Risk factors for casualty in earthquakes: The application of epidemiologic principles to structural engineering

Robin M. Wagner, Nicholas P. Jones, Gordon S. Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Past investigations of the public health consequences of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, have generally suffered from a lack of comprehensive data due, in part, to the difficulty faced in mounting a significant data collection effort in the aftermath of such an event. This lack of meaningful data severely hampers the ability of casualty researchers to develop reliable and robust estimates of death and injury in future events; these numbers are critical in planning for mitigation and response activities. The basic data required as input to these models are risk factors for injury which can only effectively be estimated through a careful epidemiologic study of those injured (and not injured) in past events. This paper outlines the field of earthquake injury epidemiology and discusses the application of the collected data. An example of a recent case-control study (in progress) is given. Implications for the broader application of these techniques to structural engineering are suggested.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)177-200
Number of pages24
JournalStructural Safety
Volume13
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Mar 1994
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Buildings
  • Earthquakes
  • Epidemiologic methods
  • Human behavior
  • Physical injuries
  • Risk factors

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Civil and Structural Engineering
  • Building and Construction
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Risk factors for casualty in earthquakes: The application of epidemiologic principles to structural engineering'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this