Identification of indicators for the evaluation of health disaster management interventions during the relief phase: Scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature

Abstract

INTRODUCTION
Disasters have existed for many ages and are responsible for serious disruptions of society.
Although disasters are known to threaten health and to cause high morbidity and mortality,
there is still lack of evidence regarding the effectiveness of health disaster response
interventions. Indicators are primordial for the evaluation of such interventions. The main
objective of this study was to map the output, outcome and impact indicators used to evaluate
health interventions in disasters and to identify gaps in the existing peer-reviewed literature.
METHODS
A scoping review of the peer-reviewed literature was performed. Scopus, Web of Science and
Pubmed were the 3 databases in which the search was launched. All references published in
the peer-reviewed literature in English, Dutch or French since 1990 were eligible for inclusion
if they met all the inclusion criteria. Characteristics of the studies, the interventions and
indicators identified were charted. Interventions were categorized using an extraction
template.
RESULTS
A total of 8329 articles were identified. After removal of duplicates, 5578 unique studies were
screened of which 56 met all inclusion criteria. The selected articles contained 86
interventions and 1387 indicators which could be grouped into 619 unique indicators. Of
these indicators the majority were output indicators (70,8%). Of the remaining indicators
28,8% were outcome indicators and only 2 (0,3%) were impact indicators. For almost half
(47,7%) of the interventions, no outcome or impact indicators were identified. The highest
proportions of outcome indicators were found in medical care interventions and overall
response interventions.
CONCLUSION
This scoping review identified the existence of many indicators, however most of them were
output indicators. In order to generate evidence on the effectiveness of interventions, the
priority should lie on determining outcome and impact indicators.
If health disaster management wants to become a scientific discipline, several steps must be
undertaken. First, there is an urgent need for the standardization of definitions and the
development of a glossary. Second, the identification of indicators should begin with the
determination of interventions needed in disaster response after which systematic scoping
reviews should be performed in order to identify the most appropriate indicators. Lastly, data
collection should be standardized, and a universally accepted reporting template should be
implemented.

Date of Award	4 Aug 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universita Del Piemonte Orientale (UPO) Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Supervisor	Ives Hubloue (Promotor)