Abstract
Humanitarian work after a natural disaster is a heavily resource dependent and often difficult but highly rewarding work. In certain situations, like after the tsunami in Sri Lanka many of the medical problems come weeks to months afterward. Furthermore, the devastated countries may need infrastructure and system improvement more than they need acute medical care. Surgeons can play a vital role in this process. This chapter discusses how a medical mission team can help a ravaged country like Sri Lanka recover after a natural disaster.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Li XH, Zheng JC. Efficient post-disaster patient transportation and transfer: experiences and lessons learned in emergency medical rescue in Aceh after the 2004 Asian tsunami. Mil Med. 2014;179(8):913–9.
Nishikiori N, Abe T, Costa DG, Dharmaratne SD, Kunii O, Moji K. Timing of mortality among internally displaced persons due to the tsunami in Sri Lanka: cross sectional household survey. BMJ. 2006;332(7537):334–5.
Nishikiori N, Abe T, Costa DG, Dharmaratne SD, Kunii O, Moji K. Who died as a result of the tsunami? Risk factors of mortality among internally displaced persons in Sri Lanka: a retrospective cohort analysis. BMC Public Health. 2006;6:73.
Dicker R, Schecter WP. Civilian Hospital Response to Mass Casualty Events. Editors: Asensio JA and Trunkey DD. Current Therapy in Trauma and Surgical Critical Care (pp. 67–73). Mosby/Elsevier, 2008 Philadelphia, PA.
Ozgediz D, Adams JE, Dicker RA. Trauma on trauma. Lessons from the tsunami and civil conflict in Sri Lanka. Pharos Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Med Soc. 2007;70(1):28–33.
World Health Organization. Injuries and violence: the facts. 2010. http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/key_facts/en/. Accessed May 2015.
Mock CN, Gloyd S, Adjei S, Acheampong F, Gish O. Economic consequences of injury and resulting family coping strategies in Ghana. Accid Anal Prev. 2003;35(1):81–90.
Juillard CJ, Stevens KA, Monono ME, Mballa GA, Ngamby MK, McGreevy J, Cryer G, Hyder AA. Analysis of prospective trauma registry data in Francophone Africa: a pilot study from Cameroon. World J Surg. 2014;38(10):2534–42.
Juillard C, Etoundi Mballa GA, Bilounga Ndongo C, Stevens KA, Hyder AA. Patterns of injury and violence in Yaoundé Cameroon: an analysis of hospital data. World J Surg. 2011;35(1):1–8.
Jayaraman S, Mabweijano JR, Lipnick MS, Caldwell N, Miyamoto J, Wangoda R, Mijumbi C, Hsia R, Dicker R, Ozgediz D. Current patterns of prehospital trauma care in Kampala, Uganda and the feasibility of a lay-first-responder training program. World J Surg. 2009;33(12):2512–21.
Jayaraman S, Mabweijano JR, Lipnick MS, Caldwell N, Miyamoto J, Wangoda R, Mijumbi C, Hsia R, Dicker R, Ozgediz D. First things first: effectiveness and scalability of a basic prehospital trauma care program for lay first-responders in Kampala, Uganda. PLoS One. 2009;4(9):1–7.
Jayaraman S, Ozgediz D, Miyamoto J, Caldwell N, Lipnick M, Mijumbi C, Mabweijano J, Hsia R, Dicker R. Disparities in injury mortality between Uganda and the United States: a comparative analysis of a neglected disease. World J Surg. 2011;35(3):505–11.
World Health Assembly (WHA). Sixtieth World Health Assembly (May 2007). Health systems: emergency-care systems- WHA resolution 60.22. http://apps.who.int/gb/ebwha/pdf_files/WHA60/A60_R22-en.pdf. Accessed May 2015.
Meara JG, Leather AJM, Hagander L, et al. Global surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development [published online April 21, 2015]. Lancet.http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/lancet/PIIS0140-6736%2815%2960160-X.pdf Accessed May 2015..
World Health Organization (WHO). WHO Global Initiative for Emergency and Essential Surgical Care. http://www.who.int/surgery/globalinitiative/en/. Accessed May 2015.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Dicker, R.A., Adams, J.E. (2016). The Experience of Disaster Response in Sri Lanka: From Reaction to Planning the Future. In: Lim, C. (eds) Surgery During Natural Disasters, Combat, Terrorist Attacks, and Crisis Situations. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23718-3_10
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23718-3_10
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-23717-6
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-23718-3
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)