Disasters, Health, and Health Systems

THE CHALLENGE

During the COVID-19 pandemic, I worked with more than 30 public health agencies to measure how well they managed the emergencies they faced. The evidence that disasters disrupt health systems and harm health is clear; how systems can prepare for novel and compounding risks is less so. My work fills that gap with evidence on disaster health impacts and practical tools for preparedness and response.

THE APPROACH

- Epidemiological analysis of tropical cyclone exposure and infant mortality across low- and middle-income countries

- Measurement of public health incident management performance during real emergencies, in partnership with 30+ public health agencies

- Crisis communication training for public health workers, informed by analysis of COVID-19 misinformation online

- Research on the mental health effects of crisis on children, families, and older adults

THE OUTCOME

Evidence on how disasters affect population health, published in Nature, Science Advances, and Lancet Planetary Health, and the Incident Management Measurement Toolkit for public health agencies deployed across the U.S.

Further reading

Global Population Profile of Tropical Cyclone Exposure, 2000-2019 Nature

The Impact of Tropical Cyclone Exposure on Infant Mortality in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Science Advances

The Incident Management Measurement Toolkit RAND Corporation

Misinformation and Conspiracies in COVID Times University of Pennsylvania Press

Think global, act local: using a 'trans-local' approach to understand community-based organisations' responses to planetary health crises during COVID-19 Lancet Planetary Health