The special issue—a collection of seven articles, many authored by experts from countries affected by the tsunami—asks provocative questions of the international health community, governments, policymakers, the press, and the broader public:
- Why were four times as many women killed as men? Rhona MacDonald of Oxfam explains how pre-existing gender disparities made women more vulnerable to death.
- Should doctors allow reporters inside hospitals and clinics at times of natural disasters? Anant Bhan, a public health physician from India, was disturbed by intrusive media representations of the tsunami: “We should not need to be voyeurs into the grief of vulnerable victims to launch an effective and humane response to any disaster.”
- What problems have been created by the mass burial of unidentified victims? “Many mass burial sites were not planned and not well documented,” which made identification of the deceased an almost impossible task, argues the Sri Lankan forensic pathologist Clifford Perera.
- Was the humanitarian response guided by the best research evidence? Prathap Tharyan and colleagues from the Cochrane Collaboration say that some disaster response teams treated people with a psychological therapy called “debriefing,” which has been found to be ineffective or even harmful.
- What are the long term psychological effects and how should the health community address them? Kaz de Jong and colleagues from Médecins Sans Frontières discuss how their organization is responding to the Indonesian government’s request for help in dealing with the psychosocial effects of the disaster.
- Do dead bodies pose an infection risk? Oliver Morgan and colleagues from the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine say that although the media and health professionals often claim that dead bodies can cause epidemics, in fact “victims of natural disasters die from trauma, burns, or drowning and are unlikely to harbor pathogenic organisms such as cholera.”
- What are the special health needs of migrant workers affected by the tsunami? David Wilson, Medical Coordinator of Médecins Sans Frontières in Bangkok, Thailand, discusses how the tsunami affected Burmese migrant workers in Thailand, exacerbating pre-existing difficulties that they experienced in accessing health care.
Citation: MacDonald R (2005) How women were affected by the tsunami: A perspective from Oxfam. PLoS Med 2(6): e178.
The published article will be accessible to your readers at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020178
Press-only preview of the article: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-macdonald.pdf
Related image for press use: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-macdonald.jpg
CONTACT:
Rhona MacDonald
Oxfam.org.uk
Oxford, United Kingdom
rmacdonald@oxfam.org.uk
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Citation: Bhan A (2005) Should health professionals allow reporters inside hospitals and clinics at times of natural disasters? PLoS Med 3(6): e177.
The published article will be accessible to your readers at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020177
Press-only preview of the article: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-bhan.pdf
Related image for press use: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-bhan2.pdf
CONTACT:
Anant Bhan
University of Toronto
Joint Centre for Bioethics
88 College Street
Toronto, Ontario Canada M5S 3L1
+1-416-978-0871
+1-416-978-1911 (fax)
anant.bhan@utoronto.ca
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Citation: Perera C (2005) After the tsunami: Legal implications of mass burials of unidentified victims in Sri Lanka. PLoS Med 2(6): e185.
The published article will be accessible to your readers at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020185
Press-only preview of the article: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-perera.pdf
Related image for press use: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-perera.jpg
CONTACT:
Clifford Perera
Rhuna Faculty of Medicine
Forensic Medicine
Karapitiya
Galle, Sri Lanka
+94-91-223-4416
cliffordperera@yahoo.com
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Citation: Tharyan P, Clarke M, Green S (2005) How the Cochrane Collaboration is responding to the Asian tsunami. PLoS Med 2(6): e169.
The published article will be accessible to your readers at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020169
Press-only preview of the article: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-tharyan.pdf
Related image for press use: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-tharyan.jpg
CONTACT:
Prathap Tharyan
South Asian Cochrane Network
Christian Medical College
632002 Vellore
Tamil Nadu, India 632002
+91-416-226-3251 / 228-4519
prathap@cmcvellore.ac.in
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Citation: de Jong K, Prosser S, Ford N (2005) Addressing psychosocial needs in the aftermath of the tsunami. PLoS Med 2(6): e179.
The published article will be accessible to your readers at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020179
Press-only preview of the article: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-dejong.pdf
Related image for press use: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-dejong.jpg
CONTACT:
Kaz de Jong
Medecins Sans Frontieres
MSF Amsterdam
1001 EA
P.O Box 10014
Amsterdam, Netherlands
kaz.de.jong@amsterdam.msf.org
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Citation: Morgan O, Ahern M, Cairncross S (2005) Revisiting the tsunami: Health consequences of flooding. PLoS Med 2(6): e184.
The published article will be accessible to your readers at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020184
Press-only preview of the article: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-morgan.pdf
Related images for press use: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-morgan.jpg
CONTACT:
Oliver Morgan
London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
Public and Environmental Health Research Unit
Keppel Street
London, United Kingdom WC1E 7HT
+020-7636-8636
oliver.morgan@lshtm.ac.uk
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Citation: Wilson D (2005) Meeting the health needs of migrant workers affected by the tsunami. PLoS Med 2(6): e176.
The published article will be accessible to your readers at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0020176
Press-only preview of the article: http://www.plos.org/press/plme-02-06-wilson.pdf
CONTACT:
David Wilson
Médecins Sans Frontières
Medical Coordinator
522 Mooban Nakorn Thai 14
Ladphrao Road, Soi 101/1
Bangkok, Thailand 10240
+66-2-370-3087
+66-1-987-3241 (fax)
msfb-bangkok@brussels.msf.org
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