Medical and Public Health Consequences of Natural and Biological Disasters

Abstract

Better epidemiologic knowledge of the causes of death and types of injuries and illnesses caused by disasters is clearly essential to determine appropriate relief supplies, equipment, and personnel needed to effectively respond to such situations. The overall objective of health disaster managers is to measure and describe as accurately as possible the health effects of disasters and contributing factors to these effects, with the goals of assessing the needs of disaster-affected populations, efficient matching of resources to needs, further prevention of adverse health effects, evaluation of program effectiveness, and for contingency planning. In addition, public health professionals have an important role to play in providing informed advice about the probable health effects that may arise in the future, in establishing priorities for action, and in emphasizing the need for accurate information as the basis for relief decisions. This paper outlines a number of important areas where public health can contribute to making overall disaster management more effective.