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Rapid Epidemiological Assessment of Health Status in Displaced Populations—An Evolution toward Standardized Minimum Essential Data Sets

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

David A. Bradt  and
Christina M. Drummond
David A. Bradt*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Center for International Emergency, Disaster, and Refugee Studies Johns Hopkins Medical Institution Baltimore, Maryland, USA
Christina M. Drummond
Affiliation:
Department of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Epidemiology, Monash Medical Centre Melbourne, AUSTRALIA Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
*
Department of Emergency Medicine, Royal Melbourne Hospital, PO Box 2009, Grattan Street & Royal Parade, Parkville 3050, Victoria, AUSTRALIA, dbradt@jhsph.edu
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Abstract

Rapid epidemiological assessment (REA) has evolved over the past 30 years into an essential tool of disaster management. Small area survey and sampling methods are the major application. While REA is protocol driven, needs assessment of displaced populations remains highly non-standardized. The United Nations and other international organizations continue to call for the development of standardized instruments for post-disaster needs assessment.

This study examines REA protocols from leading agencies in humanitarian health assistance across an evaluation criteria of best-practice attributes. Analysis of inconsistencies and deficits leads to the derivation of a Minimum Essential Data Set (MEDS) proposed for use by relief agencies in post-disaster REA of health status in displaced populations. This data set lends itself to initial assessment, ongoing monitoring, and evaluation of relief efforts. It is expected that the task of rapid epidemiological assessment, and more generally, the professional practice of post-disaster health coordination, will be enhanced by development, acceptance, and use of standardized Minimum Essential Data Sets (MEDS).

Keywords

assessmentcriteriaepidemiologydisastermanagementprotocolsneedsdisplaced populationsdata setsstandardizationminimumsInternational Decade for National Disaster Reduction (IDNDR)rapid epidemiological assessmentsphere projectsmart
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 17 , Issue 4 , December 2002 , pp. 178 - 185
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2002

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