Public Health Disaster Research: Examples from the Field

Dear Colleagues,

Disasters and public health emergencies, which result from climatological, geotechnical, and technological hazards, lead to short- and long-term individual-, household-, and community-level physical and mental health impacts. Given the anticipated increase in the frequency and severity of disasters due to changes in climate, research on the effects of disasters on health, as well as preparedness, response, and recovery strategies, is urgently needed. Such time-sensitive research requires effective approaches to community engagement, research translation, and science communication.

We invite manuscripts exploring health effects from extreme events and climate change using diverse approaches, including quantitative and qualitative methods; best practices in community-engaged disaster- and climate-change-related public health research; the use of sensors and novel technology to assess exposure during and after disasters; and approaches to building the public health disaster and climate change research capacity, among other relevant topics.  As disasters and public health emergencies disproportionately impact environmental justice communities and individuals with pre-existing social, health, and economic vulnerabilities, we are particularly interested in papers that explore the relationship between disasters and health equity.

This Special Issue will build on the efforts of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) Disaster Research Response (DR2) Network and the public health research community to build the disaster and climate change research capacity.  We anticipate that this Special Issue will inform future disaster and public health emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts, in turn increasing community resilience.

Dr. Nicole A. Errett
Dr. Erin N. Haynes
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.