title: Why do we need systematic reviews to inform healthcare decisions in the disaster context.
abstract: Decision-making in the disaster setting is often guided by the precautionary principle and the pressure to do something. All such actions do not necessarily translate into improved outcomes, however well-reasoned and well-intentioned they might be. Systematic reviews of interventions could provide the credible evidence needed to inform decision-making in the disaster context. In this paper, which was presented at the Evidence Aid Symposium on 20 September 2014, at Hyderabad, India, I emphasize this point by reflecting upon the response to the recent pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Jawaharlal Institute of Postgraduate Medical Education and Research, Puducherry, India.
authors.forename: Tamilarasu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kadhiravan
mesh_terms: D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D055416:Evidence-Based Emergency Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health
keywords: Disaster; evidence aid; healthcare decision; systematic reviews