Rapid Health and Needs assessments after disasters: a systematic review
Open Access
- 1 June 2010
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Public Health
- Vol. 10 (1), 295
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-10-295
Abstract
Background Publichealth care providers, stakeholders and policy makers request a rapid insight into health status and needs of the affected population after disasters. To our knowledge, there is no standardized rapid assessment tool for European countries. The aim of this article is to describe existing tools used internationally and analyze them for the development of a workable rapid assessment. Methods A review was conducted, including original studies concerning a rapid health and/or needs assessment. The studies used were published between 1980 and 2009. The electronic databasesof Medline, Embase, SciSearch and Psychinfo were used. Results Thirty-three studies were included for this review. The majority of the studies was of US origin and in most cases related to natural disasters, especially concerning the weather. In eighteen studies an assessment was conducted using a structured questionnaire, eleven studies used registries and four used both methods. Questionnaires were primarily used to asses the health needs, while data records were used to assess the health status of disaster victims. Conclusions Methods most commonly used were face to face interviews and data extracted from existing registries. Ideally, a rapid assessment tool is needed which does not add to the burden of disaster victims. In this perspective, the use of existing medical registries in combination with a brief questionnaire in the aftermath of disasters is the most promising. Since there is an increasing need for such a tool this approach needs further examination.This publication has 54 references indexed in Scilit:
- Survey on the Population's Needs and the Public Health Response During Floods in Germany 2002Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 2007
- Displacement of the Underserved: Medical Needs of Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in West VirginiaJournal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 2007
- Rapid Needs Assessment among Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Metro-DenverJournal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 2007
- Use of Electronic Health Records in Disaster Response: The Experience of Department of Veterans Affairs After Hurricane KatrinaAmerican Journal of Public Health, 2007
- Nonfatal injuries following Hurricane Katrina—New Orleans, Louisiana, 2005Journal of Safety Research, 2006
- The World Trade Center Disaster and the Health of Workers: Five-Year Assessment of a Unique Medical Screening ProgramEnvironmental Health Perspectives, 2006
- In vivo detection of single cells by MRIMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, 2006
- The Public Health Response to the Chi-Chi Earthquake in Taiwan, 1999Public Health Reports, 2003
- Health effects of the Chernobyl disaster: illness or illness behavior? A comparative general health survey in two former Soviet regions.Environmental Health Perspectives, 1997
- Disease epidemiology and earthquake disaster: The example of Southern Italy after the 23 November 1980 earthquakeSocial Science & Medicine (1982), 1982