Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-s2hrs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T07:07:59.708Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Disaster Preparedness and Response as Primary Health Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Thomas D. Kirsch
Thomas D. Kirsch
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of International Health, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Extract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The need for search and rescue and medical care following a sudden impact disaster is immediate and often overwhelming. In the past, governments and international organizations have relied on external assistance for these efforts. Because the life expectancy of severely injured and trapped victims is limited, the response must come first from the impact area itself. The preponderance of disaster research demonstrates that the local populace overwhelmingly is responsible for search-and-rescue efforts. Emergency medical care, e.g., that delivered in the first 24 hours to 48 hours after a disaster, also is overwhelmingly from local or regional resources. Outside and, perhaps, even international assistance is required for medium- and long-term response, but is of limited benefit for the “emergency phase.”

Keywords

communitiesdeveloping worlddisaster phasesdisaster preparednessdisaster responsefirst aidgovernmental agenciesinternational responsesnongovernmental agenciesprimary health careprimary health-care workersRed Crescent SocietiesRed Cross Societiessearch and rescue
Type
Editorial
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , December 1995 , pp. 223 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1995

References

1. de Bruyker, M, Greco, D, LeChat, MF: The 1980 earthquake in Southern Italy: Rescue of trapped victims and mortality. Bull World Health Organ 1983;61:1021–1025.Google Scholar
2. Program of Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination: Disaster Chronicles No. 3: Earthquake in Mexico, 19 and 20 September 1985. Washington, D.C.: Pan American Health Organization, 1986.Google Scholar
3. Durkin, M: Casualties, search and rescue, and response of the health care system. Earthquake Spectra 1987;3:621–639.Google Scholar
4. World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine: Priorities in medical response to disasters. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 1990;5:64–66.Google Scholar
5. Bissel, RA, Pretto, E, Angus, DC, et al. : Post-preparedness medical disaster response in Costa Rica. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 1994; 9:96–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
6. Henderson, AK, Lillibridge, SR, Salinas, C, et al. : Disaster medical assistance teams: Providing health care to a community struck by hurricane Iniki. Ann Emerg Med 1994;23:726–730.Google Scholar
7. Noji, EK, Kelen, GD, Armenian, HK: The 1988 earthquake in Soviet Armenia: A case study. Ann Emerg Med 1990;19:892–897.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Alson, R, Alexander, D, Leonard, RB, et al. : Analysis of medical treatment at a field hospital following Hurricane Andrew, 1992. Ann Emerg Med 1993;22:1715–1720.Google Scholar
9. World Health Organization: Declaration of Alma Ata, Report on the International Conference on Primary Health Care. Alma Ata, USSR. ICPHC/ALA/78.10, 6–12 September 1978.Google Scholar
10. Walsh, JA, Warren, K: Selective primary health care: An interim strategy for disease control in developing countries. N Eng J Med 1979;301:967–974.Google Scholar
11. Evans, JR, Hall, KA, Warford, J: Shattuck lecture—Health care in the developing world: Problems of scarcity and choice. N Engl J Med 1981;305:1117–1127.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12. First World Conference on Accident and Injury Prevention: Manifesto for safe communities. Proceedings from the First World Conference on Accident and Injury Prevention. Stockholm, Sweden: September 1989.Google Scholar
13. Dick, B: First aid in the era of primary health care. World Health Forum 1990;11:202–203.Google Scholar