Strengthening the evidence base for health programming in humanitarian crises

Given the growing scale and complexity of responses to humanitarian crises, it is important to develop a stronger evidence base for interventions

Abstract

Given the growing scale and complexity of responses to humanitarian crises, it is important to develop a stronger evidence base for health interventions in such contexts. Humanitarian crises present unique challenges to rigorous and effective research, but there are substantial opportunities for scientific advance. Studies need to focus where the translation of evidence from noncrisis scenarios is not viable and on ethical ways of determining what happens in the absence of an intervention. Robust methodologies suited to crisis settings have to be developed and used to assess interventions with potential for delivery at scale. Strengthening research capacity in the low- to middle-income countries that are vulnerable to crises is also crucial.

Citation

Ager A, Burnham G, Checchi F, Gayer M, Grais RF, Henkens M, Massaquoi MB, Nandy R, Navarro-Colorado C, Spiegel P. Strengthening the evidence base for health programming in humanitarian crises. Science. 2014 Sep 12;345(6202):1290-2. doi: 10.1126/science.1254164. PMID: 25214616.

Strengthening the evidence base for health programming in humanitarian crises

Updates to this page

Published 12 September 2014