Advancing Disaster Epidemiology andResponse: Developing a National Disaster-Victim Database

Abstract

The need to further disaster preparedness has resulted in a call for more comprehensive disaster research. Past disaster research has, for the most part, been limited by the inability to obtain complete medical data from victims of disasters. A national disaster-victim database (NDVD) can be developed that will facilitate collection and aggregation of disaster-victim medical data from health care facilities. Three aspects of the NDVD are discussed: DATA REQUIREMENTS: Medical records of disaster victims must be standardized before being uploaded from various databases into the NDVD. Existing data dictionaries provide formats in which data elements can become standardized. Once standardized, data sets from different facilities can be pooled and subjected to analyses. Database System. The three tiers of the NDVD system are: 1) medical data are collected at the point of care, 2) medical data are entered into databases and converted into a specific format, and 3) formatted data sets are uploaded to the NDVD. In order for this system to be viable, it must not add burden to health care workers; rather, it must benefit them and their facilities. REAL-TIME COLLECTION OF MEDICAL DATA: Capturing data on victims of a disaster, during a disaster, is ideal. This would allow for more victim data to be studied as well as for more accurate data to be collected. Technologic advancement has encouraged a real-time data-collection model in St. Louis that can act as a model for NDVD implementation.

Epidemiologic Methods Lessons Learned from Environmental Public Health Disasters: Chernobyl, the World Trade Center, Bhopal, and Graniteville, South Carolina

“…Such effects are frequently poorly understood and even less so concerning long-term repeated exposures to a contaminated environment resulting from a disaster. Epidemiologic studies of EPHDs resulting from accidental or intentional releases of hazardous contaminants provide important information on long-term toxic health effects [1,2,3,4], though methodological challenges such as mitigating selection biases, exposure assessment, and community mistrust present important obstacles to comprehensively evaluating these long-term health effects. The purpose of this paper is to share some practical lessons learned during the public health recovery work after four EPHDs (Table 1).…”

10th Anniversary Review: Natural disasters and their long-term impacts on the health of communities

“…78 Unfortunately, many organizations responsible for disasters lack an adequate process or authority structure to coordinate hazard assessment and population health surveillance in the weeks, months and years following a disaster. 79 As VanRooyen observed: ''Relief organizations still have much to learn about shifting from short-term medical-aid efforts to productive, sustainable interventions that promote the development of a local health care system'': it may be argued that the ongoing capacity to monitor disease outcomes should be included as an integral component in the provision of ''local health care''. 80 The final section of this review will focus on one particular aspect on post-disaster management: the enhancement of long-term health surveillance.…”