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Objectives. We examined the role of outbreak information sources through four domains: knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and stigma related to the 2014 Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak. Methods.We conducted an online survey of 797 undergraduates at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and Ohio University (OU) during the peak of the outbreak. We calculated individual scores for domains and analyzed associations to demographic variables and news sources.Results. Knowledge of EVD was low and misinformation was prevalent. News media (34%) and social media (19%) were the most used sources of EVD information while official government websites (OGW) were among the least used (11%). Students who acquired information through OGW had higher knowledge, more positive attitudes towards those infected, a higher belief in the government, and were less likely to stigmatize Ebola victims. Conclusions.Information sources are likely to influence students' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and stigma relating to EVD. This study contains crucial insight for those tasked with risk communication to college students. Emphasis should be given to developing effective strategies to achieve a comprehensive knowledge of EVD and future public health threats. Funding StatementThis study was funded by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) at the University of California, Irvine. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. INTRODUCTIONGiven the ongoing and unpredictable threat to human health posed by recent emerging infectious diseases (EID), the appearance and exportation of future novel pathogens is expected to continue and, with it, our dependence on reliable risk communication to assist in disease containment. Rapid pathogenic genetic changes and travel-associated infections have contributed to the difficulty containing the spread of diseases. 1 Apart from the ongoing Zika virus epidemic, the most salient example of EID in our closely interconnected world is the unprecedented 2014 Ebola virus disease (EVD) epidemic in West Africa.Although the eradication of Smallpox and Rinderpest virus remains a momentous achievement in public health history, 2 the recent EVD outbreak provided a reminder that pathogens are still capable of crossing national boundaries and posing a global threat. 3 Over 2 years have passed since the World Health Organization (WHO) publicly announced the EVD outbreak in West Africa, on March 23rd, 2014. 4 Since the beginning of the outbreak, the total number of reported cases have reached over 28,646 and caused more than 11,323 deaths within six different countries: Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Nigeria, and the United States (U.S.). 5 Lessons from Ebola: Sources of Outbreak Information and the Associated Impact on UC Irvine and Ohio University College Students AbstractObjectives. We examined the role of outbreak information sources through four domains: knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and stigma related to t...

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Most households and workplaces all over the world possess furnishings and electronics, all of which contain potentially toxic flame retardant chemicals to prevent fire hazards. Indoor dust is a recognized repository of these types of chemicals including polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and non-polybrominated diphenyl ethers (non-PBDEs). However, no previous U.S. studies have differentiated concentrations from elevated surface dust (ESD) and floor dust (FD) within and across microenvironments. We address this information gap by measuring twenty-two flame-retardant chemicals in dust on elevated surfaces (ESD; n=10) and floors (FD; n=10) from rooms on a California campus that contain various concentrations of electronic products. We hypothesized a difference in chemical concentrations in ESD and FD. Secondarily, we examined whether or not this difference persisted: (a) across the studied microenvironments and (b) in rooms with various concentrations of electronics. A Wilcoxon signed-rank test demonstrated that the ESD was statistically significantly higher than FD for BDE-47 (p=0.01), BDE-99 (p=0.01), BDE-100 (p=0.01), BDE-153 (p=0.02), BDE-154 (p=0.02), and 3 non-PBDEs including EH-TBB (p=0.02), BEH-TEBP (p=0.05), and TDCIPP (p=0.03). These results suggest different levels and kinds of exposures to flame-retardant chemicals for individuals spending time in the sampled locations depending on the position of accumulated dust. Therefore, further research is needed to estimate human exposure to flame retardant chemicals based on how much time and where in the room individuals spend their time. Such sub-location estimates will likely differ from assessments that assume continuous unidimensional exposure, with implications for improved understanding of potential health impacts of flame retardant chemicals.

Disaster Medicine is a relatively new multidisciplinary field of science with clear public health implications as it focuses on improving outcomes for populations rather than for individual patients. As with any other scientific discipline, the goal of public health and disaster research is to create new knowledge and transfer evidence-based data to improve public health. The phrase "lessons learned" has crept into the disaster lexicon but must be permanently erased as it has no place in the scientific method. The second edition of Koenig and Schultz's Disaster Medicine: Comprehensive Principles & Practice adds to the growing knowledge base of this emerging specialty and explains why "lessons learned" should be discarded from the associated vocabulary. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:610-611) Key Words: disaster medicine, public health, translational science, knowledge transfer and management D isasters are frequently at the forefront of breaking news in modern societies, yet there is little acknowledgement that they represent "wicked problems" 1 with complex interdependencies that require application of public health approaches and tools for effective management. A cutting-edge second edition of a Cambridge University Press reference by Koenig and Schultz emphasizes the public health aspects of Disaster Medicine and highlights the importance of application of science to this emerging field.2 Each chapter of the textbook is authored by international experts and contains a concluding section on "recommendations for future research," with the goal of laying the groundwork for the research agenda for the future. Despite this lofty goal, disaster research is challenging and still evolving. The majority of studies to date have been descriptive reports, cross-sectional studies, surveys and interviews, and other observational-type studies. These common methodologic choices for disaster research stem from the nature of disasters. Specifically, scientists have difficulty determining the timing of events, variables are difficult to interpret, environments and populations differ between disaster events, and models (drills) are difficult to construct realistically. Because the gold standard of a randomized controlled trial is the exception rather than the rule with disaster research, most data do not show causal links. DISCUSSIONPrior to the biological terrorist attacks following September 11, 2001, public health agencies paid little attention to rapid management of "disasters" and more typically performed rigorous, methodical, but not rapid epidemiologic investigations of evolving public health emergencies. Few data were therefore immediately available for widespread dissemination to decision-makers. Once the anthrax (Amerithrax) attacks 4 in the fall of 2001 were identified as being deliberate acts of terrorism, it became clear that public health agencies needed to develop systems based on classic disaster management principles in order to rapidly synthesize and respond to emerging challenges. Th...