Use of global instruments for evaluating health disaster resilience

Abstract

As extreme events in cities increase, local managers need to take measures to minimize the negative impacts of disasters. The health area is one of the most interfering, with increasing levels of sick, injured, dead, as well as psychological and quality of life problems after the events. The aim of this research was to analyze health disaster resilience through the global Disaster Resilience Scorecard for Cities instrument. The Scorecard has been used by many countries to assess the resilience of their cities to preparedness and response to extreme events. Through its application it was observed that only the use of this tool is insufficient to evaluate the various dimensions of the health area. In addition, the analysis of municipal master plans showed that there is still a lack of integration between health measures in relation to emergencies. More efficient laws and tools for disaster health assessment and monitoring need to be developed in order to achieve resilience to a better quality of life for the population.