Health Research in the Wake of Disasters: Challenges and Opportunities for Sensor Science
Disaster events create chemical, biological, physical, and psychosocial hazards for millions of individuals each year. These events exploit community and individual-level vulnerabilities that allow such hazards to adversely affect health. An anticipated increase in frequency and magnitude of disaster events in the years ahead heightens the need to improve our understanding of disaster-related health effects, so that we may better prepare for and respond to these events. This commentary addresses the need for improved sensor science, a necessary, but currently limited component of disaster research response (DR2). We discuss challenges and opportunities for sensor science and provide recommendations for research and development efforts that can advance the field of disaster health research.