About the Course

This course is designed to introduce students to the concepts and models of public health preparedness, mitigation, and evaluation in the context of man-made disasters, including radiological, chemical and biological incidents. The course will address identified core competencies of emergency preparedness for public health professionals which include: disaster management, risk assessment, risk communication, governmental resources, functional roles, surveillance, and preparedness evaluation.

Man-made disasters will be looked at in a historical, environmental and psychological context in order to elucidate the role of public health in man made disaster preparedness and evaluation. In addition the role of cultural competency and the needs of special populations will be addressed. Public perception of risk and media views of man made disasters will be explored.

Objectives

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Demonstrate an understanding of the major classes of biological, chemical, and radiological weapons and prevention strategies.
   
2. Describe the interactions between zoonosis, food safety, and terrorism.
   
3. Describe the principals and practice of biological, chemical, and radiological surveillance systems
   
4. Comprehend and apply understanding of functional response roles in man made disaster planning and response.
   
5. Understand the complex legal and ethical issues that underlie man made disaster preparedness and response.
   
6. Analyze the views of man made disasters in the media and its impact on risk perception.
   
7. Demonstrate an understanding of psychological issues in man made disasters.
   
8. Show an understanding of risk communication principals and their applications during disasters.
   
9. Define the role of cultural competency in man made disaster planning and response.
   
10. Understand differential impacts among special populations to terrorism.
    
11. Understand the contribution and process of preparedness evaluation in the public health profession.