Introduction: Natural disasters have always caused mortality and morbidity in humans; however, the scale and scope of these events has increased dramatically in recent times. Natural disasters have a significant impact on the community health and livelihood of the people everywhere in the world. Natural disasters are the greatest health and social concerns that reducing their vulnerability is a public health priority. The present article aimed to study the impact of natural disasters on public health and the understanding of disaster health consequences by focusing on the Kermanshah earthquake.
Methods and Materials: This review article was conducted based on scientific Persian and English languages including SID, Magiran, Google Scholar and Web of Sciences and Library Studies in 2005-2018.
Results: Natural disasters have a negative impact on the public health system and its maintenance infrastructure (water, sanitation, shelter, food and health), which has a direct and indirect health impact on the affected population. Typically, in the natural disasters, the health and well-being of the community are very inappropriate due to the violence and insecurity, population displacement and the collapse of the health care system and supply chain. The main needs for disasters include water, food, sanitation and shelter. Although the community health system may be directly affected by the consequences of disaster, it is expected to respond to a sudden increase in disaster-related demand.
Discussion and Conclusion: The essential aspects of public health management in emergency situations include the provision of health services, the provision of safe and sanitary water, the proper disposal of sewage and human stool, the control of vectors and consumers, food safety and the estimation of the risk of epidemics after disasters, coping with radiation incidents and Chemical and other environmental hazards. 

Keywords: Natural disasters, Public health, War

Full-Text [PDF 4726 kb]   (2817 Downloads)