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Emergency response is one of the main ideas of this article. Schmid expresses the importance of emergency response to nuclear disaster in that prevention can only go so far and in the specific case of nuclear disaster the cause is often unpredictable and unavoidable (natural cause ie. Hurricanes, tsunami). Without an appropriate emergency response system in place nuclear disasters will continue to cause significant environmental damages, infrastructure damages, and harm citizens. 

This article is referenced in various other papers concerning cultural factors in patient treatment. 

Paul Farmer is an American physician and anthropologist who is known for providing appropriate healthcare in under developed regions and developing countries. Farmer is situated in emergency response in that he is a physician providing care to those in need and works toward ensuring that people will have access to healthcare despite socioeconomic conditions. Bruce Nizeye works alongside Farmer and specializes in TB infection control in Rwanda. Sara Stulac is a physician who specializes in women’s and children’s healthcare. Her focus has included pediatric HIV prevention and treatment, malnutrition care, inpatient pediatrics and neonatology, and pediatric oncology and other non-communicable disease treatment. Salmaan Keshavjee is a physician who specializes in multi-drug resistant tuberculosis and in providing access to healthcare in poverty stricken regions. 

Ludvig Foghammar is a research fellow at Stockholm International Peace Institute (SIPI) and specializes in economics, politcal science, and global health. 

Suyoun Jang, a researcher at SIPI studies the fragile states of, security, and developement of Korean Culture.

This article claims that after the disaster and initial relief efforts Haiti has not changed for the better and is "back more or less to normal." However many Haitians are suffering from cholera after a water polution mishap with the United Nations initial relief efforts. 

They support their approach based on what they as an organization have already done in countries such as Haiti, Nigeria, Jordan, and Syria. 

The main point of this article is the idea that government regulations do not always comply with what is best for patient care and the situation at hand. In this particular case doctors and nurses decided to euthanize patients who were in critical condition and were going to be delayed or unable to be rescued. 

The Red Cross is primarily funded by donations and the government offers some support. 

The article uses the historical background of Chernobyl to establish government policies, the analysis of policies pertaining to the healthcare system available to affected population, and narratives of those directly affected by Chernobyl related illnesses.