The increasing frequency of disasters in recent years has made clear the importance of preparing for their devastating impacts. The intersection of immigrant status and older age in immigrant older adults subjects them to a high risk for harm in disasters. Thus, ensuring that this population can effectively prepare for disasters is crucial. However, research that focuses on disaster preparedness among immigrant older adults in a Canadian context is limited. We interviewed informal caregivers of immigrant older adults to explore their experiences regarding the disaster preparedness of their care recipients. We aimed to describe caregivers’ knowledge of disaster risk among immigrant older adults, as well as their experiences and perceptions of barriers and facilitators of preparedness among older immigrants. We conducted semi-structured individual interviews with a sample of 10 informal caregivers of older immigrants who reside in Ottawa and Toronto. All interviews were audio-recorded, and interview content was analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Participants were able to identify the additional risks their older immigrant family members experience, and they took on the responsibility for disaster preparedness and response for the care recipients. However, the following barriers to preparedness efforts were identified: The financial costs of preparing, lack of confidence to prepare due to inadequate information about preparedness measures, communication difficulties among family members, and time constraints. Participants’ contingency plans for caregiving for the older immigrants were largely unspoken, and influenced by cultural norms. Lastly, faith-based organizations were seen by participants as potentially having a significant role in their family members’ disaster preparedness and response; participants were largely unaware of any other relevant community-based supports. We anticipate that our results will provide insight into the barriers and protective factors that older immigrants and their caregivers experience in safeguarding against harm in disasters, and we anticipate the recommendations will inform policies and interventions to support them.

Katastrofer inträffar varje år på flera ställen i världen och sjukvården kommer att ta hand om skadade vid händelse av katastrof. Vid en katastrof i Sverige kommer akutmottagningarna att vara den mottagande enheten på sjukhuset för majoriteten av patienter. De akutsjuksköterskor som arbetar på akutmottagning har därför ett behov av katastrofmedicinsk beredskap och kompetens. I litteraturen beskrivs hur akutsjuksköterskor många gånger upplever sin egen katastrofmedicinska beredskap som bristfällig. I sjukvården finns det ett lagstadgat krav på att upprätthålla en katastrofmedicinsk beredskap. Akutsjuksköterskor i Sverige behöver förhålla sig till begreppet katastrofmedicinsk beredskap vars innehåll Socialstyrelsen har definierat. Syftet var att beskriva akutsjuksköterskans uppfattning om katastrofmedicinsk beredskap.  I studien användes en kvalitativ fenomenografisk ansats då fenomenografin är utformad för att fånga olika uppfattningar. Urvalet bestod av akutsjuksköterskor med varierande erfarenhet och rekryterades från två olika akutmottagningar med demografiskt skilda upptagningsområden. Datainsamlingen gjordes via semistrukturerade intervjuer och databearbetningen utfördes i sju olika steg enligt en modell vilken används inom fenomenografin.  Resultatet av analysen gav tre utfallsrum med därtill kopplade beskrivningskategorier. Strukturförändring var ett utfallsrum med förändrat uppdrag, omstrukturerad arbetsplats och förändrad ledningsstruktur som beskrivningskategorier. Det kunde innebära hur akutmottagningen behövde förändra både arbetssätt och ledning för att kunna ta emot ett stort antal patienter. Utfallsrummet mental beredskap bestod av två beskrivningskategorier. Stödjande vilkens faktorer ökade förtroendet för den egna beredskapen eller hämmande vilkens faktorer minskade förtroendet. Det sista utfallsrummet bestod av moraliskt ansvar med två beskrivningskategorier. De bestod av inre eller yttre drivkrafter vilka genererade det moraliska ansvaret.  Slutsatsen från resultatet blir att trots en given definition av begreppet katastrofmedicinsk beredskap förekom det olika uppfattningar i det undersökta materialet vad fenomenet innebar för akutsjuksköterskor men fokus var mot behovet om omhändertagandet av de som drabbas vid en katastrof. Katastrofmedicinsk beredskap innebar ett strukturförändrat uppdrag samt en mental beredskap och ett moraliskt ansvar som drivkrafter. Nyckelord: Omvårdnad, katastrofmedicinsk beredskap, fenomenografi, akutsjukvård / Disasters occur every year in many places around the world and health care will take care of the injured in the event of disaster. When a disaster occurs in Sweden, the emergency department will be the receiving unit in the hospital for the majority of patients. The emergency nurses working in the emergency department therefore have a need for emergency preparedness and competence. The literature describes how emergency nurses often perceive their own emergency preparedness flawed. In health care, there is a legal requirement for maintaining an emergency preparedness. Emergency nurses in Sweden need to relate to the concept of emergency preparedness whose contents the National Board has defined. The aim of the study was to describe the emergency nurse's perception of emergency preparedness. The study used a qualitative phenomenographic approach since phenomenography is designed to capture different perceptions. The samples consisted of emergency nurses with varying experience and were recruited from two different emergency departments with demographically diverse catchment areas. The data was collected through semi-structured interviews and data processing was carried out in seven stages according to a model which is used in phenomenography. The result of the analysis yielded three possible outcome spaces with related categories of description. Structural change was an outcome space with changed mission, restructured workplace and altered management structure as categories of description. It could be how the emergency department had to change both working methods and management in order to receive a large number of patients. The outcome space mental preparedness consisted of two categories of description. Supportive factors which increased confidence in their readiness or inhibiting factors which decreased confidence. The final outcome space consisted of moral responsibility where the categories of description consisted of internal and external motivations. The conclusion from the result is that despite a given definition of emergency preparedness, there were different opinions within the material what the phenomenon meant for emergency nurses, but the focus was on the need for care of those affected by a disaster. Emergency preparedness was a structural changed mission as well as a mental preparedness and a moral responsibility as driving forces. Keywords: nursing, emergency preparedness, phenomenography, emergency care

No description available.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Goodman and Mann (2008) found that many locales along the Mississippi Gulf Coast did not have plans that addressed human resources (HR) issues in the aftermath of a disaster, and many vital employees were not included in the emergency planning process. The authors concluded that if involved in planning, HR managers could address typical HR issues such as compensation, retention, recruitment, and task re-orientation that become more difficult following a disaster. The purpose of this study was to examine the level of involvement of HR departments in the emergency planning process as well as the characteristics of cities that include HR personnel in this type of planning. This study highlights some of the common HR issues included in local government emergency plans as well as the characteristics of cities that have addressed these issues. A nationwide study of HR directors revealed that while most local governments include HR departments in emergency planning, the extent of this involvement varies. In addition, many HR professionals stated that some areas, such as compensation, discipline, and termination, need further attention, and that guidelines regarding important human resource issues should be established for local governments nationwide. Because this study is one of the first to examine the role of human resource professionals in local government emergency planning, it serves as a foundation for future research on the impacts of human resource involvement in emergency planning, and also for governments at all levels to consider how areas that are often daily routines may become difficult during times of crisis. Finally, this study provides a starting point for the creation of guidelines for important areas of human resource management that should be considered as local governments continue to build resilient, sustainable communities.

Research suggests that perceived degree satisfaction and perceived job preparedness are related to positive experiences from undergraduate degree programs. Research also suggests that perceived levels of degree satisfaction and job preparedness may vary based on whether the student was a traditional or nontraditional student. Therefore the purpose of this study was to analyze the level of degree satisfaction and the level of job preparedness of distance learning students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies program at Mississippi State University in relation to that of on-campus students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies program at Mississippi State University. Participants for this study included graduates between the years of 2001 and 2009 from on-campus and from the distance learning campuses of the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree program at Mississippi State University. The instrument for collection was the Degree Satisfaction and Job Preparedness Survey which was adapted from the Survey of Occupational Education Program. Data were collected in the areas of degree satisfaction, job preparedness, and demographics. Based on the researcher’s interpretive scale, the study found that the overall level of degree satisfaction among graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies Program at Mississippi State University was relatively high. The study also showed that degree satisfaction was higher among distance learning graduates of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program than it was among on-campus graduates of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program. The study also found that based on the researcher’s interpretive scale that the overall level of job preparedness among graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies Program at Mississippi State University was relatively high. In addition the study also showed that job preparedness was higher among distance learning graduates of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program than it was among on-campus graduates of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program.

This study was designed to determine whether kindergarten through eighth grade general education teachers and special education teachers were prepared to meet the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive classrooms. Conducted in Northeast Tennessee, an online survey was used to collect responses from participants in six school districts. The survey focused on four dimensions including perceptions of preparedness, attitudes towards inclusion, perceptions of administrator support and perceptions of self-efficacy. Data collected from 180 respondents were analyzed and informed the results of this study. Findings indicated that special education teachers reported significantly higher levels of preparedness to meet the needs of students with disabilities in the inclusive classroom than general education teachers. There was not a significant difference in perceived levels of preparedness between elementary educators and middle school educators. Survey responses revealed a significant, positive correlation between teacher perceptions of preparedness and attitudes towards inclusion; preparedness and teacher perceptions of administrative support; preparedness and teacher perceptions of self-efficacy; attitudes towards inclusion and administrative support; attitudes towards inclusion and self-efficacy; and administrative support and self-efficacy.

The nursing profession perpetuates an outdated model that fails to address the health concerns of racialized gender-diverse people. Evidence supports that this population experiences poorer health outcomes, care-avoiding habits, and incompetent healthcare providers. A literature review illuminated gaps in the nursing lens when considering gender-diverse identities outside of Whiteness. An intersectionality framework and cultural humility were used to explore the contexts in which nurses provide care. To fill this knowledge gap, the proposed research question was: How prepared are nurses to provide care to racialized gender-diverse people? A questionnaire was developed by modifying three pre-existing instruments. The online questionnaire served as a pilot feasibility study to collect preliminary baseline descriptive cross-sectional data about Ontario nurses' training, education, knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs about racialized gender-diverse people. Findings indicated potential gaps in training and education that may affect racialized gender-diverse peoples' healthcare. Recommendations are provided for future research and interventions.

Thesis advisor: Shanta Pandey / Thesis advisor: Samantha Teixeira / Anthropogenic climate change will push 100 million of the world’s population into poverty in the next decade, and worsen economic, food, and housing insecurity. Natural disasters are some of the most manifest markers of climate change impacts, set to become more intense and frequent as a result of the climate crisis. The brunt of these stressors falls disproportionately on the most marginalized populations across the world - women, children, people with disabilities, and older adults, among other disadvantaged groups. Despite a surge of interest in scholarship on disasters and their unequal impacts, studies on preventative strategies and action have been relatively fewer even though it is widely agreed that post-disaster recovery is enhanced when coupled with pre-disaster readiness and planning. There are multiple empirical and theoretical unknowns around factors promoting or hindering preparedness at micro, mezzo, and macro levels, which are all critical avenues for interventions. This three-paper dissertation addresses this gap in the context of the United States to understand individual and household capacities in dealing with natural disasters. The human capabilities approach helps to frame the overall dissertation examining the associations of social and structural vulnerabilities, self-efficacy, disaster experience, disaster-related information, and participation in social welfare policy with household disaster readiness. The individual papers are further informed by self-efficacy theory and concepts spanning Vulnerability, Absorptive Capacity, and Resilience. Three aims guide this research resulting in three separate papers: Paper 1 examined associations between social vulnerabilities, disaster self-efficacy, and preparedness using nationally representative data from Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) National Household Surveys 2018. Disaster preparedness was found to vary across self-efficacy and social vulnerability. The confidence in one’s abilities to carry out necessary preparatory action and socioeconomic status were consistently associated with higher preparedness controlling for social vulnerability indicators. Paper 2 assessed the role of social and structural (housing and neighborhood) vulnerabilities in disaster risk reduction employing household-level data from nationally representative American Housing Survey (AHS) 2017. Results suggested that housing insecurity and social vulnerability concurrently were associated with disaster readiness. Further, this paper examined if the association of social vulnerability with disaster preparedness varied by housing insecurity among households in the U.S. Results suggested that housing insecurity moderated the association between minimal preparedness and socioeconomic status, sex of the householder, marital status, and presence of older adults in the house. Paper 3 probed the effects of social vulnerability and welfare policy participation on disaster readiness in U.S. households using the AHS 2017 data. Further, the paper examined the direct and indirect effects of household demographics and participation in social safety net programs (TANF, SSI, SNAP, Housing Vouchers) on household disaster preparedness and found that income, education, race, and having a person with disability at home were statistically mediated at least partially by welfare recipiency. This dissertation examined fissures between intent, capacities, and disaster preparedness with implications for vulnerable communities in the U.S. Results from this three-paper dissertation offer multiple takeaways and intervention points at individual and household levels for social work scholarship, education, and policy. In probing factors that enable or prevent households from taking steps to safeguard themselves against future threats, this dissertation helps inform and affirm values of human dignity and human rights, particularly among vulnerable groups. Overall, the dissertation extends the conversations around individual, contextual, and policy interventions needed to assist vulnerable populations in absorbing and overcoming the multitude of shocks they face. Social and structural barriers to improved household capacities to deal with disasters and other shocks can be addressed through effective policy interventions and a robust safety net. This dissertation examines these elements separately and offers key considerations for research, practice, and policy. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Social Work. / Discipline: Social Work.

Betalsystemet är en av de viktigaste delarna vi har i den finansiella infrastrukturen, störningar i systemet skulle snabbt kunna leda till allvarliga konsekvenser för både individen, företagen och samhället i stort. Syftet med studien är att ge inblick i hur beredskapen ser ut idag, att hantera dessa störningar. Vidare syftar studien till att reda i vilka åtgärder som behövs för att säkerställa betalsystemets funktion vid en allvarlig störning, där digitala betalmetoder inte är fungerande. För att utföra studien har en kvalitativ metod använts, underlaget för studien har varit intervjuer med sju sakkunniga personer från Finansinspektionen, Riksbanken, Swedbank, Bankomat AB, Regeringskansliet, MSB och Bankgirot. Detta i kombination med relevant teori. Av resultatet kan vi se att genom att skapa en starkare motståndskraft och bättre förmåga för systemen att återhämta sig, blir samhället mer förberett på hanteringen av en framtida kris. Vidare framgår det att samhället inte skulle klara av ett längre avbrott i betalsystemet i dagsläget. Det blir också tydligt att bristande rutiner och en oklar fördelning av ansvaret leder till ett instabilt betalsystem i ett krisläge. Det är oklart vem som står för kostnaderna, om aktörer och myndigheter behöver rusta upp sina system, men detta förväntas bli tydligare i samband med ny kommande lagstiftning. För att säkerställa ett fungerande betalsystem både i ett krisläge och i ett normalläge, behövs ett mer robust system, med tydligare rutiner och ansvarsfördelning. / The payment system is one of the most important functions in our society’s financial infrastructure. Disruptions in the system would rapidly lead to serious consequences for individuals, businesses, and society as a whole. The purpose of the thesis is to provide a better understanding of what the emergency preparedness process looks like in dealing with mentioned disruptions, what actions are needed, and how the different actors address the issue and what risks society faces in the event of prolonged interruptions in the payment system. The study was conducted using a qualitative method, with interviews with seven experts from Finansinspektionen, Riksbanken, Swedbank, Bankomat AB, Government Offices of Sweden, The Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency and Bankgirot as the primary foundation and combining this with the relevant theory. Conclusions that can be drawn are that by strengthening the resilience and preparing society we give our systems a better ability to recover from a future crisis in our payment systems. Furthermore, that the society would not manage to retain control of the payment system in case of extensive disruption. It also became clear that insufficient routines and an indistinct division of responsibilities, lead to an unstable payment system in the event of a crisis. At this time, it is not clear who would pay the costs, if actors and authorities need to enhance their payment systems, but this uncertainty is intended to diminish with forthcoming new legislation. To ensure a functioning payment system in both a crisis and a normal situation, a sturdier system is required, with adequate routines and a division of responsibilities.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka huruvida historieundervisningen för grundskolans senare år ska inkludera miljöhistoria. För denna bedömning gjordes en textanalys av vad sex styrdokument på nationell och internationell nivå föreskriver. Skollagen, läroplanen och kursplanen för historia analyserades. Utöver dessa granskades tre internationella dokument som ligger till grund för läroplanen. Undersökningen utgick från ett perspektiv där historiemedvetande, i bemärkelsen handlingsberedskap inför framtiden, stod i centrum. Den genomfördes i form av en idéanalys där förekomsten av två idéer granskades, dels att miljöhistoria/miljöperspektiv ska finnas med i historieundervisningen, och dels att undervisningen ska skapa handlingsberedskap inför framtiden. Vidare gjordes en jämförelse mellan vad styrdokumenten på de olika nivåerna föreskriver. Resultatet visade att styrdokumenten för grundskolans senare år föreskriver att historieundervisningen ska innehålla ett miljöperspektiv. Det skrivs tydligt fram att undervisningen ska skapa handlingsberedskap inför framtiden, och det uttrycks också att miljöperspektiv kan skapa detta. Det föreskrivs inte att miljöhistoria ska finnas med i historieundervisningen. Två av dokumenten skriver inte fram idéerna alls. Jämförelsen av styrdokumenten på de olika nivåerna visade att de nationella styrdokumenten är föreskrivande och att de internationella styrdokumenten är uppmanande och rekommenderande. Läroplanen har dock fångat upp intentionerna i de internationella styrdokumenten. / The purpose of the essay was to investigate whether the teaching of history in compulsory school should include environmental history. For this assessment an analysis was compiled researching six national and international steering documents. The school law, curriculum and course syllabus for history was analyzed. Also three international documents that form the basis for the curriculum were analyzed. The analysis was made from a perspective where history consciousness , in the context of preparedness for the future, was in the centre. The analysis was conducted in a shape of ideas analysis, where the occurrence of two ideas were investigated, partly if environmental history/environmental perspective should be a part of history teaching, and partly if teaching creates preparedness of action for the future. Furthermore, a comparison between the different level steering documents was made. The results showed that two documents don’t accentuate the ideas at all. The collected evaluation is that the steering documents for the later years of compulsory school prescribe that the teaching of history should contain an environmental perspective. It is clearly stated that teaching should create preparedness for the future, and it is expressed that an environmental perspective can create preparedness for the future. It is not prescribed that environmental history should be included in the teaching. The comparison between the steering documents at the different levels showed that the national steering documents are prescriptive and the international steering documents are requesting and recommending. The curriculum has however captured the intentions of the international governing documents.