Guidelines and Parameters for Ideal Short-Term Interactions: Disaster Relief

Abstract

How can we help in a disaster situation? The need and desire for immediate deployment to render aid must be balanced with the need for a measured response that takes into account both local needs and an honest self-assessment of one’s own skills set. What type of health system was in place prior to the disaster? What injury and illness patterns exist? Who is responding to the disaster and how? What is the current political situation in the affected area? Providing care in austere environments is not for everyone, and even the ablest of health care providers can stumble when they are unprepared to understand and do what is needed. Close coordination and integration of care by volunteers can avoid some of the common mistakes that have plagued disaster responses over the years. Importantly, although disaster relief can seem far removed from academia, properly performed relief takes into account basic academic principles, most notably in the increasing movement to measure outcomes thru disease surveillance and quality improvement of these efforts. In this chapter, we outline general principles for participation in disaster relief as well as the evaluation of efforts therein.