Survey research in disaster public health

While much has been learned during the past three decades of research in the disaster field, there still are some major gaps in knowledge. The need for more and better research on the health aspects of disasters is especially noted. Often, research into the health aspects has been anecdotal in nature and suffers from poor documentation of human losses. However, there are valid research methodologies that can be adapted to better document losses, evaluate interventions, and set priorities for investments to reduce the burden on the health of the population caused by disasters.

A number of data sources are used to demonstrate the potential uses of surveys in disaster health. The majority of the examples reflect data collected by telephone interviews following earthquakes in California.

By using comparable instruments, it is possible to track the changes in preparedness levels across time. Similarly, it is possible to compare injury rates or other health impacts across time, place, and disaster type. In addition, risk factors can be identified for health outcomes. For example, in the Northridge earthquake, those over age 60 years were three times more likely to be hospitalized or die as a result of injuries than were those aged 20-59 years. Interventions can be evaluated. Slightly less than half of the respondents of the El Niño study had heard messages about preparing for the on-coming weather and their preparedness levels were not significantly different from those who had not heard about preparing for the weather.

Surveys are useful tools for identifying and evaluating the health impacts of disasters.