World Association for Disaster and Emergency Management

Fostering international collaboration, the organization is inclusive, culturally sensitive, unbiased, ethical and dynamic in its approach. While individual members are active in field operations, the organization remains non-operational, fulfilling its mission through:

• Facilitation of academic and research-based education and training
• Interpretation and exchange of information through its global network of members and publications
• Development and maintenance of evidence-based standards of emergency and disaster health care and provision of leadership concerning their integration into practice
• Coordination of data collection and provision of direction in the development of standardized disaster assessment and research and evaluation methodologies
• Publication and presentation of evidence-based research findings in scientific publications and international conferences and congresses

Disaster preparedness is an emerging field in public health. As the number of naturally occurring and man-made disasters continues, more people are affected by these disasters, and there is an increased demand to develop an evidence base for health and medical interventions in disaster situations. Students interested in disaster medicine and management may be interested in pursuing a project with the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Management that has international impact.

Project opportunities

• Define the standards for safe hospitals by completing a literature review and interviews to answer questions related to how hospitals can be prepared for disasters.
• Review the proceedings from the World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Health and identify common themes to help to guide the development of common terminology and definitions for public health preparedness.
• Complete an epidemiologic analysis of traffic accidents in third world countries in order begin to develop strategies for prevention that are culturally appropriate