“Operation Tsunami Assist”—Australian Civilian Medical Team Deployment

Objectives:By the conclusion of this workshop, the participants will:1. Develop an understanding of the need for a structured approach to disaster research and evaluations; 2. Become familiar with and have a working knowledge of the concepts contained in the Guidelines; 3. Develop an understanding of the terms and principles embedded in the Conceptual and Operational Frameworks for disasters; 4. Be able to apply these principles into the working matrix of the Guidelines and Templates for the purpose of designing and conducting evaluation and research into the pathophysiology of disasters and of interventions directed at the pre-event, intra-event, and/or post-event phases of a disaster or disasters; 5. Recognize the requirements and mechanisms for the development of appropriate indicators of functional states, adequacies of supplies of goods and services, and of the effectiveness and benefits associated with the implementation of interventions; 6. Develop an understanding of the utility of severity scores in disaster research; 7. Be able to critically evaluate published studies using the Operational Framework (Templates for Disaster Research and Evaluation); 8. Understand some of the ethical issues associated with the conduct of disaster research and evaluations; and 9. Become familiar with the use of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods and interpretation.