Social Sciences, in the Faculty of Humanities, in Fulfilment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Studies THE UNIVERSITY OF THE WITWATERSRAND JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA NOVEMBER 2014 / This thesis is the culmination of medical aid work and 24 one-on-one interviews with undocumented Mexican women in the U.S.A. and Zimbabwean women in South Africa seeking lifesaving emergency healthcare access. The theoretical research combined with practitioner-based fieldwork, shows the direct and deplorable effects of xenophobic policies coupled with a demonstrable failure to enforce healthcare access rights.

The presence of naturally occurring and man-made public health threats necessitate the design and implementation of mitigation strategies, such that adequate response is provided in a timely manner. Since multiple variables, such as geographic properties, resource constraints, and government mandated time-frames must be accounted for, computational methods provide the necessary tools to develop contingency response plans while respecting underlying data and assumptions. A typical response scenario involves the placement of points of dispensing (PODs) in the affected geographic region to supply vaccines or medications to the general public. Computational tools aid in the analysis of such response plans, as well as in the strategic placement of PODs, such that feasible response scenarios can be developed. Due to the sensitivity of bio-emergency response plans, geographic information, such as POD locations, must be kept confidential. The generation of synthetic geographic regions allows for the development of emergency response plans on non-sensitive data, as well as for the study of the effects of single geographic parameters. Further, synthetic representations of geographic regions allow for results to be published and evaluated by the scientific community. This dissertation presents methodology for the analysis of bio-emergency response plans, methods for plan optimization, as well as methodology for the generation of synthetic geographic regions.

The use of wireless sensor networks for a myriad of applications is increasing. They can be used in healthcare for emergency management. In Florida, hurricanes are the main source of natural disasters. There has been a high incidence of hurricanes over the past decade. When a hurricane warning is issued it is important that people who live in potentially dangerous areas, such as along the coast, evacuate for their safety. Nursing homes and other care facilities for elderly or disabled people experience difficulty with the evacuation as their residents require additional assistance. The characteristics and challenges of a hurricane evacuation are investigated. A patient-centric hurricane evacuation management system is proposed to allow healthcare providers the ability to continuously monitor and track patients. During a hurricane there are usually scarce energy resources and a loss of basic communication services such as cellular service and Internet access. We propose the architecture of the system that allows it to operate in the absence of these services. The hardware and software architectures are also presented along with the main phases of operation. The system was then validated and the performance evaluated via simulation using the OPNET Modeler. / by Arny Isonja Ambrose. / Vita. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2011. / Includes bibliography. / Electronic reproduction. Boca Raton, Fla., 2011. Mode of access: World Wide Web.