The Science of Disaster Medicine: From Response to Risk Reduction

Abstract

The scientific advancement of the disaster medicine concept started approximately five decades ago. Different disciplines, such as public health, emergency health services, emergency medicine, and military medicine, work within the disaster medicine framework. Disaster medicine aimed to ensure that health services and facilities are operational both in the pre- and post-disaster periods to prevent and reduce the negative health circumstances of the society facing disaster risks. It is a discipline with slow scientific progress due to unclearly systematized multidisciplinary structure and sub-study areas. However, important targets regarding the field of disaster medicine were indicated in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 published by the United Nations. Among the global goals of disaster medicine, are to reduce the number of deaths and injuries, reduce the number of affected people, strengthen critical facility infrastructure, and ensure functional sustainably of these facilities during disasters. To achieve these goals, disaster medicine is expected to rapidly develop both institutionally and academically. Disaster medicine is a global, mass, administrative, and doctrinal discipline that means beyond clinical studies. Particularly, the development and dissemination of disaster medicine education were emphasized for the first time with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which was determined globally in 2015. The disaster medicine discipline is seen to reach a very strong point by 2030.

Bridging medical doctors' education and population health needs to address health disparities in Indonesia

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Footprint of Emergency Medicine Physicians in Disaster Medicine Publications: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…24 In addition, the increasing importance and awareness of the field of disaster medicine world-wide has led to increased interest and support for disaster medicine from the academic community and health authorities. 25 The effects of disasters on health and the well-defined, vital, and often central role of EMPs in health responses during disasters may have led to increased interest in and contributions to this multidisciplinary field over time. In addition, technological developments and social networks may have led to increased productivity of EMPs by facilitating sharing scientific research, national and international collaborations, and access to publications by larger audience on disaster medicine, which are less common than routine health practices.…”

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“…Disaster medicine differs from other disciplines since it requires unique working conditions and principles not found in normal health practices. Amongst the principles, the ability to implement, command, control, and coordinate outside of the medical discipline is widely discussed [ 13 ]. Disaster medicine incorporates many characteristics of management science such as command, coordination, planning, and strategy, but dealing mainly with students implies strong training, standardizing job descriptions, and closely performance monitoring.…”