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Health Emergencies and Disasters Preparedness

A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Health Care Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2025 | Viewed by 3830

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Maria D. Mavrouli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Microbiology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 11527 Athens, Greece
Interests: infectious diseases; natural hazards; infectious disease epidemiology; impact of natural hazards on public health; infectious disease surveillance
Dr. Spyridon Mavroulis

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Dynamic Tectonic Applied Geology, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, School of Sciences, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 15784 Athens, Greece
Interests: earth sciences; natural hazards; prevention and management of disasters induced by natural hazards; environmental, disaster, and crises management strategies; impact of natural hazards on public health
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Infectious disease outbreaks and natural, technological and other hazards may have adverse effects on people’s health, the economy, politics and society. However, they can also be health emergencies in their own nature such as the evolving COVID-19 pandemic, the mpox emergency and seasonal infectious diseases, among others. Emergencies and disasters can trigger a variety of hazards in the affected areas, threatening all involved in the emergency response and recovery efforts. These associated hazards may be different from the main emergency event. A typical example comprises geophysical hazards with considerable impact capable of causing outbreaks of infectious diseases.

The complexity of an emergency response is greater when hazards of different types occur simultaneously or evolve in parallel. A typical recent example is the evolving COVID-19 pandemic that created many challenges, especially in disaster management and public health. These challenges are attributed to incompatibilities between the emergency response actions to manage disaster impact and the pandemic's mitigation measures. They also highlighted as never before the importance and necessity of effective preparedness, not only of Civil Protection staff and Public Health organizations but also the personal preparedness of individuals, families and communities. 

The purpose of this Special Issue is to collect original research papers and reviews covering recent advances in health emergencies and disasters preparedness realted to the following topics:

  • Descriptive studies of past and active health emergencies and disasters related to pandemics, epidemics and outbreaks as well as to natural and technological hazards;
  • Health assessment and surveillance studies following health emergencies and disasters associated with natural hazards;
  • Effective policies, plans, strategies and initiatives to increase preparedness of institutions, communities, families and individuals to a range of public health threats, including, but not limited to, infectious diseases, non-infectious diseases, natural hazards and technological accidents and disasters;
  • Health emergencies and disasters preparedness perception studies;
  • Studies on lessons learned during responses to health emergencies.

Dr. Maria D. Mavrouli
Dr. Spyridon Mavroulis
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • health emergencies
  • preparedness
  • disasters
  • response
  • pandemics
  • infectious disease outbreaks
  • natural hazards
  • surveillance
  • health assessment studies
  • early detection
  • risk perception

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 902 KiB  
Article
The Positive Influence of Individual-Level Disaster Preparedness on the Odds of Individual-Level Pandemic Preparedness—Insights from FEMA’s 2021–2023 National Household Survey
by Dionne Mitcham and Crystal R. Watson
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22(5), 702; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22050702 (registering DOI) - 29 Apr 2025
Abstract
Objective: To explore the possible association and trends between individual-level disaster preparedness status (for natural, technological, and human-caused hazards) and the level of pandemic preparedness during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults in the U.S. from 2021 through 2023. Methods: Multivariate logistic regression was [...] Read more.
Objective: To explore the possible association and trends between individual-level disaster preparedness status (for natural, technological, and human-caused hazards) and the level of pandemic preparedness during the COVID-19 pandemic among adults in the U.S. from 2021 through 2023. Methods: Multivariate logistic regression was conducted using data from the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) annual National Household Survey (NHS) from 2021 to 2023 to identify statistically significant variables associated with personal pandemic preparedness behavior among participants of the nationally representative survey during the COVID-19 pandemic. Results: Overall, the results showed that the proportion of respondents that were considered prepared for a pandemic peaked in 2021 (54.0%) and steadily decreased in the following years (2022: 43.3%; 2023: 41.3%) highlighting the need for pandemic preparedness resources and educational campaigns to be available prior to a pandemic occurring. The final multivariate logistic regression models featuring consistent significant covariates demonstrated a highly statistically significant relationship between individual-level disaster preparedness and pandemic preparedness across all three study years (2021: odds ratio (OR): 21.35, standard error (SE): 2.59, p < 0.001; 2022: OR: 9.26, SE: 0.87, p < 0.001; 2023: OR: 6.75, SE: 0.59, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The significant results suggest individuals who are prepared for a disaster have higher odds of being prepared for a pandemic. These findings support the continued increase in collaboration between emergency management and public health entities to jointly support the development of evidence-based resources to increase personal preparedness for both disasters and pandemics. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Emergencies and Disasters Preparedness)
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13 pages, 870 KiB  
Article
Cancer Treatment Disruption by Residence Region in the Aftermath of Hurricanes Irma and María in Puerto Rico
by Francisco Muñoz-Torres, Marievelisse Soto-Salgado, Karen J. Ortiz-Ortiz, Xavier S. López-León, Yara Sánchez-Cabrera and Vivian Colón-López
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(10), 1334; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21101334 - 8 Oct 2024
Viewed by 1423
Abstract
Since 2017, Puerto Rico has faced environmental, economic, and political crises, leading to the emigration of healthcare workers and weakening the healthcare system. These challenges have affected cancer treatment continuity, exacerbating healthcare access challenges island-wide. In this study, we estimate the effect of [...] Read more.
Since 2017, Puerto Rico has faced environmental, economic, and political crises, leading to the emigration of healthcare workers and weakening the healthcare system. These challenges have affected cancer treatment continuity, exacerbating healthcare access challenges island-wide. In this study, we estimate the effect of the residence region on cancer treatment disruption following Hurricanes Irma and María (2017). Telephone surveys were conducted with 241 breast and colorectal cancer patients aged 40 and older who were diagnosed within six months before the hurricanes and were receiving treatment at the time of the hurricanes. Treatment disruption was defined as any pause in surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or oral treatment due to the hurricanes. Prevalence ratios (PRs) of treatment disruption by residence region were estimated using the San Juan Metropolitan Area (SJMA) as the reference. Fifty-nine percent of respondents reported treatment disruption; among them, half experienced disruptions lasting more than 30 days, with 14% of these enduring disruptions longer than 90 days. Adjusted models showed a 48% higher prevalence of disruption outside the SJMA (PR = 1.48, 95% CI: 1.06–2.07). Specific geographic regions (Arecibo, Bayamón, Caguas, and Mayagüez) exhibited higher disruption prevalence. These findings emphasize the need for disaster preparedness strategies that ensure equitable healthcare access for all cancer patients following environmental calamities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Emergencies and Disasters Preparedness)
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11 pages, 1245 KiB  
Article
Exploring the Gender and Age Demographics of Patients Treated by Emergency Medical Teams during Disasters
by Noriyuki Shiroma, Odgerel Chimed-Ochir, Yui Yumiya, Matchecane Cossa, Isse Ussene, Yoshiki Toyokuni, Kayako Chishima, Kouki Akahoshi, Seiji Mimura, Akinori Wakai, Hisayoshi Kondo, Yuichi Koido, Flavio Salio, Ryoma Kayano and Tatsuhiko Kubo
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2024, 21(6), 696; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph21060696 - 28 May 2024
Viewed by 1543
Abstract
Background: Standardized health-data collection enables effective disaster responses and patient care. Emergency medical teams use the Japan Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (J-SPEED) reporting template to collect patient data. EMTs submit data on treated patients to an EMT coordination cell. The World [...] Read more.
Background: Standardized health-data collection enables effective disaster responses and patient care. Emergency medical teams use the Japan Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (J-SPEED) reporting template to collect patient data. EMTs submit data on treated patients to an EMT coordination cell. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) EMT minimum dataset (MDS) offers an international standard for disaster data collection. Goal: The goal of this study was to analyze age and gender distribution of medical consultations in EMT during disasters. Methods: Data collected from 2016 to 2020 using the J-SPEED/MDS tools during six disasters in Japan and Mozambique were analyzed. Linear regression with data smoothing via the moving average method was employed to identify trends in medical consultations based on age and gender. Results: 31,056 consultations were recorded: 13,958 in Japan and 17,098 in Mozambique. Women accounted for 56.3% and 55.7% of examinees in Japan and Mozambique, respectively. Children accounted for 6.8% of consultations in Japan and 28.1% in Mozambique. Elders accounted for 1.32 and 1.52 times more consultations than adults in Japan and Mozambique, respectively. Conclusions: Study findings highlight the importance of considering age-specific healthcare requirements in disaster planning. Real-time data collection tools such as J-SPEED and MDS, which generate both daily reports and raw data for in-depth analysis, facilitate the validation of equitable access to healthcare services, emphasize the specific needs of vulnerable groups, and enable the consideration of cultural preferences to improve healthcare provision by EMTs. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Emergencies and Disasters Preparedness)
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