The program began in January of 2015 and was founded to be the first-in-the-nation security college. It was formed with funding that Governor Cuomo allocated. It's founding comes during a time of growing need for homeland security professionals.
It appears that this is an NGO report. Human Rights Watch regularly publishes articles in an attempt to draw attention to percieved human rights issues throughout the world. They claim to be an independant organization supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations. They also deny accepting any government funds whether it be directly or indirectly.
Dr Schmid discusses her view that the engineers and scientists should not be the only people looking at the response to a nuclear incident. She believes that nuclear response teams need to move away from those in the late 1900s, in which a select technically-competent few were in charge of maintaining the safety and security of nuclear facilities, to those that bring together scholars, technical experts, and international relief organizations to educate the public and determine what is in the best interest of the residents of the area as well as society in general. Dr. Schmid believes that scholarship in science, technology, society studies applies to this situation and can be a great help in determining future actions.
The authors support their argument by referencing a study that showed that race was associated with how quickly one received therapeutics. They also referenced that PIH was able to help in Haiti by introducing a model of care in which the patients chose someone to assist them by delivering drugs and supportive care in their home. This person would live nearby and was seen by some as a very effective way to remove barriers to care for AIDS and other chronic diseases in impoverished environments. They also say by removing issues like access to clean water that impoverished areas see, MTCT rates of HIV decreased.
The citations ranged widely. Many of the citations at the beginning of the article seemed to not be related to treatment as much as they were to social issues. There were also several articles that the authors referenced that the authors had written previously. Finally, there were also articles relating to treatment and statistics based on different treatment strategies on micro- and macro-scales. These citations show that the authors may have a decent support in social reform. I'm not sure how common it is to cite your own works as fact in academia, so I will withhold comment on that.
"...responses to the problem of health and security are still taking shape" (p. 28)
" But in recent decades ... there has been an alarming shift in the 'elicate balance between humans and microbes.” (p. 7)
"The current concern with new microbial threats has developed in ... distinct domains: emerging infectious disease; bioterrorism; the cutting-edge life sciences; and food safety." (p. 9)
MSF finds it difficult to secure funding, as they rely on private donations that may not be steady as the economy changes. They also are challenged by finding qualified staff to provide medical care. Finally, they struggle with keeping their staff safe in hostile conditions.
It does not appear that this program bestows any certifications or licenses upon its graduates. This being said, students can earn an undergraduate degree or a graduate certificate from following this course of study.
This report doesn't have a great deal of impact with technical professionals. This report is much more geared toward those in the government in Colombia and actors in the international community. The report touches on the fact that hospitals and clinics are obligated to provide all persons with emergency care, but doesn't address emergency medicine more than that.
Outside of this class and STS 6834 at Virgina Tech, it was difficult to find other places where this article was referenced. Because the article was published as part of a collection of articles related to this same topic, I assume that those who purchase the book for educational and research purposes read and discus the article at some length.