NLM Director’s Comments Transcript Rising Expectations for Emergency Response?: 04/18/2011

Rob Logan, Ph.D. senior staff National Library of Medicine for Donald Lindberg, M.D, the Director of the U.S. National Library of Medicine

Excerpts from the transcript

Many Americans have unexpectedly high expectations regarding the responsiveness of local agencies to messages sent using Twitter, Facebook, or phone texting during a natural or human disaster, the American Red Cross’ vice president for public relations recently told a Disaster Information Outreach Symposium at NLM.

Laura Howe told about 200 attendees at the recent two-day meeting (and we quote), ‘most of the public now expects someone (a local response agency) is listening’ (end of quote) when persons seek emergency assistance during a major disaster, such as a flood or a toxic spill.

In a survey conducted by the Red Cross, Howe said about 75 percent of respondents expected help to arrive with an hour after a request for emergency assistance is posted to the Internet, or texted via a mobile device. She said 28 percent of the survey’s 1000 respondents expected help to arrive within 15 minutes.

Howe added the Red Cross was surprised by the great expectations of the survey respondents. Howe asked the symposium’s attendees if they perceived respondent expectations were realistic – especially during a disaster when emergency medical technicians, fire fighters, and police officers handle numerous assistance requests.

Howe said the Red Cross and other response agencies accidentally might have elevated public expectations when agencies initiated direct interactive communication with citizens via social media services, such as Facebook or Twitter. She explained an interactive relationship with a public health agency or institution and social media followers might be perceived as initiating a higher level of responsiveness.

Although Howe noted the Red Cross (in the U.S. and other nations) is not an emergency response agency, the Red Cross sometimes is contacted first (via text messages or social media) by impacted Americans (instead of calling ‘911’) during a natural or human disaster. A similar pattern is occurring in some other countries, she said….

…

In local and national emergencies during the past year, Howe added the Red Cross noticed sudden increases in the traffic on social media sites as persons reported deteriorating conditions within their residence or neighborhood. Howe asked and we quote: ‘where is the tipping point within social media (traffic) that impacts the delivery of neighborhood resources’ (end of quote)? Howe noted the Red Cross plus other response agencies need to better gauge how social media spikes suggest an appropriate level of response – in light of recent trends in social media use and higher public expectations.

In a related talk, Nicole Lurie, M.D., the assistant secretary for preparedness and response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), reinforced the need for improved tools or mechanisms to assess when social media traffic surges reveal a need for an immediate emergency response…..

….

MedlinePlus.gov’s disaster preparation and recovery health topic page explains preparing for disasters can reduce fear, anxiety and stress. The disaster preparation and recovery health topic page helps you anticipate emergency situations, such as explosions, floods, and volcanoes. Links to this information are available in the ‘overviews’ section of MedlinePlus.gov’s disaster preparation and recovery health topic page.

A website from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (available in the ‘start here’ section of MedlinePlus.gov’s disaster preparation and recovery health topic page) distinctively provides information about preparing for different types of natural disasters.

To find MedlinePlus.gov’s disaster preparation and recovery health topic page, type ‘disaster preparation’ in the search box on MedlinePlus.gov’s home page, then, click on ‘disaster preparation and recovery (National Library of Medicine).’

We also recommend MedlinePlus.gov’s health topic pages on first aid and coping with disasters……

Related articles

• Mobile Web Site From NLM: Emergency Preparedness and Response: Water Emergencies ” INFOdocket (infodocket.com)
• Disaster Resources from NLM (aa47.wordpress.com)

National Council on Patient Information and Education

The National Council on Patient Information and Education is a long time patient safety coalition and has been working to advance the safe, appropriate use of medicines through enhanced communication since 1982.

Currently about two of every three doctor visits results in a prescription, and about 3.5 billion of these prescriptions are filled yearly. However, most prescription information is not written in easy to understand language. This National Council provides information about the use of medicines: why we need them, how to take them, and when to take them.  They believe that if one understands medications, both prescription and over the counter, they will be used effectively to treat conditions and diseases.

 The NCPIE website provides information for consumers, special populations of consumers, and those health care workers who work with patients directly.

Information for medicine users includes

• How to talk about prescriptions
• Wise Use of Dietary and Herbal Supplements
• Using Antibiotics Appropriately
• Safe Storage and Disposal of Medication – New
• Reducing Medication Errors

• Special Population Topics as Older Adults, Women , and Safeguarding Your Medicines

Educational Resources (some are free, others are available for purchase) include

• “Make Notes & Take Notes” to Avoid Medication Errors (B&W)
• Prescription Pain Medicines: What You Need to Know
• Your Medicine: Play It Safe

http://www.talkaboutrx.org/

Since 1982, the National Council on Patient Information and Education (NCPIE) has been working to “Educate Before You Medicate”. Over 3.5 billion prescriptions are dispensed yearly, yet easy to understand information about prescription drugs is hard to find. The NCPIE website provides information for consumers, special populations of consumers, and those health care workers who work with patients directly. The “Educational Resources” link has both free and pay publications. The free pamphlets, such as “Priorities & Approaches for Improving Prescription Medicine Use by Older Adults” and “Children and America’s Other Drug Problem: Guidelines for Improving Prescription Medicine Use Among Children and Teenagers” can be downloaded, and even previewed before downloading. The pay pamphlets have to be ordered, and some of them are in both English and Spanish. The “For Medicine Users” section is dedicated to the issues that represent a majority of inquiries to NCPIE. This section includes links to resources on talking about prescriptions, information about specific medicines, use of non-prescription medicines, and much more. [KMG]

Back to Contents  |  Back to Top

Related articles

• Public confused about ingredients in pain relievers, study finds (jflahiff.wordpress.com)
• Doctor’s Office Is Usually First Stop In Medication Mishaps (jflahiff.wordpress.com)
• Prescription meds misuse rampant, deadly: report (cbsnews.com)