The Missing Role of Context: A Conceptual Model

Abstract

All hazards do not end in disaster. From a public health perspective we are primarily concerned with preempting adverse health outcomes caused by hazards, particularly at the population level. To that end, it is apposite that both the tradition of disaster research and epidemiology are particularly occupied with identifying the population at risk of experiencing a disaster. The notion of vulnerabilities and capacities has been discussed in a variety of disciplines to describe characteristics of individuals, societies, and environments in relation to external threats to a population. Vulnerabilities are understood to enable negative outcomes, while capacities enable positive outcomes. This chapter will focus on the conceptualization of disaster risk, as defined in much of the academic literature, as vulnerabilities and capacities. Our models, presented in this book, pay special attention to the interaction between vulnerabilities and capacities, with each other and with the hazard, to ultimately produce or avert a disaster.