Healthy, Resilient, and Sustainable Communities After Disasters: Strategies, Opportunities, and Planning for Recovery
The Committee on Post-Disaster Recovery of a Community's Public Health, Medical, and Social Services, part of the Institute of Medicine’s Board on Health Sciences Policy has released a report that identifies and recommends recovery practices and novel programs most likely to impact overall community public health and contribute to resiliency for future incidents.
The report makes the case that disaster recovery should be guided by a healthy community vision, where health considerations are integrated into all aspects of recovery planning before and after a disaster, and funding streams are leveraged in a coordinated manner and applied to health improvement priorities in order to meet human recovery needs and create healthy built and natural environments.
According to the committee that produced the report healthy communities are conducive to healthy behaviors and free of environmental toxins and risks, and they include a robust human services infrastructure. They have roads that facilitate exercising such as running, biking, and walking; houses that are safe; and ready access to fresh fruits and vegetables. They are also well-served by health and social services professionals who assist people in staying healthy and optimally managing diseases, noted the committee.
TRB is a division of the National Academies, which include the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, Institute of Medicine, and National Research Council.
This Summary Last Modified On: 4/21/2015