THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC-HEALTH RESPONSES TO DISASTERS

The first of a series of state-of-the-art reviews commissioned to mark Disasters' 21st anniversary, this paper considers key publications on public health aspects of natural disasters, refugee emergencies and c omplex humanitarian disasters over the past twenty-odd years. The lite rature is reviewed and important signposts highlighted showing how the field has developed. This expanding body of epidemiological research has provided a basis for increasingly effective prevention and interve ntion strategies.