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Research and Evaluations of the Health Aspects of Disasters, Part V: Epidemiological Disaster Research

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 November 2015

Marvin L. Birnbaum ,
Elaine K. Daily  and
Ann P. O’Rourke
Marvin L. Birnbaum*
Affiliation:
Emeritus Professor of Medicine and Physiology, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin USA; Emeritus Editor-in-Chief, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
Elaine K. Daily
Affiliation:
Nursing Section Editor, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine; Executive Secretary, World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Madison, Wisconsin USA
Ann P. O’Rourke
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Division of General Surgery, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin USA
*
Correspondence: Marvin L. Birnbaum, MD, PhD Suite 407 610 N. Whitney Way Madison, WI 53705 USA E-mail: mbirnbaum@wadem.org
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Abstract

Studies of the health aspect of disasters focus either on the epidemiology of disasters to define the causes and the progression from a hazard to a disaster, or the evaluations of interventions provided during any phase of a disaster. Epidemiological disaster research studies are undertaken for the purposes of: (1) understanding the mechanisms by which hazards evolve into a disaster; (2) determining ways to mitigate the risk(s) that a specific hazard will progress into a disaster; (3) predicting the likely damages and needs of the population-at-risk for an event; and (4) identifying potential measures to increase the resilience of a community to future events. Epidemiological disaster research utilizes the Conceptual, Temporal, and Societal Frameworks to define what occurs when a hazard manifests as an event that causes a disaster. The findings from such studies should suggest interventions that could augment the absorbing, buffering, or/and response capacities to lessen the probability of similar damages occurring from the next event. Ultimately, the use of these Frameworks in studying the health aspects of a disaster will help define what to expect in a specific setting and the standards and best practices upon which education, training, competencies, performance, and professionalization will be built.

BirnbaumML, DailyEK, O’RourkeAP. Research and Evaluations of the Health Aspects of Disasters, Part V: Epidemiological Disaster Research. Prehosp Disaster Med.2015;30(6):648–656.

Keywords

disasterepidemiologyevaluationframeworksinterventionsresearch
Type
Special Reports
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 30 , Issue 6 , December 2015 , pp. 648 - 656
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2015 

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Footnotes

a

Task Force for Quality Control of Disaster Medicine, World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Nordic Society for Disaster Medicine. Health Disaster Management Guidelines for Evaluation and Research in the Utstein Style. Sundnes KO, Birnbaum ML (eds). Prehosp Disaster Med. 2003;17(Supplement 3).

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