Assessing the Health Consequences of Major Chemical Incidents - Epidemiological Approaches, 1992 (WHO - OMS, 1992, 104 p.): 2. Epidemiological tools: Introduction

Assessing the Health Consequences of Major Chemical Incidents - Epidemiological Approaches, 1992 (WHO - OMS, 1992, 104 p.)

2. Epidemiological tools

		Introduction
		Population at risk
		Exposure assessment
		Preparedness phase
		Health assessment

Introduction

Epidemiologists investigating the consequences of chemical incidents must consider the following activities:

· identifying the target population (the population affected by the incident)
· characterizing the exposure (qualitatively and quantitatively)
· defining the health impacts (qualitative and quantitative, acute and chronic).

This chapter discusses each of these in the context of the response to an incident. Epidemiological studies of chemical incidents are subject to special constraints such as time, availability of resources, public anxiety and political influences. The constraints differentiate epidemiological studies following the incident, and the methods used from those applied in less acute situations.