• Professional Development Courses

    Disaster Management and Emergency Planning

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    Introduction

    All communities are vulnerable to emergency situations. The question is not "if" a disaster will occur, but "when". The ability to assess the hazards and to address them can help reduce the risks of a disaster occurring. This is more effective and as important as responding to disasters and dealing with the consequences.

    The Disaster Management and Emergency Planning course has been developed to introduce you to the concepts and processes of emergency planning and management of disasters within a developing world context.

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  • Welcome to Disaster Management and Emergency Planning

    All communities are vulnerable to emergency situations. The question is not "if" a disaster will occur, but "when". The ability to assess the hazards and to address them can help reduce the risks of a disaster occurring. This is more effective and as important as responding to disasters and dealing with the consequences.

    The Disaster Management and Emergency Planning course has been developed to introduce you to the concepts and processes of emergency planning and management of disasters within a developing world context.

    The course is designed to help you: 

    1. Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the key stages of emergency planning and response, the hazards, and potential public health needs in the event of a disaster occurring.
    2. Be able to devise, critically review and appraise an emergency plan.
    3. Apply knowledge and understanding of the importance and value of the emergency needs assessment, and be able to explain the process of how this assessment is organized and carried out.
    4. Apply knowledge and understanding of the need for, and methods of, programme monitoring, evaluations, and impact assessments.
    5. Critically evaluate the role and activities undertaken during the disaster recovery stage.

    This course is an Open Online Course (OOC) which has been adopted from Peoples-uni. It was further developed by NextGenU.org (NGU).

    There are five (5) modules to complete, which include:

    Module 1: General introductions - Disaster Planning - Assessing Hazards
    Module 2: Emergency Planning and Preparation
    Module 3: Responding to a Disaster: Emergency Needs Assessment
    Module 4: Monitoring and Assessing the Impact of the Disaster Response
    Module 5: Response and Recovery -  Role of International Organisations and NGOs

    Approximate time for completion of this course is 17 hours at an average reading rate of 144 words/minute.

    Engaging with this course

    • To register for this course, complete the registration form. Begin the course with Module 1. For each lesson, read the description. 
    • Each lesson comprises introductory remarks. You can click on the collections of resources in each module. 
    • There is a final quiz to assess your understanding of some important concepts. Click on the hyperlinks to take you to these items in each topic.

    Requirements to obtain the certificate 

    You may browse this course for free to learn for your personal enrichment. There are no requirements.

    To obtain a certificate, a learner must successfully complete:

    • all reading requirements
    • the final exam with a minimum of 70% and a maximum of 3 attempts and
    • the self and course evaluation forms

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  • Module 1

    Modules 1 introduces students to the study of disaster management and emergency planning. It will cover briefly the various types of disasters and the key stages of emergency planning and response. The discussion forum will introduce students to the first stage of Disaster Planning which focuses on the identification and analysis of the risks posed by hazards.

    Headline competence (learning outcome):

    Demonstrate a systematic understanding of the key stages of emergency planning and response, the hazards, and potential public health needs in the event of a disaster occurring.

    Assessment criteria: 

    • Illustrate the variety of disasters that can occur,
    • Identify where emergency planning and response fits into the overall development spectrum,
    • Discuss the key stages of emergency planning and response, e.g. Integrated Emergency Management System (US) and Anticipation/Assessment/ Planning/Preparation/ Response/Recovery, and what medical and other assistance is likely to be needed following a disaster .
    • Explain the importance of considering mental health and substance use in disaster management planning and key actions to address these issues in the event of a disaster.
    • Identify hazards in your setting that has the potential to become a disaster, and
    • Gauge the risks (likelihood and severity) posed by the hazards identified.

  • Module 2

    Topic 2 explores emergency planning. This includes various key elements of emergency planning such as capability assessment and disaster preparation. Key to any emergency plan is a sound knowledge of what resources are available locally that can be called upon in a disaster, as well as an awareness of what gaps exist in available resources that may be essential for a response. Good emergency plans will specify what needs to be done in the event of a disaster, who will do it, as well as specify how, where and when it will be done. The plans also need to address any gaps or deficiencies identified. A separate but vital issue is also the identification of any special ("vulnerable") groups in the community who may have different needs and vulnerabilities.


    Headline competence (learning outcome): 
    Be able to devise, critically review and appraise an emergency plan.

    Assessment Criteria 

    • Identify key components of an emergency plan, e.g. clarified roles, vulnerable groups, identified resources available locally, 
    • Discuss shortfalls or gaps in available resources that are likely to be needed in the event of an emergency or disaster,
    • Discuss possible interventions to either mitigate the disaster/hazard or respond to the disaster,
    • Critically review and appraise an emergency plan, and
    • Devise a locally appropriate emergency plan.

  • Module 3

    In the initial stages after a disaster has happened, the natural impulse of many health professionals would be to rush-in to assist. However, the most critical function at this stage is an accurate, timely assessment of the effect of the disaster, and the needs of the survivors. A proper needs assessment would help inform and prepare proper response plans. Topic 3 will cover the importance and process of conducting an initial needs assessment in the aftermath of a disaster.
     

    Headline competence (learning outcome):

    Apply knowledge and understanding of the importance and value of the emergency needs assessment, and be able to explain the process of how this assessment is organized and carried out.

    Assessment criteria

    • Discuss the purpose and importance of carrying out a needs assessment in the aftermath of a disaster, how the needs assessment is organized, and how to assess the needs of survivors.

  • Module 4

    Module 4 explores the monitoring and evaluation of programs and interventions that are implemented in response to humanitarian crises. This includes a justification of the need to assess the impact of programs and interventions and a discussion of the methods and indicators used for monitoring and evaluation.

    Headline competence (learning outcome):
    Apply knowledge and understanding of the need for, and methods of, programme monitoring, evaluations, and impact assessments.

    Assessment criteria

    • Why programme monitoring and evaluation is required,
    • Relevant and appropriate indicators for monitoring program activities,
    • Appropriate methods, including qualitative and quantitative, of evaluation and impact assessment.

  • Module 5

    Following a disaster, the initial response phase rapidly evolves into the subsequent rehabilitation and recovery phase. This recovery process may take months or years and is beset with its own challenges. In addition, there is a need to ensure steps are taken to prevent a recurrence of such a disaster (mitigation). Various actors are involved including international and local non-governmental organisations, state actors, civil society, international organizations, and donors. These actors all have different mandates and motivations, with aid agencies usually striving to adhere to universal humanitarian principles.
     
    Headline competence (learning outcome):
    Critically evaluate the role and activities undertaken during the disaster recovery stage.

    Assessment criteria - identify and appraise:

    • key activities were undertaken during the recovery stage including interventions for the mitigation of future disasters.
    • Principles, roles, and mandates of the main international players, in particular, UN-OCHA, WHO, IFRC, and NGOs during humanitarian emergencies.
    • key humanitarian principles.

  • Final Exam

    To take the final exam, you must complete all quizzes and complete all the required activities. 

    To access the exam, click on the name of the exam provided above. On the following screen, click the Attempt Quiz button to respond to the questions.

  • Course and Self Evaluation & Certificate

    In this section, you can provide feedback about this course to help us make NextGenU.org better. Once evaluations are completed, you will be able to download your certificate of completion.

    • questionnaire icon
      Course Evaluations Questionnaire
      Not available unless: The activity Final Exam is marked complete
    • questionnaire icon
      Self Evaluation Questionnaire
      Not available unless: The activity Final Exam is marked complete