The Science of Disaster Medicine: From Response to Risk Reduction

The scientific advancement of the disaster medicine concept started approximately five decades ago. Different disciplines, such as public health, emergency health services, emergency medicine, and military medicine, work within the disaster medicine framework. Disaster medicine aimed to ensure that health services and facilities are operational both in the pre- and post-disaster periods to prevent and reduce the negative health circumstances of the society facing disaster risks. It is a discipline with slow scientific progress due to unclearly systematized multidisciplinary structure and sub-study areas. However, important targets regarding the field of disaster medicine were indicated in the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 published by the United Nations. Among the global goals of disaster medicine, are to reduce the number of deaths and injuries, reduce the number of affected people, strengthen critical facility infrastructure, and ensure functional sustainably of these facilities during disasters. To achieve these goals, disaster medicine is expected to rapidly develop both institutionally and academically. Disaster medicine is a global, mass, administrative, and doctrinal discipline that means beyond clinical studies. Particularly, the development and dissemination of disaster medicine education were emphasized for the first time with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, which was determined globally in 2015. The disaster medicine discipline is seen to reach a very strong point by 2030.