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Disaster Preparedness and Response as Primary Health Care

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Thomas D. Kirsch
Thomas D. Kirsch
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Department of International Health, The Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland
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The need for search and rescue and medical care following a sudden impact disaster is immediate and often overwhelming. In the past, governments and international organizations have relied on external assistance for these efforts. Because the life expectancy of severely injured and trapped victims is limited, the response must come first from the impact area itself. The preponderance of disaster research demonstrates that the local populace overwhelmingly is responsible for search-and-rescue efforts. Emergency medical care, e.g., that delivered in the first 24 hours to 48 hours after a disaster, also is overwhelmingly from local or regional resources. Outside and, perhaps, even international assistance is required for medium- and long-term response, but is of limited benefit for the “emergency phase.”

Keywords

communitiesdeveloping worlddisaster phasesdisaster preparednessdisaster responsefirst aidgovernmental agenciesinternational responsesnongovernmental agenciesprimary health careprimary health-care workersRed Crescent SocietiesRed Cross Societiessearch and rescue
Type
Editorial
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , December 1995 , pp. 223 - 224
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 1995

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