Introduction:

We are living in the world, which is faced with various types of natural and man-made hazards. In 2019, at least 396 natural disasters were reported by the Center for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters (CRED) killing 11,755 people, affecting 95 million individuals and costing nearly 130 billion US$. The multiplicity, diversity and spread of disasters require disaster risk management measures. Professional education and training, as one of the functions of disaster risk management, can help with reducing the disaster damage in highly hazard-prone countries such as Iran. Accordingly, PhD programme of Health in Emergencies and Disasters (HED) was developed and approved to be conducted in the medical sciences universities of Iran since 2010.

The establishment of Health in Emergencies and Disasters (HED) department in Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences (SBMU) was then approved by the National Council for the Development of Medical Sciences Universities in 2013. The HED department benefits from the approved organizational structure including faculty members and group of experts. This department has been one of the main partners of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education in the disaster-related education and research. The HED department has worked in the fields of disaster and emergency health at national and international levels and published a considerable number of articles in the national and international peer-reviewed journals.

Vision: 

• The Health in Emergencies and Disasters department intends to be the most reputable academic department in the field of disaster and emergency health in the Iran and among the East Meditation Region Countries by 10 years. This department will provide the best education and research services and increase the production of disaster sciences in the region and the world, along with the full collaboration with the national and international education and research centers.

Mission:

Training qualified post-graduate students who have high knowledge and practical skills to play their roles as researchers, trainers and policy-makers in the community as well as producing and developing scientific evidence in the field of disaster risk management, which are the most important missions of HED department. Education and research productions are planned to be used by policymakers and managers. Filling the gap between scientific section and executive body of disaster management, HED department enhances its interaction and collaboration with the national and international organizations that work in the field of disaster risk management in Iran.

Objectives:

• Training human resources of the health system for education, research, policy-making and disaster risk management
• Introducing and consolidating the position of the department in training the qualified and committed experts who are the scientific, research and operational body of disaster policy making and planning
• Producing scientific evidence required by the health system in the field of disaster risk management and supporting practical research
• Designing and conducting interventions for reducing vulnerability and risk in disasters
• Development of scientific, educational and research collaborations related to Health in Emergencies and Disasters at the national, regional and international levels