INTERNATIONAL DISASTER NURSING will become a hallmark for the field of disaster health, and is testament to the broad scope of this discipline. It is a coherent summary of what we know today and the evidence upon which the science of disaster health is based. The editors of this book have assembled experts in their respective areas of disaster health who include not only the nurses to whom the text is directed, but experts from other disciplines who work in disaster health. The authors hail from fourteen different countries and, thus, truly represent the international community – the content has been guided to reflect many perspectives and health systems.

This text will serve those nurses interested in disaster planning and responses as it lays out the essential components of practice in extreme circumstances. It should help to hone the knowledge and skills of nurses participating in the continuum of emergency/disaster health care and public health from the evolution of plans to the implementation of plans in the prehospital, inhospital, and non-traditional healthcare setting. It includes organizational aspects as well as individual and team roles and responsibilities. In so doing, the text provides essential elements required for the definitions of disaster health competencies. Importantly, the scope of the information in this book also will serve as the basis for the disaster education and training for health professionals in disciplines other than nursing.