Over the past decade, preparedness and response capacities of government agencies, hospitals and clinics, public health agencies, and academic researchers in the United States and abroad have been challenged by a succession of public health emergencies, ranging from radiological threats to pandemics to earthquakes. Through After Action Reports, each of these emergencies has yielded important information and lessons learned that can inform future disaster response and recovery efforts. However, important information that needs to be collected during and immediately following these emergencies is often missed because of barriers and obstacles to gathering such data, such as varying institutional review board restrictions in different states, no sustainable funding network for this type of work, uncertainty on who should be involved in research response, and a lack of knowledge around how best to integrate research into response and recovery frameworks.

Taking action to enable medical and public health research during disasters was the focus of a workshop held on June 12 and 13, 2014, coordinated and supported jointly by the Institute of Medicine Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the National Library of Medicine, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Invited speakers and participants from federal, state, and local government, academia, and community and worker organizations came together to discuss how to integrate research into existing response structures; identify critical research needs and priorities; identify obstacles and barriers to research; discuss structures and strategies needed for deployment of a research study; share ideas, innovations, and technologies to support research; and explore data collection tools and data-sharing mechanisms for both rapid and longitudinal research. Enabling Rapid and Sustainable Public Health Research During Disasters summarizes the presentations and discussion of the workshop.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• WORKSHOP PLANNING COMMITTEE
• FORUM ON MEDICAL AND PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS FOR CATASTROPHIC EVENTS
• Reviewers
• 1. Introduction
  • ORGANIZATION OF THE WORKSHOP AND REPORT
  • OVERVIEW OF TOPICS HIGHLIGHTED DURING PRESENTATIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
• 2. Science Preparedness: Conducting Research During Public Health Emergencies
  • CHALLENGES AND GAPS
  • BUILDING A ROBUST SCIENCE RESPONSE
  • FEDERAL DISASTER RESEARCH INITIATIVES AND RESOURCES
• 3. Health Research Needs and Actions: Lessons from Recent Disasters
  • SEPTEMBER 11, 2001
  • HURRICANE KATRINA
  • DEEPWATER HORIZON OIL SPILL
  • HURRICANE SANDY
  • SHARED LESSONS ACROSS DISASTERS
• 4. Addressing Institutional Review Board Barriers to Health Research Implementation
  • THE PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY RESEARCH REVIEW BOARD
  • STATE HEALTH DEPARTMENT IRB PERSPECTIVE
  • ETHICS, OVERSIGHT, AND CONDUCT OF POSTDISASTER RESEARCH
  • CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• 5. Partnering with the Community to Enable Research
  • PARTNERING FOR EPIDEMIOLOGY RESEARCH
  • ESTABLISHING TRUST IN THE COMMUNITY
  • PARTNERING WITH UNIONS, WORKERS' ORGANIZATIONS, AND WORKERS
  • UNDERSTANDING THE NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY: THE DISASTER PSYCHOSOCIAL ASSESSMENT AND SURVEILLANCE TOOLKIT (DISASTER-PAST)
  • CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• 6. Improving Data Collection Capabilities and Information Resources
  • NIH DISASTER RESEARCH RESPONSE PROJECT
  • DISASTER EPIDEMIOLOGY: APPLIED PUBLIC HEALTH INVESTIGATION AND RESEARCH DURING DISASTERS
  • THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES INFORMATION SYSTEM
  • DISASTER RESEARCH AND RESPONSE: APPLIED PUBLIC HEALTH PERSPECTIVE
  • CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• 7. Considerations for Rapid and Sustained Funding Mechanisms for Research in Disasters
  • NSF RAPID AWARDS
  • PRIVATE FUNDING: GRANTMAKERS IN HEALTH
  • OTHER FEDERAL FUNDING
  • CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• 8. Improving the Role of Extramural Research Networks
  • CONVERGENCE OF MULTIPLE TYPES OF DISASTER RESEARCH
  • ADVANCING SCIENCE DURING CRISIS
  • PHARMACEUTICAL RESEARCH DURING A DISASTER
  • RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH IMPACTS OF DISASTERS
  • CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• 9. Coordinating Logistics to Execute Rapid Research in Disaster Response
  • INTEGRATING DISASTER RESEARCH INTO THE INCIDENT COMMAND STRUCTURE
  • RAPID RESEARCH: THE U.S. CRITICAL ILLNESS AND INJURY TRIALS GROUP
  • FEDERAL PERSPECTIVE ON LOGISTICS FOR RAPID DISASTER RESEARCH RESPONSE
  • MAKING RESEARCH USEFUL TO THE RESPONSE
  • CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
• 10. Actions to Build the Future of Disaster Research
  • DEFINING THE KEY QUESTIONS AND THE CORE DATASET
  • DATA COLLECTION: BUILDING DAY-TO-DAY SYSTEMS, NETWORKS, AND TRUST
  • SCIENTISTS AS ADVOCATES
  • CREATING CONNECTIONS BETWEEN THE RESEARCH AND PRACTICE COMMUNITIES
  • THE ACADEMIC RESEARCH SYSTEM
  • LOOKING AHEAD
• APPENDIXES
  • A References
  • B Acronyms
  • C Agenda
  • D Biographical Sketches of Invited Speakers and Panelists
  • E Speakers and Registered Attendees
  • F Statement of Task

Rapporteurs: Megan Reeve, Theresa Wizemann, and Bruce Altevogt.

This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and the American College of Emergency Physicians; American Hospital Association; Association of State and Territorial Health Officials; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Contract No. 200-2011-38807, TO #30); Department of Defense (Contract No. HT0011-11-P-0186); Department of Defense, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (Contract No. HT9404-12-1-0022); Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families (Contract No. HHSP2332014001533P); Department of Health and Human Services' National Institutes of Health: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Environmental Sciences, National Library of Medicine (Contract No. HHSN26300007 [Under Base 1 #HHSN2 63201200074I]); Department of Health and Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (Contract No. HHSO100201000021P); Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (Contract No. HSFE20-13-P-0212); Department of Homeland Security, Office of Health Affairs (Contract No. HSHQDC-13-J-00384 [Under Base 1 #HSHQDC-11-D-00009]); Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (Contract No. DTNH22-10-H-00287); Department of Veterans Affairs (Contract No. 101-G09041); Emergency Nurses Association; Food and Drug Administration (Contract No. HHSF22301027T [Under Base Contract DHHS-8598]); Infectious Diseases Society of America; Martin, Blanck & Associates; Mayo Clinic; Merck Research Laboratories (Contract No. APA-2014-1666); National Association of Chain Drug Stores; National Association of County and City Health Officials; National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians; Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; Robert Wood Johnson Foundation; Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health; Target Corporation; Trauma Center Association of America; and United Health Foundation. The views presented in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for the activity.

Suggested citation:

IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2015. Enabling rapid and sustainable public health research during disasters: Summary of a joint workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

NOTICE: The workshop that is the subject of this workshop summary was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.