Disaster epidemiology is the use of traditional epidemiologic tools and methods to assess the short- and long-term adverse health effects of disasters and emergencies, and to predict consequences of future disasters. Typically, the main objectives of
disaster epidemiology are to: provide timely and accurate information for decision-makers, prevent or reduce the number of deaths, illnesses, and injuries caused by disasters, and improve prevention and mitigation strategies for future disasters and
emergencies by gaining information for response preparation.
The Disaster Epidemiology Subcommittee brings together epidemiologists from various subject disciplines to share best practices and collaborate on epidemiologic approaches towards improving all-hazard disaster preparedness and response capacities at local,
state, tribal, regional, and national levels. It is critical to use epidemiologic principles, emergency preparedness planning, and a coordinated disaster response for describing the distribution of injuries, illnesses, and disabilities; rapidly detecting
outbreaks or clusters; identifying and implementing timely interventions; evaluating the impacts of public health efforts; and improving public health preparedness planning. The CSTE Disaster Epidemiology Subcommittee has produced several publications
including:
Annual National Disaster Epidemiology Workshop:
Since 2010, the Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) has hosted an annual workshop on disaster epidemiology that brings together partners in public health
from academic institutions, national non-profit organizations, governmental organizations at the national, tribal, state and local levels to learn about recent advancements in disaster epidemiology and explore opportunities for new partnerships to
improve the public response to emergencies.
For more information about the Disaster Epidemiology Subcommittee and its activities, please contact Andrew Adams. Click here to view other environmental
health activities.
Resources
Disaster Epidemiology Tools:
- Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) Following any type of disaster, public health and emergency management professionals must be prepared to respond to and
meet the needs of the affected public. The Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) enables public health practitioners and emergency management officials to determine rapidly the health status and basic needs of the
affected community. CASPER uses valid statistical methods to gather information about health and basic needs, allowing public health and emergency managers to prioritize their response and distribution of resources accurately
- Emergency Responder Health and Safety Monitoring System (ERHMS) NIOSH worked with the U.S. National Response Team (NRT), and a number of federal agencies, state health departments, labor unions,
and volunteer emergency responder groups to develop the Emergency Responder Health Monitoring and Surveillance (ERHMS) system. The ERHMS provides guidelines for protecting emergency responders over a full range of emergency types and settings.
It is for use by all who are involved in deployment and protection of emergency responders. This includes incident management and response organization leadership, health, safety and medical personnel, and emergency responders.
- Assessment of Chemical Exposure (ACE) When toxic substance spills or chemical emergencies happen, ATSDR helps state and local health departments by providing ACE resources to perform a rapid epidemiologic
assessment. ACE provides training on how to perform an epidemiologic assessment after a chemical incident. The ACE Toolkit is a helpful resource to assist local authorities in responding to or preparing for a chemical release. The toolkit contains
materials that can quickly be modified to meet the needs of a local team performing an epidemiologic assessment. When an incident occurs, ACE provides technical assistance by forming a multi-disciplinary, often multi-agency, team to assist the
state and local health department.
Disability Data Collection in Emergency Preparedness and Response:
CSTE has partnered with CDC’s National Center
on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities Defects to better understand the understand how jurisdictions collect and share data related to the impacts of public health emergencies on persons with disabilities. As a result, CSTE worked with a consultant to assess jurisdictional
data collection practices related to persons with disabilities during emergency preparedness and response and produced the following documents:
CSTE Disaster Epidemiology Subcommittee Resources:
Public Health Preparedness (PHP) Capabilities and Disaster Epidemiology Crosswalk
Members of the subcommittee created a Disaster Epidemiology and Public Health Preparedness capabilities crosswalk to provide resources to health departments on disaster epidemiology tools that are available to help meet the capabilities.
CSTE Disaster Epidemiology Tool Repository
The CSTE Disaster Epidemiology (DE) subcommittee has identified the need to share information among state, local, and federal epidemiologists on disaster related methods, tools, and lessons learned. To meet this need, the DE subcommittee has created a
repository of DE tools and related guidance on their uses.
Webinars/CSTE Learn/Publications
Disaster Epidemiology 101
Deaths Associated with Hurricane Sandy: October – November 2012
Annual CSTE National Disaster Epidemiology Workshops
CSTE Disaster Epidemiology Subcommittee Disaster Epidemiology Publications
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