title: Research and Evaluations of the Health Aspects of Disasters, Part V: Epidemiological Disaster Research.
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.
authors.affiliation: 1Emeritus 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.
authors.forename: Marvin L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Birnbaum
authors.affiliation: 2Nursing Section Editor, Prehospital and Disaster Medicine;Executive Secretary,World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine,Madison,Wisconsin USA.
authors.forename: Elaine K
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Daily
authors.affiliation: 3Assistant Professor,Division of General Surgery,Department of Surgery,School of Medicine and Public Health,University of Wisconsin,Madison,Wisconsin USA.
authors.forename: Ann P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: O'Rourke
mesh_terms: D004189:Disaster Planning; D004190:Disasters; D015340:Epidemiologic Research Design; D006801:Humans; D011634:Public Health; D012106:Research
keywords: CRED Center for Research into the Epidemiology of Disasters; EMDM Emergency Management and Disaster Medicine; LOF levels of function; UN United Nations; WHO World Health Organization; disaster; epidemiology; evaluation; frameworks; interventions; research