Scientific evidence on natural disasters and health emergency and disaster risk management in Asian rural-based area

Abstract

IntroductionDisaster epidemiological studies indicate that Asia has the highest frequency of natural disasters. Rural communities are heavily impacted by natural disasters and have different healthcare needs to urban ones. Referencing Asian countries, this paper’s objective is to provide an overview of health impacts and the current evidence for designing programmes and policies related to rural health emergency and disaster risk management (health-EDRM).Sources of dataThis paper uses published English-only reports and papers retrieved from PubMed, Google Scholar, Embase, Medline and PsycINFO on rural disaster and emergency responses and relief, health impact and disease patterns in Asia (January 2000–January 2018).Areas of agreementEarthquakes are the most studied natural disasters in rural communities. The medical burden and health needs of rural communities were most commonly reported among populations of extreme age. Most of the existing research evidence for rural interventions was reported in China. There lacks published peer-reviewed reports of programme impacts on personal and community preparedness.Areas of controversyThere is a lack of evidence-based health-EDRM interventions to evaluate implementation effectiveness in rural areas despite vast volumes of health-related disaster literature.Growing pointsClimate change-related disasters are increasing in frequency and severity. Evidence is needed for disaster risk reduction interventions to address the health risks specific to rural populations.Areas timely for developing researchTo support global policy development, urgent evidence is needed on the intervention effectiveness, long-term health outcomes, local and cultural relevance as well as sustainability of health relief produced by Health-EDRM programmes in rural areas.

The Most Stressful Events during the COVID-19 Epidemic

“…Also, those with laboring jobs experience higher levels of stress than others. People with low economic level are more affected by neutral events (29). Job loss means loss of income, and loss of income means lack of access to essential goods for life, and problems with rent payment, installments, etc.…”

Is Urban Household Emergency Preparedness Associated with Short-Term Impact Reduction after a Super Typhoon in Subtropical City?

“…Preventive measures to mitigate disaster-related health risks are needed, which includes assessing the individual, household, and community’s capacity for food security, clean water and sanitation, and injury prevention [3,4,5]. Health-EDRM research in Asia suggests that despite high knowledge about typhoons, people have a low self-perception of the associated health risks and many do not adhere to government warnings [6,7,8].…”

From Disaster Risk Reduction to Policy Studies: Bridging Research Communities

“…Some studies focus on international policy frameworks such as the Hyogo Framework for Action: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters 2005-2015 and the followon Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030[(Zimmermann and Keiler 2015; on Sendai, specifically see Aitsi-Selmi et al (2016)]. Others assess policies or programs or their components (e.g., public engagement) at the international (Chan et al 2019), national (Ahmed 2013;Amri et al 2017), or local level (Burnside-Lawry and Carvalho 2015; Garschagen et al 2018).…”