Monash University

Leader(s): Professor Frank Archer

Offered

Alfred Hospital First semester 2009 (Flexible)

Synopsis

This is a key unit within the Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Health stream of the Graduate Certificate/Graduate Diploma/Master of Emergency Health designed to promote the development of a broad and critical conceptual and practical understanding of CBRNE events. The unit will define, classify, and explore the epidemiology and historical trends and influences of these common and
complex events from both national and international perspectives. For each of the main categories of chemical, biological, radiological/nuclear and explosive, the unit will explore the fundamental principles of physical, biological and social sciences to develop an understanding of these events in both accidental and deliberate settings. Their associated impact on the environment, forensics, and 8 the community will be explored. The unit will then focus on developing general principles for preparedness, including surveillance, prevention and mitigation, and for response/management and
recovery of CBRNE events in the Primary Health Care setting. The unit will conclude by examining the implications of these principles for both community and responder education and identifying research opportunities in the field of CBRNE health care.

Objectives

By the completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

1. Examine the historical trends and influences and contemporary theories of terrorism, with a focus on associated socio-political-cultural factors to the epidemiology of CBRNE events;
2. Evaluate the literature with respect to primary health care of CBRNE events, and apply it to the development of evidence-based practice for CBRNE health care;
3. For each of CBRNE mechanisms, identify: the range of agents commonly or likely to be encountered, their mechanisms and natural history; surveillance strategies; detection, protection and decontamination; and, principles of initial management including forensic requirements;
4. Using an emergency preparedness and disaster health framework, a risk assessment and management approach, and a multi-disciplinary perspective, ie. emergency management, clinical and psycho-social, and public health, list the general principles of preparedness (preevent), response/management (event) and recovery (post event) for CBRNE incidents, highlighting additional specific measures for specific agents;
5. Describe environmental issues from both causative, aggravation, and consequence

perspectives;

6. Justify the use of potential community responses to CBRNE events with reference to

community-based bioterrorism triage models and effective community risk communication strategies;

7. Identify education requirements and research opportunities for the field of community-based primary health care of CBRNE.

Assessment

3 part assignment (2,500 words)(45%)
Assignment (2,500- 3,000 words)(55%)

Contact hours

Students are required to spend, on average, 12 hours per week on this unit across the
semester (156 hours in total) working through self-directed learning materials, participating in tutorials through MUSO and in preparation of unit assessment tasks. Within this total, students are also required to attend a 5 day (40 hours) on-campus intensive.

Off-campus students:

Students are required to spend, on average, 12 hours per week on this unit across the
semester (156 hours in total) working through self-directed learning materials, participating in tutorials through MUSO and in preparation of unit assessment tasks.

Prerequisites

MDM4010