This book provides a collection of ten protocols for conducting
rapid health assessments in the immediate aftermath of different
types of emergencies. Noting the vital importance of rapid and
accurate information in the earliest stage of an emergency, the
protocols respond to the urgent need for common standardized
technical tools for assessing damage, gauging health risks, and
gathering the information immediately needed by decision-makers at
the national and international level. The protocols were prepared
by WHO in collaboration with a large number of international
agencies and experts with broad experience in the field of
emergency management. Although all protocols follow a common
format, each is specific to the circumstances, potential hazards,
and immediate information needs that characterize a distinct type
of emergency. Emphasis is placed on the exact information needed,
the best sources of data and methods for rapid collection, and the
specific questions that need to be answered in order to draw
initial conclusions and direct immediate actions.Although the
advantages of using experienced assessments teams are stressed, the
book also explains how the protocols can be used to train general
health workers as part of emergency preparedness. The book opens
with an introductory protocol covering the aims and methods,
responsibilities, complexities, and inherent difficulties of rapid
health assessments. Addressed to health authorities as well as
assessment teams, the chapter also includes abundant advice on
preparedness for emergencies. Details range from the comparative
need for speed in different types of emergencies, through a
suggested format for presenting the results of assessments, to a
list of common logistic, organizational, and technical errors.
Advice on the best working practices, including ways to avoid being
an "emergency tourist", is also provided. Against this background,
the additional nine protocols are presented according to a common
format which covers the purpose of the assessment, preparedness,
the steps to follow during the assessment, assessing the impact on
health, assessing local response capacity and immediate needs, and
presenting results.A general protocol on epidemics of infectious
origin is followed by protocols specific to meningitis outbreaks,
outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fever, including yellow fever, and
outbreaks of acute diarrhoeal disease, with information specific to
dysentery and cholera. Sudden-impact natural disasters are covered
in the next protocol, which includes a day-by-day list of
information priorities for different stages of the disaster. A
protocol dealing with sudden population displacements offers
guidelines for conducting rapid health assessments in all
emergencies caused by sudden displacement of refugees or population
groups within a country. Included are a sample checklist for rapid
assessments and a sample form for weekly reports on morbidity and
mortality. Subsequent protocols deal with the special situations of
nutritional emergencies and chemical emergencies, including those
caused by food contaminated with chemicals or toxins. The final
protocol addresses the difficult task of conducting assessments in
complex emergencies in which the cause of the emergency, as well as
the assistance to the afflicted, is complicated by intense levels
of political considerations.The protocol includes a form which has
recently been used for rapid health assessment at local level in
Bosnia and Herzegovnia. The book concludes with a brief summary of
survey techniques, followed by a tabular presentation of reference
values for assessing needs, hazards, and logistic requirements in
developing countries.
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