Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T05:26:14.494Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impact of Public Health Emergencies on Modern Disaster Taxonomy, Planning, and Response

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 April 2013

Frederick M. Burkle Jr  and
P. Gregg Greenough
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Current disaster taxonomy describes diversity, distinguishing characteristics, and common relations in disaster event classifications. The impact of compromised public health infrastructure and systems on health consequences defines and greatly influences the manner in which disasters are observed, planned for, and managed, especially those that are geographically widespread, population dense, and prolonged. What may first result in direct injuries and death may rapidly change to excess indirect illness and subsequent death as essential public health resources are destroyed, deteriorate, or are systematically denied to vulnerable populations. Public health and public health infrastructure and systems in developed and developing countries must be seen as strategic and security issues that deserve international public health resource monitoring attention from disaster managers, urban planners, the global humanitarian community, World Health Organization authorities, and participating parties to war and conflict. We posit here that disaster frameworks be reformed to emphasize and clarify the relation of public health emergencies and modern disasters. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2008;2:192–199)

Keywords

Public health emergenciespublic health infrastructure and systemsdisaster classification and taxonomydisaster planning and managementdisaster and war mortality and morbidityterrorism
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 2 , Issue 3 , October 2008 , pp. 192 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2008

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

1. United Nations. International Strategy for Disaster Reduction. http://www.unisdr.org/disaster-statistics/introduction.htm. Accessed May 10, 2008.Google Scholar
2. Green WGIII, McGinnes SR. Thoughts on the higher order taxonomy of disasters. Notes on the Science of Extreme Situations, paper no. 7, updated July 11, 2006. http://facultystaff.richmond.edu/wgreen/PAPER7.pdf. Accessed December 10, 2007.Google Scholar
3. Kornfeld A. Studying our biosphere. 1997. http://www.perspective.com/nature/biosphere.html. Accessed December 11, 2007.Google Scholar
4. National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws. Emergency System for Advanced Registration of Volunteers Health Professionals. http://www.law.upenn.edu/bll/archives/ulc/uiehsa/2006_annualmeetingdraft.htm. Accessed November 29, 2007.Google Scholar
5.Nelson, C, Lurie, N, Wasserman, J, et alConceptualizing and defining public health emergency preparedness. Am J Public Health. 2007;97 (Suppl 1)S9–S11.Google Scholar
6.Burkle, FM Jr. Public health emergencies, cancer, and the legacy of Katrina. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2007;22 (4)291–292.Google Scholar
7. Burkle FM Jr. Complex humanitarian emergencies. In Koenig K, Schultz CH, eds. Disaster Medicine. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, in press.Google Scholar
8.Roberts, L, Despines, M.Mortality in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Lancet. 1999;353:2249–2250.Google Scholar
9.Ghobarah, H, Huth, P, Russett, B.Civil wars kill and maim people—long after the shooting stops. Am Polit Sci Rev. 2003;97:189–202.Google Scholar
10. Human Security Center. Part IV: Counting the indirect costs of war. In: Human Security Report 2005: War and Peace in the 21st Century. New York: Oxford University Press; 2005:127–134.Google Scholar
11.Koenig, KL, Dinerman, N, Kuehl, AF.Disaster nomenclature—a functional impact approach: the PICE system. Acad Emerg Med. 1996;3:723–7.Google Scholar
12.Burkle, FM Jr. Mass casualty management of a large-scale bioterrorist event: an epidemiological approach that shapes triage decisions. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2002;20:409–436.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Burkle FM Jr. Rupp G. Hurricane Katrina: disasters keep us honest. Monday Developments, September 26, 2005. InterAction.org Web site. http://www.interaction.org/library/detail.php?id=4537. Accessed May 22, 2008.Google Scholar
14.Mallonee, S, Shariat, S, Stennies, G, et alPhysical injuries and fatalities resulting from the Oklahoma City bombing. JAMA. 1996;276:382–387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Schultz, CH, Koenig, KL, Noji, EK.A medical disaster response to reduce immediate mortality after an earthquake. N Engl J Med. 1996;334:438–444.Google Scholar
16.Burkle, FM Jr. Complex humanitarian emergencies: a review of epidemiological and response models. J Postgrad Med. 2006;52:110–115.Google ScholarPubMed
17.Salama, P, Spiegel, P, Talley, L, et alLessons learned from complex emergencies over the past decade. Lancet. 2004;364 94471801–1813.Google Scholar
18. Perera R. Fueling environmental change in Haiti. CARE Web site. http://www.care.org/newsroom/articles/2004/10/10182004_haiti_deforestation_story.asp. Accessed December 12, 2007.Google Scholar
19. World Health Organization. Emergency Health Training Program for Africa. 1.11 Hazard Classification. Addis Ababa: Panafrican Emergency Training Center; July 1998:1.11.7.Google Scholar
20.Bissell, RA.Delayed-impact infectious diseases after a natural disaster. J Emerg Med. 1983;1:59–66.Google Scholar
21.Schneider, E, Hajjeh, RA, Spiegel, RA, et alA coccidioidomycosis outbreak following the Northridge, California earthquake. JAMA. 1997;277:904–908.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22.Stephens, KU, Grew, D, Chin, K, et alExcess mortality in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: a preliminary report. Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2007;1:5–20.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Edwards, TO, Young, RA, Lowe, AF.Caring for a surge of Hurricane Katrina evacuees in primary care clinics. Ann Fam Med. 2007;5:170–174.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Joseph, DA, Wingo, PA, King, JB, et alUse of state cancer surveillance data to estimate the cancer burden in disaster affected areas: Hurricane Katrina, 2005. Prehosp Disast Med. 2007;22:282–290.Google Scholar
25.Harris-Cheng, M.Health and housing after the Indian Ocean tsunami. Lancet. 2007;369 95792066–2068.Google Scholar
26. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. International Health Regulations. Coordinating Office for Global Health. http://www.cdc.gov/print.do?url=http%3A//www.cdc.gov/cogh/ihregulations.htm. Accessed December 9, 2007.Google Scholar
27.Boyce, W.Earth monitoring: vigilance is not enough. Nature. 2007;450:791–792.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Burkle, FM Jr. Globalization and disasters: public health, state capacity and political action. J Int Affairs. 2006;59:241–268.Google Scholar
29. World Health Organization. Chernobyl: the true scale of the accident. September 5, 2005. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2005/pr38/en/index.html. Accessed December 13, 2007.Google Scholar
30.Broughton, E.The Bhopal disaster and its aftermath: a review. Environ Health: A Global Access Science Source. 2005;4:1–6.Google Scholar
31.Steinhausler, F.Chernobyl and Goiania: lessons for responding to radiological terrorism. Health Phys. 2005;89:566–574.Google Scholar
32.Barnett, DL, Parker, CL, Blodgett, DW, et alUnderstanding radiologic and nuclear terrorism as public health threats: preparedness and response perspectives. J Nucl Med. 2006;47:1653–1661.Google ScholarPubMed
33.Hyams, KC, Murphy, FM, Wessley, S.Responding to chemical, biological, or nuclear terrorism: the indirect and long-term health effects may present the greatest challenge. J Health Polit Policy Law. 2002;27:241–2.Google Scholar
34. Central Emergency Response Fund, Office of the Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs. Myanmar—facts and figures. September 24, 2007. http://ochaonline.un.org/Default.aspx?tabid=1763. Accessed May 8, 2008.Google Scholar
35. Evans G. Delivering on the responsibility to protect: four misunderstandings, three challenges and how to overcome them. Address presented to SEF Symposium, Bonn, Germany. November 30, 2007. http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=5190&1=1. Accessed December 1, 2007.Google Scholar
36. Cohen R. Humanitarian imperatives are transforming sovereignty. Northwestern J Int Affairs. January 22, 2008. http://www.brookings.edu/articles/2008/winter_humanitarian_cohen.aspx.Google Scholar
37.Burkle, FM Jr. Lessons learned and future expectations of complex emergencies. BMJ. 1999;319:422–426.Google Scholar
38.Roberts, L, Hoffman, CA.Assessing the impact of humanitarian assistance in the health sector. Emerg Themes Epidemiol. 2004;1:3.Google Scholar
39. Obermeyer Z, Murray CJ. A half-century of war mortality in 13 countries. Proceedings of the Humanitarian Health Conference, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Cambridge, MA, September 6–8, 2007.Google Scholar
40.Ball, P, Kobrak, P, Spirer, HF.State Violence in Guatemala, 1960–1996: A Quantitative Reflection. Washington DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science; 1999.Google Scholar
41.Burnham, G, Lafta, R, Doocy, S, et alMortality after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: a cross sectional cluster sample survey. Lancet. 2006;368:44–51.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
42.Oosterhoff, P, Zwanikken, P, Ketting, E.Sexual torture of men in Croatia and other conflict situations: an open secret. Reprod Health Matters. 2004;12:68–77.Google Scholar
43.Hynes, M, Robertson, K, Ward, J, et alA determination of the prevalence of gender-based violence among conflict-affected populations in East Timor. Disasters. 2004;28:294–321.Google Scholar
44.Bosnar, A, Stemberga, V, Coklo, M, et alSuicide and the war in Croatia. Forensic Sci Int. 2005;147 SupplS13–S16.Google Scholar
45.Okulate, GT, Jones, OB.Post-traumatic stress disorder, survivor guilt and substance use—a study of hospitalized Nigerian army veterans. S Afr Med J. 2006;96:144–146.Google Scholar
46.Ghobarah, HA, Huth, P, Russett, B.The post-war public health effects of civil conflict. Soc Sci Med. 1996;42:1095–1108.Google Scholar
47. Hoeffler A, Reynal-Querol M. Measuring the Costs of Conflict. Working Paper, Oxford University, March 2003. http://heisun1.unige.ch/sas/files/portal/issueareas/victims/Victims_pdf/2003_Hoeffler_Reynal.pdf.Google Scholar
48.Rice, SE, Graff, C, Lewis, J.Poverty and Civil War: What Policymakers Need to Know. Working Paper # 02. Washington DC: The Brookings Institution; 2006.Google Scholar
49. Dengue fever, a man-made disease. Economist. 1998;May 2:21.Google Scholar
50. International Crisis Group Web site. http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm. Accessed December 12, 2007.Google Scholar
51. World Health Organization. World Health Day 2006. April 7, 2006. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2006/pr19/en/print.html. Accessed April 12, 2008.Google Scholar
52.Ozgediz, D, Roayaie, K, Wang, J.Surgery and global health: the perspective of UCSF residents on training, research, and service. Bull Am Coll Surg. 2006;91:26–35.Google Scholar
53.The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2006. Eradicating World Hunger—Taking Stock Ten Years After the World Food Summit. Rome: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations; 2006:4–8.Google Scholar
54. Bread for the World. Hunger Facts: International. http://www.bread.org/learn/hunger-basics/hunger-facts-international.html. Accessed December 12, 2007.Google Scholar
55.Roberts, L, Lafta, R, Garfield, R, et alMortality before and after the 2003 invasion of Iraq: cluster sample survey. Lancet. 2004 364 94481857–1864.Google Scholar
56. Laurance J. Iraq Faces Soaring Toll of Deadly Disease. Global Policy Forum Web site. October 13, 2004. http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/consequences/2004/1013disease.htm. Accessed December 12, 2007.Google Scholar
57. Humanitarian Policy Group. Humanitarian Action in Iraq: Putting the Pieces Together. HPG Policy Brief 30, March 2008; pp 1–7.Google Scholar
58. Save the Children. State of the World’s Mothers 2006: Saving the Lives of Mothers and Newborns. http://www.savethechildren.org/publications/mothers/2006/SOWM_2006_final.pdf. Accessed December 20, 2006.Google Scholar
59. International Committee of the Red Cross. Iraq: no let-up in humanitarian crisis. http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/iraq-report-170308. Accessed March 17, 2008.Google Scholar
60. Afghanistan NGO Safety Office. ANSO Quarterly Data Report (Q. 1-2008): January 1, 2008–March 31, 2008. http://www.humansecuritygateway.info/documents/ANSO_quarterlydatareport_Jan-March2008.pdf. Accessed April 12, 2008.Google Scholar
61.Fourth Geneva Convention. Articles 55 and 56. Geneva: International Committee of the Red Cross; 1949.Google Scholar
62.Burkle, FM Jr. Military-civic action and the 4th Geneva Convention: lessons learned or ignored? Prehosp Disaster Med. 2006;21:139–140.Google Scholar
63.Burkle, FM Jr. Measuring humanitarian assistance in conflicts. Lancet. 2008;371 9608189–190.Google Scholar
64.British Medical Association. The Medical Effects of Nuclear War. Report of the British Medical Association’s Board of Science and Education. Chichester, UK: John Wiley & Sons; 1983:36–41.Google Scholar
65.Campbell, D.War Plan UK: The Truth About Civil Defense in Britain. London: Burnett Books; 1982:112–125.Google Scholar