We are an interdisciplinary research group in global disaster medicine. Our work involves research, teaching, policy advice, external monitoring, and field work in disasters. Our aim is to contribute to strengthening and improving Swedish and international health care response in the event of major disasters. We are a WHO Collaborating Centre and a research centre for the Swedish National Board of Health and Welfare. We also collaborate frequently with the Centre for Health Crises at KI.
Photo: Gettyimages.A disaster is defined by a lack of resources: lack of staff, lack of skill, lack of material and lack of time. Our research concerns the challenge of how we, despite the lack of resources, can provide optimal health services. Our team members' research include projects projects about moral stress, needs assessment, management of conflict injuries, and Emergency Medical Teams.
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We teach a variety of different courses and an Erasmus Mundus Master programme. We also offer tailor-made courses for organisations and public authorities, and we have developed the simulation tools AnTriEx (Analogue Triage Exercise) and ViTriEx (Virtual Triage Exercise).
Photo: Gerd Altmann, PixabayBased on our team's extensive experience in both field work and research in disaster medicine, we conduct analyses, monitoring and offer expert advice and evaluations. We are one of the National Board for Health and Welfare's research centres (kunskapscentrum) and publish external monitoring reports, research overviews and analyses. Moreover, we are part of the IPA Care project, which is managed by the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency.
Photo: Getty ImagesOur group shares a strong dedication to working in disaster-stricken areas around the world. We firmly believe that in order to conduct the best research, provide the best education, and conduct the best analysis for our partners, it is important to never lose our connection to practical work in the field of disaster medicine. Consequently, our group members are, and have been, involved in disaster relief work in several places around the work.
Photo: Anna ZorzetHannah von Reding and Johan von Schreeb, from our research group, have signed an opinion piece highlighting the risks of the Swedish Government's decision to cut overall aid, which has led to a decline in health aid. Further cuts risk claiming lives and undermining the progress that has been made. The opinion piece is based on a report by the Expergruppen för biståndsanalys - EBA (Expert Group on Aid Analysis), which Hannah and Johan wrote a chapter in. The opinion piece was published (in Swedish) in Altinget on 3 December.
At Global Disaster Medicine - Health Needs and Response we conduct a wide range of research in the field of disaster medicine. Our researchers frequently draw on their experience of field work in disaster-stricken areas in their academic work. We also teach several courses and an Erasmus Mundus Master programme.
In addition to our research and teaching, we also conduct analyses, compile reports and evaluations on needs assessments in disasters, improved disaster preparedness, evaluations of international humanitarian health relief and national disaster response, and much more. Furthermore, we provide advice and analysis on health care response related topics involving decision-making following disasters.
Global Disaster Medicine - Health Needs and Response was founded in 2002 (until October 2023 we were called The Centre for Research on Health Care in Disasters and were part of the research group Health Systems and Policy).
We have always been a part of the Department of Global Public Health (when we were founded it was called the Department of Public Health Sciences) at Karolinska Institutet. The department is an international and interdisciplinary environment, home to a copious amount of research on many aspects of global public health.
Our research group leader Johan von Schreeb; professor of disaster medicine at Karolinska Institutet, who has over 25 years of experience working in disaster areas, has lead the group since its foundation. His PhD was supervised by the renowned professor of international health at Karolinska Institutet, Hans Rosling.
We collaborate closely with the Centre for Health Crises, which was initiated by Karolinska Institutet in the summer of 2021. The centre works inter-disciplinary, with an holistic approach to health crises. By way of research, education, and expert advice, it wants to contribute to improved preparedness and ability to handle future health crises, in particular by building the next generation of health crises experts. The Centre for Health Crises is also headed by Professor Johan von Schreeb.
In 2017 Global Disaster Medicine - Health Needs and Response was named a WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Health Care and Public Health in Disasters. Being a WHO Collaborating Centre for Research and Training on Health Care and Public Health in Disasters means, among other things, that we:
Our collaboration with Médecins sans Frontières (MSF) goes back a long time. Johan von Schreeb co-founded the Swedish branch of MSF in 1993. He has also served as chairman of the Swedish branch and worked in numerous field operations over the years. Our research specialist, Anneli Eriksson, has also chaired the Swedish branch of the organisation. They are not alone in their involvement with MSF. Several of members of our team have worked with MSF, and still do, in disaster-stricken areas around the world. At the moment we work with MSF in Lebanon, among other places. We also conduct training and education in collaboration with MSF Sweden, in particular for new doctors, nurses and other health professionals who are about to embark on field work. Our collaboration with MSF is one of the ways in which we constantly stay connected to the realities of day-to-day work on the ground when it comes to disaster medicine and global health.
Karolinska Institutet, Department of Global Public Health, floor 3, the Widerströmska building, Tomtebodavägen 18, 171 65 Solna, Sweden
Karolinska Institutet, Department of Global Public Health, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
