Panel 2 - RESEARCH IN CONTEXT: Previous reviews do not address the need for a holistic health system approach towards disaster management.

Further searches for relevant reviews were conducted on MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effects (DARE) and The Cochrane Library databases. None of the searches identified papers describing the need for a holistic health system approach to developing disaster management practice. Other disaster-related reviews: • Savoia et al. reviewed the public health system research for emergency preparedness literature in the USA only. Their findings highlight the lack of any previous reviews in this area and the paucity of rigorous research in spite of the emergency preparedness literature having grown by about 33% per year since 2001 7. • Revere et al. reviewed 25 communication systems and tools for health-related emergency preparedness and response in the USA. They found this component of disaster management under-developed in the literature and the appropriate evaluation of the effectiveness of the systems absent 8. • Potter et al.’s review of the literature on emergency preparedness training effectiveness for the CDC was commissioned as a result of the increase in disaster management training opportunities but lack of a mechanism to objectively assess the effectiveness of training. They identify the need for evaluations of training, and that this should be based on performance improvement assessed through field exercises 9. • Auf der Heide highlights the importance of drawing on actual disaster experiences from the field to develop disaster management practice, identifying a series of disaster myths to demonstrate the impact of failing to incorporate learning from real disaster experiences 10. In summary, this review provides an important overview of disaster management from 2000 to 2011, collating evidence from the core literature at a time when this issue is receiving increased international attention. WHO member states and researchers are yet to adequately respond to the World Health Assembly’s 2011 resolution to build health system resilience to disasters 1. This review progresses that agenda; it identifies the lack of comprehensive disaster management implementation across health systems and the need for objective measures to be developed.