Contributions

The Center's Scientific Director, Carol S. Fullerton, Ph.D., leads an innovative public health study partnering with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, and the University of Miami and Florida Department of Health. The study involves longitudinal research to understand the vulnerability and resilience of our nation's public health responders and their work in the hurricanes of 2004 and 2005. This study also demonstrates a partnership across federal, state and academic organizations helping to prepare our nation's health care personnel.

Over the past year, the CSTS has been involved in several disaster projects, a sampling includes:

-- Center published with Cambridge University Press, a landmark book, Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry (Eds., Ursano, Fullerton, Weisaeth, Raphael), the first book to focus specifically on disaster psychiatry

-- The CDC engaged CSTS to conduct an organizational assessment of its deployment operations, policy and practices in an effort to identify factors to sustain resilience in emergency responders. The CSTS completed its work and Drs. Benedek and Ursano presented the Center's report to the senior leadership of CDC

-- Dr. Ursano was appointed a member of the Institute of Medicine Committee on Nuclear Preparedness

-- Drs. Flynn and Ursano were appointed to the National Biodefense Science Board subcommittee on Mental Health for the Department of United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The subcommittee was established by Homeland Security Presidentially Directed Activity (HSPD 21), and reports to the Secretary of HHS

-- CSTS headed up a review of the present American Psychiatric Association treatment guidelines for PTSD and ASD

-- In response to the 2008 earthquakes in China, the Center translated four critically important disaster response fact sheets into Chinese for use by the WHO, APA and disaster responders. Cambridge University is translating the Textbook of Disaster Psychiatry into Chinese to meet the needs of health care responders in China