Disaster Risk Management in Health Systems

Developing guidelines for health systems were among my main tasks during my employment in the Turkish MoH. I have also contributed to development of health system-related strategies and activities of the National Earthquake Strategy and Action Plan 2012-2023 that was prepared by Afet ve Acil Durum Yönetimi Baskanligi (AFAD) - Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency. I continue to be a member of the Writing and Scientific Commissions of Hospital Disaster and Emergency Planning Guideline of the Turkish MoH and trainer of Hospital Disaster and Emergency Plans Certificate Trainings of the Turkish MoH. I developed or contributed to several guidelines, tool kits and manuals on disaster and emergency planning in health systems, including;

- İl Sağlık Afet ve Acil Durum Planı (İL-SAP) Hazırlama Kılavuzu (Provincial Health Disaster and Emergency Planning Guideline) Coşkun, A. & Tekeli Yesil, S. (Eds) 2012 Sağlık Bakanlığı (Turkish Ministry of Health Publications) Yayin No (Publication Number): 890, ISBN 978-975-590-438-2
- Hastane Afet ve Acil Durum Planı (HAP) Hazırlama Kılavuzu (Version 1 and 2) (Hospital Disaster and Emergency Planning Guideline) Writing Commission Member, 2016, 2021; Sağlık Bakanlığı (Turkish Ministry of Health Publications) Yayin No (Publication Number): 1020, ISBN 978-975-590-590-7; 1195, 978-975-590-809-0
- Ulusal Deprem Stratejisi ve Eylem Plani (UDSEP 2012 – 2023) (National Earthquake Strategy and Action Plan)

I am a steering committee member of International Working Group Task Force Health Disaster Management: Evaluation and Research in the Utstein Style. The task of the group is to develop assessment tools for health disaster management, creating standards and frameworks for disaster research.

I was involved in various capacity and needs assessments for beneficiaries in the health sector and humanitarian organisations (please see “short-term consultancies”). I have contributed to some WHO assessments on health preparedness or response of the Turkish health system. For example:

- Health Response to The Earthquakes in Van Province, Turkey, World Health Organization-2012

- Assessment of Health Systems’ Crises Preparedness -Turkey, World Health Organization-2011

- Strengthening Health Systems’ Response to Crises. Report on a WHO Workshop in Skopje, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, World Health Organization-2006

I have published in these fields many original papers in peer-reviewed journals, and has contributed to book chapters (please see the “Full publication List”). I was the head of Department of Health Management in Disasters and responsible for the Health Disaster Management Master Program at the Hacettepe University, Institute of Public Health. I had several teaching appointments in the field of disaster and emergency planning in health systems and disaster risk management. I was also a trainer of a full day congress course on disaster management at the Turkish Public Health Congress, 2021.