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Biomedical subjects

M Sheik

Publications and source records attributed to M Sheik.

3 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Needs assessment of the displaced population following the August 1999 earthquake in Turkey.

In August 1999 a major earthquake struck north-western Turkey. An assessment followed to identify the immediate needs of the displaced population. A random cluster sample of displaced families living in temporary shelter outside of organised relief camps was designed. Representatives of 230 households from the four communities worse affected by the earthquake were interviewed. Most families lived in makeshift shelters (84 per cent), used bottled water (91 per cent), obtained food from relief organisations (61 per cent), had access to latrines (90 per cent), had a member on routine medication (53 per cent) and obtained information by word of mouth (81 per cent). Many respondents reported having family members who were over the age of 65 (32 per cent) or under age three (20 per cent), who were pregnant (6 per cent), or who had been ill since the earthquake (64 per cent). The greatest immediate need reported by most families was shelter requirements (37 per cent), followed by food (23 per cent) and hygiene requirements (19 per cent). Ten days after the earthquake, basic environmental health needs of food, shelter and hygiene still predominated in this displaced population. Significant portions may have special needs due to age or illness.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

The accuracy of mortality reporting in displaced persons camps during the post-emergency phase.

For humanitarian organisations, accurate data are essential to identify emerging health problems and determine programme needs. We visited 45 post-emergency phase displaced persons camps and collected three months' mortality data which we compared with organisations' routine mortality reports. Organisations reported 612 deaths and we identified 741 deaths, for a mortality-reporting ratio, defined as the number of organisation-reported deaths divided by the number of investigator-identified deaths, of 83 per cent. For the majority of camps which under-reported deaths, mortality reporting ratios were significantly higher for women than men, and for camps with central mortality registers rather than those without. In the few camps which over-reported deaths, these occurred primarily among children younger than five years of age, probably due to the inclusion of abortions and stillbirths. Despite the overall under-reporting of deaths by humanitarian organisations, the existing health information systems appear to estimate mortality rates adequately in these post-emergency camps. However, organisations should improve the precision and completeness with which they report the characteristics of deaths in order to provide valuable data to target their programmes at the most vulnerable people.

Adult↗