Hostname: page-component-5d84bcc8dc-zkbfq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2026-08-18T03:00:43.964Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

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
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

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.

Birnbaum ML, Daily EK, O’Rourke AP. Research and Evaluations of the Health Aspects of Disasters, Part V: Epidemiological Disaster Research. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(6):648–656.

Keywords

disasterepidemiologyevaluationframeworksinterventionsresearch

Information

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 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

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).

References

1. Thompson, D. (ed). Definition of “research.” The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 9th ed. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press; 1995: 1169.Google Scholar
2. Adibhatia, S, Dudek, O, Ramsel-Miller, J, Birnbaum, M. ID 599. Classification of Disaster Health Publications. Presented at 19th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Cape Town, South Africa. April 2015. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015;30(Suppl 1):s111.Google Scholar
3. Anderson, DM. (Chief Lexiographer). Definition of “epidemiology.” Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary, 30th edition. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA: Saunders/Elsevier; 2003: 626.Google Scholar
4. Thompson, D. (ed). Definition of “epidemiology.” The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 9th ed. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press; 1995: 454.Google Scholar
5. Thompson, D. (ed). Definition of “intervention.” The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Current English, 9th ed. Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press; 1995: 466.Google Scholar
6. Pickett, JP. (exec ed). Definition of “evaluate.” The American Heritage College Dictionary, 4th ed. New York USA: Houghton Mifflin Co; 2002: 483.Google Scholar
7. Birnbaum, ML, Daily, EK. Research and evaluation in the health aspects of disasters, part III: interventional research and the Disaster Logic Model. Prehosp Disaster Med. In Press.Google Scholar
8. 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).Google Scholar
9. Birnbaum, ML, O’Rourke, AP, Daily, EK. Research and evaluation in the health aspects of disasters, part II: the Disaster Health Conceptual Framework revisited. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2015; In Press.Google Scholar
10. Emergency and Humanitarian Action, World Health Organization, Regional Office for South-East Asia. Tsunami 2004: A Comprehensive Analysis. Au: Birnbaum ML, Kohl PA, Ofrin R, Daily EK. New Delhi, India: SEARO; 2013.Google Scholar
11. Smith, E, Wasiak, J, Sen, A, Archer, F, Burkle, FM Jr. Three decades of disasters: a review of disaster-specific literature from 1977-2009. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2009;4:306-311.Google Scholar
12. Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED). Homepage. http://www.cred.be/. Accessed August 2, 2011.Google Scholar
13. Birnbaum, ML, O’Rourke, A, Daily, EK. Research and evaluation in the health aspects of disasters, part III: the Temporal Framework. Prehosp Disaster Med. In Press.Google Scholar
14. Birnbaum, ML, O’Rourke, A, Daily, EK. Research and evaluation in the health aspects of disasters, part IV: a framework for the structure of a community: the Societal Systems. Prehosp Disaster Med. In Press.Google Scholar
15. Kulling, P, Birnbaum, ML, Murray, V, Rockenschaub, G. Guidelines for reports on health crises and critical health events. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2010;25(4):377-381.Google Scholar
16. Academy of Emergency Management and Disaster Medicine. Utstein-style Template for Uniform Data Reporting for Acute Medical Responses to Disasters. http://currents.plos.org/disasters/article/utstein-style-template-for-uniform-reporting-of-acute-medical responses-in-disasters/#. Accessed April 9, 2014.Google Scholar
17. Overtveit, J. Evaluating Health Interventions: An Introduction to Evaluation of Health Treatments, Services, Policies and Organizational Interventions. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA: Open University Press; 1998: 216.Google Scholar
18. Bradt, DA, Drummond, CM. Rapid epidemiological assessment of health status in displaced populations—an evolution towards standardized minimum, essential data sets. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2002;17(4):178-185.Google Scholar
19. Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) Health Cluster, IASC Nutrition Cluster, IASC WASH Cluster. Initial Rapid Assessment (IRA) Assessment Tool. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2007.Google Scholar
20. United Nations, World Health Organization, IFRC. Tsunami Recovery Impact Assessment and Monitoring System. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2006.Google Scholar
21. One Response. Needs Assessments. http://oneresponse.info/resources/NeedsAssessment/publicdocuments/HeRAMS%20Overview%20Presentation.pdf. Accessed June 10, 2011.Google Scholar
22. Zagaria, N. Application of the Global Health Cluster HeRAMS Tool in South Sudan, Darfur, and North Kivu. Presentation at the 12th Annual Meeting of the Inter-Agency Working Group on Reproductive Health in Crisis. Health Action in Crisis: WHO; Santo Domingo. 2010.Google Scholar
23. Inter-Agency Standing Committee. The Multi-Cluster/Sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA). https://docs.unocha.org/sites/dms/Documents/mira_final_version2012.pdf. Accessed October 21, 2014.Google Scholar
24. Global Health Cluster and WHO. Health Cluster Guide. http://www.who.int/hac/global_health_cluster/guide/en/index.html. Accessed February 24, 2013.Google Scholar
25. Global Health Cluster, Foreign Medical Teams Working Group. Classification and Minimum Standards for Foreign Medical Teams in Sudden Onset Disasters. http://www.who.int/hac/global_health_cluster/fmt_guidelines_september2013.pdf. Accessed August 26, 2014.Google Scholar
26. The Sphere Project. Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Humanitarian Response. Geneva, Switzerland: The Sphere Project: Belmont Press; 2011.Google Scholar
27. Rubin, M, Heuvelmans, JH, Tomic-Cica, A, Birnbaum, ML. Health-related relief in the former Yugoslavia: needs, demands, and supplies. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2000;15(1):1-11.Google Scholar
28. Stratton, SJ. Research in prehospital and disaster health and medicine: developing a research objective statement. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(4):341-343.Google Scholar