In recent years, extreme weather associated with climate change has harmed human health around the world. And last year, COVID-19 spread globally, taking millions of lives and damaging the world’s economy.
More than ever, disaster preparedness is needed to mitigate the toll disasters have on health and well-being of populations. The fifth edition of “Landesman’s Public Health Management of Disasters: The Practice Guide” can help prepare public health professionals for the task.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the new edition from APHA Press offers a comprehensive field guide to natural and human-caused disasters. The volume updates the science, legislation, regulations and best practices of disaster preparedness and includes lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“As in the four previous editions, we bring together in one place the public health resources for a comprehensive response,” Linda Landesman, DrPH, MSW, the book’s lead author, told The Nation’s Health.
Fifteen chapters take readers through types of disasters, the roles and responsibilities of public health, surveillance and communication, and offer discussions on behavioral, occupational and environmental health strategies. Emerging infections, public health response, recovery and reconstruction are also discussed.
Landesman, a visiting lecturer at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, has been involved in every edition since APHA Press first published the practice guide in 2001, which was released in the wake of 9/11. Later editions analyzed other catastrophic events, such as Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Sandy in 2012, and Ebola and Zika in the U.S.
Given the rampant misinformation over COVID-19, climate change and other issues affecting the health of Americans, appropriate public health messaging is critical, Landesman said.
Better messaging can be learned from past public health successes, such as campaigns to eliminate smoking in public places, which have led to comprehensive smoke-free laws in 28 states and the District of Columbia.
COVID-19 is a dominant theme in the fifth edition of the book. Chapters explain how communities, hospitals, health care systems and public health organizations have responded, and bring together guidance on best practices.
Disaster preparedness for the next pandemic cannot be limited within the borders of one country, Landesman said. A global perspective must be adopted.
If a novel, highly infectious disease appears in one country, it may have already spread to other countries, including the U.S., she said. Infrastructure is needed that evaluates and monitors infectious outbreaks on a global scale so that countries can take appropriate preventive actions.
“The increase in disasters is going to be significant,” Landesman said of the next decade. “We have our work cut out for us as a nation and globally. Worldwide cooperation to fight surges in natural disasters and emerging infections is critical.”
To learn more and order the new book, visit www.aphabookstore.org.
- Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association
