A Review of Activities

The booklet summarising CCOUC's activities from 2017 to 2021 is now available for downloading.

Online Courses

Chinese

Health and Disaster Preparedness in Rural China

Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response

English

Climate Change and Health

Research Methodology for Disaster and Medical Humanitarian Response

Global Health Challenge for Human Security

Core Public Health Concepts for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management

Health System Approach in Managing Disaster

Principles of Occupational Health and Challenges of Industrial Disasters

Foundations of Food Security

International Humanitarian Law

Basic Sign Language for First Responders and the Public in Health Emergencies and Disasters

Crisis and Risk Communication in Emergencies and Disasters

Publications

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Workforce Development Strategies: Delphi Consensus Study. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine. 2022;1-14.

Long term mental health trajectories after disasters and pandemics: A multilingual systematic review of prevalence, risk and protective factors. Clin Psychol Rev. 2022; 97:102203.

An eight country cross-sectional study of the psychosocial effects of COVID-19 induced quarantine and/or isolation during the pandemic. Sci Rep. 2022; 12:13175.

Efficacy and practice of facemask use in general population: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Transl Psychiatry. 2022;12:49.

Health disparity resulting from the effect of built environment on temperature-related mortality in a subtropical urban setting. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022; 19(14):8506.

Patterns of suicide ideation across eight countries in four continents during the COVID-19 pandemic era: Repeated cross-sectional study. JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2022;8(1):e32140.

The effect of temperature on physical activity: An aggregated timeseries analysis of smartphone users in five major Chinese cities. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2022;19:68.

Spatiotemporal relationship between temperature and non-accidental mortality: Assessing effect modification by socioeconomic status. Sci Total Environ. 2022:155497.

Challenges of data availability and use in conducting Health-EDRM research in a post-COVID-19 world. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19(7):3917.

Clustering of socioeconomic data in Hong Kong for planning better community health protection. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021; 18(23):12617.

Narrative review of primary preventive interventions against water-borne diseases: Scientific evidence of Health-EDRM in contexts with inadequate safe drinking water. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(23):12268.

Population adherence to infection control behaviors during Hong Kong’s first and third COVID-19 waves: A serial cross-sectional study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(21):11176. doi:10.3390/ijerph182111176

Psychobehavioral Responses and Likelihood of Receiving COVID-19 Vaccines during the Pandemic, Hong Kong. Emerg Infect Dis. 2021 Jul;27(7):1802-1810. doi: 10.3201/eid2707.210054. PMID: 34152948; PMCID: PMC8237883.

Progress towards the development of research agenda and the launch of knowledge hub: The WHO thematic platform for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management research network (health EDRM RN). Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(9):4959.

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management: An emerging framework for achieving synergies among the Sendai Framework, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the New Urban Agenda and the Paris Agreement. In: United Nations Global Assessment Report (UNGAR) 2022. Geneva: United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction; 2022.

Evolving epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19 in Hong Kong from January to August 2020: Retrospective study. J Med Internet Res. 2021;23(4):e26645.

Non‐skilled occupation as a risk factor of diabetes among working population: A population‐based study of community‐dwelling adults in Hong Kong. Health Soc Care Community. 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13415

Bottom-up citizen engagement for health emergency and disaster risk management: Directions since COVID-19. Lancet. 2021. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01233-2

Seven-year excess mortality, functional outcome and health status after trauma in Hong Kong. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2021.

RISC II is superior to TRISS in predicting 30-day mortality in blunt major trauma patients in Hong Kong. Eur J Trauma Emerg Surg. 2021. doi: 10.1007/s00068-021-01667-3

Impacts of injury severity on long-term outcomes following motor vehicle crashes. BMC Public Health. 2021;21(1):1-3.

CCOUC Ethnic Minority Health Project: A case study for Health EDRM Initiatives to improve disaster preparedness in a rural Chinese population. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(10):5322. doi:10.3390/ijerph18105322

The evolution in anxiety and depression with the progression of the pandemic in adult populations from eight countries and four continents. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(9):4845. doi:10.3390/ijerph18094845

Relationship between acute kidney injury, seasonal influenza, and environmental factors: A 14-year retrospective analysis. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;153:106521. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2021.106521

Health workforce development in Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management: The need for evidence-based recommendations. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(7):3382. doi:10.3390/ijerph18073382

Research in Health-Emergency and Disaster Risk Management and its potential implications in the post COVID-19 world. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18:2520. doi:10.3390/ijerph18052520

Reflection of challenges and opportunities within the COVID-19 pandemic to include biological hazards into DRR planning. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(4):1614. doi:10.3390/ijerph18041614

Sociodemographic predictors of knowledge, mosquito bite patterns and protective behaviors concerning vector borne disease: The case of dengue fever in Chinese subtropical city, Hong Kong. PLoS Negl Trop Dis. 15(1): e0008993.

Communication strategies and media discourses in the age of COVID-19: An urgent need for action. Health Promot Int. 2020:1-8. doi:10.1093/heapro/daaa136

Report of Alliance of International Science Organizations on Disaster Risk Reduction (ANSO-DRR) Conference 2020. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(23):8772. doi:10.3390/ijerph17238772

Characteristics and well-being of urban informal home care providers during COVID-19 pandemic: A population-based study. BMJ Open. 2020;10:e041191. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-041191

One virus, four continents, eight countries: An interdisciplinary and international study on the psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic among adults. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(22):8390. doi:10.3390/ijerph17228390

A 21-year retrospective analysis of environmental impacts on paediatric acute gastroenteritis in an affluent setting. Sci Total Environ. 2020:142845.

Intention of nurses to accept coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination and change of intention to accept seasonal influenza vaccination during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey. Vaccine. 2020;38(45):7049-56.

The Asia Pacific disaster mental health network: Setting a mental health agenda for the region. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(17):6144. doi:10.3390/ijerph17176144

Quality of palliative and end-of-life care in Hong Kong: Perspectives of healthcare providers. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(14):5130. doi:10.3390/ijerph17145130

Research frontiers of Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management: What do we know so far? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(5):1807. doi:10.3390/ijerph17051807

Health service utilization in Hong Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic – a cross-sectional public survey. Int J Health Policy Manag. 2020.

Narrative review of non-pharmaceutical behavioural measures for the prevention of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) based on the Health-EDRM framework. Br Med Bull. 2020;ldaa030. 

The mortality risk and socioeconomic vulnerability associated with high and low temperature in Hong Kong. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17197326

Narrative review on Health-EDRM primary prevention measures for vector-borne diseases. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17165981

What happened to people with non-communicable diseases during COVID-19: Implications of H-EDRM policies. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17155588

What is appropriate PPE? Lessons learned from healthcare worker COVID-19 infection in Hong Kong. BMJ. 2020;370. doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.m2641

Factors associated with urban risk-taking behaviour during 2018 typhoon Mangkhut: A cross sectional study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17114150

Informal home care providers: The forgotten health-care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lancet. 2020. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(20)31254-X

Sociodemographic predictors of health risk perception, attitude and behavior practices associated with Health-Emergency Disaster Risk Management for biological hazards: The case of COVID-19 pandemic in Hong Kong, SAR China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020; 17(11):3869.

A review on implications of home care in a biological hazard: The case of SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 (Health-Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) Technical Brief Series #202001). Hong Kong: CCOUC; 20120 May 27, 31 p.

Prevalence and associated factors for carriage of Enterobacteriaceae producing ESBLs or carbapenemase and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus in Hong Kong Community. J Infect Dis. 2020; doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinf.2020.05.033

Ambient temperature, seasonal influenza and risk of cardiovascular disease in a subtropical area in Southern China. Environ Res. 2020:109546.

Personal cold protection behaviour and its associated factors in 2016/17 cold days in Hong Kong: A two‐year cohort telephone survey study. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17:1672. doi:10.3390/ijerph17051672

Perception of potential health risk of climate change and utilization of fans and air conditioners in a representative population of Hong Kong. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2020; https://doi.org/10.1007/s13753-020-00256-z

In emergencies, health research must go beyond public engagement toward a true partnership with those affected. Nat Med. 2020; doi:10.1038/s41591-020-0758-y

Short-term association between meteorological factors and childhood pneumonia hospitalization in Hong Kong: A time-series study. Epidemiol. 2019;30:S107-14.

Adolescents’ perspectives on the psychological effects of natural disasters in China and Nepal.Transcult Psychiatry. 2019; doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1363461519893135

Use of tear gas for crowd control in Hong Kong. Lancet. 2019.

Time-series study of associations between rates of people affected by disasters and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Cycle. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(17):3146.

WHO Thematic Platform for Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management Research Network (TPRN): Report of the Kobe expert meeting. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(7):1232.

Mental health workers perceptions of disaster response in China. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):11.

Health impact of climate change in cities of middle-income countries: The case of China. Br Med Bull. 2019.

Effects of high temperature on existing allergic symptoms and the effect modification of allergic history on health outcomes during hot days among adults: An exploratory cross-sectional telephone survey study. Environ Res. 2019;175:142-147.

Planning of a Health Emergency Disaster Risk Management programme for a Chinese ethnic minority community. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(6):1046.

Food-related Health Emergency-Disaster Risk Reduction in rural ethnic minority communities: A pilot study of knowledge, awareness and practice of food labelling and salt-intake reduction in a Kunge community in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(9):1478. doi:10.3390/ijerph16091478

Is "perceived water insecurity" associated with disaster risk perception, preparedness attitudes, and coping ability in rural China? (a Health-EDRM pilot study). Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16:1254. doi:10.3390/ijerph16071254

Different sensitivities to ambient temperature between first- and re-admission childhood asthma cases in Hong Kong – a time series study. Environ Res. 2019; 170:487-492.

Scientific evidence on natural disasters and health emergency and disaster risk management in Asian rural-based area. Br Med Bull. 2019;ldz002:1-15. doi:10.1093/bmb/ldz002

Is urban household emergency preparedness associated with short-term impact reduction after a super typhoon in subtropical city? Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(4):596.

Health vulnerability index for disaster risk reduction: Application in Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) region. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(3):380. doi:10.3390/ijerph16030380

Health-emergency disaster risk management and research ethics.Lancet. 2019;393:112-113.

Health Emergency Disaster Risk Management of public transport systems: A population-based study after the 2017 subway fire in Hong Kong, China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2019;16(2):228. doi:10.3390/ijerph16020228

Mental health workers’ perceptions of disaster response in China. BMC Public Health. 2019;19:11. doi:10.1186/s12889-018-6313-9

The role of the hotel industry in the response to emerging epidemics: A case study of SARS in 2003 and H1N1 swine flu in 2009 in Hong Kong. Glob Health. 2018;14:117. doi:10.1186/s12992-018-0438-6

Effectiveness of a drama-and-song-based health education in increasing knowledge on household waste management in Manchu ethnic minority-based Dacao Village. Int J Behav Med. 2018; 25 (supplement): S181.

Food avoidance beliefs and behaviors among Chinese cancer patients: Validation of a new measurement tool. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2019;51(2):162-72.

Screening for latent and active tuberculosis infection in the elderly at admission to residential care homes: A cost-effectiveness analysis in an intermediate disease burden area. PLoS One. 2018. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189531

Long-term and immediate impacts of health emergency and disaster risk management (Health-EDRM) education interventions in a rural Chinese earthquake-prone transitional village. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2018; 9(3): 319-330.

Risk perception and knowledge in fire risk reduction in a Dong minority rural village in China: A Health-EDRM education intervention study. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2018; 9(3):306-318.

Associations of Salmonella hospitalizations with ambient temperature, humidity and rainfall in Hong Kong. Environ Int. 2018;120:223-230. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2018.08.014

Household preparedness and preferred communication channels in public health emergencies: A cross-sectional survey of residents in an Asian developed urban city. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018;15(8):1598. doi:10.3390/ijerph15081598

Short-term association between ambient temperature and acute myocardial infarction hospitalizations for diabetes mellitus patients: A time series study. PLoS Med. 2018;15(7):e1002612. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002612

The promotion of ‘grab bags’ as a disaster risk reduction strategy. PloS Curr. 2018. doi:10.1371/currents.dis.223ac
4322834aa0bb0d6824ee424e7f8

A time-series study of the association of rainfall, relative humidity and ambient temperature with hospitalizations for rotavirus and norovirus infection among children in Hong Kong. Sci Total Environ. 2018;643:414-422. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.06.189

Comparison of short-term associations with meteorological variables between COPD and pneumonia hospitalization among the elderly in Hong Kong—a time-series study. Int J Biometeorol. 2018;62(8):1447-60.

The Tsinghua–Lancet Commission on Healthy Cities in China: Unlocking the power of cities for a healthy China. Lancet. 2018, doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(18)30486-0

Association between ambient temperatures and mental disorder hospitalizations in a subtropical city: A time-series study of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018; 15: 754. doi:10.3390/ijerph15040754

Medical and health risks associated with communicable diseases of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh 2017. Int J Infect Dis. 2018;68:39-43.

A web-based course on public health principles in disaster and medical humanitarian response: Survey among students and faculty. JMIR Med Educ 2018;4(1):e2. doi: 10.2196/mededu.8495

Building bottom-up health and disaster risk reduction programmes. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2017.

Socio-demographic predictors of health and environmental co-benefit behaviours for climate change mitigation in urban China. PLoS One. 2017;12(11):e0188661.

Disaster risk reduction in Myanmar: A need for focus on community preparedness and improved evaluation of initiatives. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2017:1-5. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2017.107.

Disaster prevention, monitoring and warning for mass events. In: Liu ZM, editor. Current medical assistants of the city disaster. Beijing: Tsinghua University Press; 2018: 38-40. Chinese.

Urban community disaster and emergency health risk perceptions and preparedness. In: Shaw R, Shiwaku K, Izumi T, editors. Science and technology in disaster risk reduction in Asia: potentials and challenges. London: Academic Press; 2017: 95-110.

Self-efficacy and barriers to disaster evacuation in Hong Kong. Int J Public Health.2017;62(9):1051-8. doi: 10.1007/s00038-017-1036-8

Field assessment for disaster. In: Liu ZM, Zhang LY, editors. Handbook of disaster injury emergency treatment techniques for primary care physicians in China. Beijing: Chinese Medical Multimedia Press; 2016: 12-19. Chinese.

Health and risks: Integrating health into disaster risk reduction, risk communication, and building resilient communities. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2017;8(2):107-108.

Weather information acquisition and health significance during extreme cold weather in a subtropical city: A cross-sectional survey in Hong Kong. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2017. doi:10.1007/s13753-017-0127-8

What are the health research needs for the Sendai Framework? Lancet. 2017. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(17)31670-7.

The strategic framework of tuberculosis control and prevention in the elderly: A scoping review towards End TB targets. Infect Dis Poverty. 2017; 6:70. doi:10.1186/s40249-017-0284-4

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM) in remote ethnic minority areas of rural China: The case of a flood-prone village in Sichuan. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2017. doi:10.1007/s13753-017-0121-1

Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health-EDRM): Developing the research field within the Sendai Framework paradigm. Int J Disaster Risk Sci. 2017. doi:10.1007/s13753-017-0122-0

Resilience analysis of countries under disasters based on multisource data. Risk Analysis. 2018;38(1):31-42.

Public health humanitarian responses to natural disasters. London: Routledge; 2017.

A study of the short-term associations between hospital admissions and mortality from heart failure and meteorological variables in Hong Kong: Weather and heart failure in Hong Kong. Int J Cardiol. 2017;228:537–42.

The solidarity and health neutrality of physicians in war & peace. PLoS Curr. 2017.

Injuries caused by pets in Asian urban households: A cross-sectional telephone survey. BMJ Open. 2017;7(1):e012813.

The development of the Hong Kong Heat Index for enhancing the heat stress information service of the Hong Kong Observatory. Int J Biometeorol. 2016;60(7):1029-39. doi: 10.1007/s00484-015-1094-7015-1094-7

Contact infection of infectious disease onboard a cruise ship. Sci Rep. 2016; 6: 38790. doi: 10.1038/srep38790

Accredited qualifications for capacity development in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation. Australas J Disaster Trauma Stud. 2016;20(1):15-34.

Role of government and NGOs. In: Wolfson N, Lerner A, Roshal L, editors. Orthopedics in disasters: orthopedic injuries in natural disasters and mass casualty events. Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg; 2016: 47-59.

Hand, foot and mouth disease in Hong Kong: A time-series analysis on its relationship with weather. PloS One. 2016. doi:10.1371/
journal.pone.0161006

Health and disaster preparedness in rural China: Advanced training manual. Hong Kong: CCOUC and WZQCF; 2016. Traditional Chinese.

The short-term association between asthma hospitalisations, ambient temperature, other meteorological factors and air pollutants in Hong Kong: A time-series study. Thorax. 2016. doi:10.1136/thoraxjnl-2015-208054

Socio-demographic predictors for urban community disaster health risk perception and household based preparedness in a Chinese urban city. PloS Curr. 2016. doi:10.1371/ currents.dis.287fb7fee6f9f 4521af441a236c2d519

Training Manual on Health and Disaster Preparedness in Rural China. Hong Kong: CCOUC and WZQCF; 2016.

Hong Kong’s emergency and disaster response system (policy brief).
Hong Kong: CCOUC; 2015. 6 p.

Industrial accidents in China: Risk reduction and response. Lancet. 2015;386(10002):1421-1422. doi:10.1016/ S0140-6736(15)00424-9

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Hong Kong population towards human A/H7N9 influenza pandemic preparedness, China, 2014. BMC Public Health. 2015;15:943. doi:10.1186/ s12889-015-2245-9

Willingness of future A/H7N9 influenza vaccine uptake: A cross-sectional study of Hong Kong community. Vaccine. 2015;33(38):4737-40.

Public health and liberal studies: Analysis of cross-module issues. Hong Kong: Hong Kong Educational Publishing Company; 2015.

Training Manual on Health and Disaster Preparedness in Rural China. Hong Kong: CCOUC and WZQCF; 2015. Chinese.

Travel health risk perceptions and preparations among travelers at Hong Kong International Airport. J Travel Med. 2014;21(4):288-91. doi: 10.1111/jtm.12112