Organization of Health Services in Disasters
Chapter from the book:
Sümer,
E.
H.
&
Nur,
N.
(eds.)
2026.
Environmental Health in Disasters: A Conceptual Framework, Health Services Management, and Multidisciplinary Approaches.
Synopsis
Disasters are multidimensional events that affect health systems beyond trauma and emergency response needs; they also disrupt the continuity of primary care services, chronic disease management, preventive health services, mental health support, access to medicines and vaccines, referral pathways, and community-based surveillance. Therefore, the organization of health services in disasters should be addressed through a holistic approach that is not limited to hospitals and emergency services, but places primary care at the center. Owing to its registered population-based structure, the family medicine system offers an important advantage in identifying vulnerable groups in advance, ensuring continuity of care, monitoring essential health needs, and maintaining a relationship of trust with the community. Preparedness and risk reduction before disasters; triage, maintenance of essential services, and operation of referral pathways during disasters; and follow-up, recovery, and reorganization of preventive services after disasters are among the core functions of primary care. For a disaster-resilient health system in Türkiye, family medicine and primary care services should be integrated into planning from the very beginning of the disaster management cycle.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ergün Haldun Sümer- Naim Nur; Serkan Çelikgün- İmran Şahin Düz- Sanem Nemmezi Karaca- Naim Nur- Nagehan Ekici Koşaroğlu- Nurcan Bağlam- İrem Akova- Şahin Yıldırım- İbrahim Furkan Sarkım- Zeynep Sümer- Yaşam Deniz- Nuriye Dinç- Yeltekin Demirel- Emre Sarı- Elif Alıcı Bıyık- Veysel Kenan Çelik- Yusuf Kenan Tekin- İlhan Korkmaz- Gülaçan Tekin- Ergün Sümer- Gülay Yıldırım- Sema Merve Sümer- Ferdağ Yıldırım