title: Disaster preparedness. An international perspective.
abstract: Establishing a national disaster medical system requires considering the goals and appropriate expenditure levels for emergency preparedness. The United States has placed a relatively low priority on national programs for disaster response. Such programs have been controversial because of their relationship to civil defense against nuclear attack. Switzerland and the Soviet Union have long-established, elaborate medical response systems that should be studied.
mesh_terms: D002017:Budgets; D002959:Civil Defense; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000191:economics; D005380:Financing, Government; D013557:Switzerland; D014586:USSR; D014481:United States