While, I can not find any specific events that have motivated their thinking about disaster and health, I believe this organization is motivated by the idea that people should be provided the health care they need despite their social or economic status.
The main point of the article is to show the ethical and enviromental danger inmates face on Riker Island. This is supported by the description heat emergencies that are risking lives of inmates, air pollution in the facility due to methane gas that is being produced by the landfill it was built on, and the shifting in the ground that is leading to cracking, subjecting facilities to flooding during extreme weather.
The film largely plays on emotional appeals and drama. By documenting the interviews of the doctors, which often are about the other doctors, the viewers see just how hard it is to detach ones self from their work. There is a scene in which the doctors talk about how, despite all the issues they face in the medical setting, everything at the end of the day is about personal relationships. It even briefly touches on sex between the medical staff and how that contributes to the care given. Since the film is based on personal interviews, little to no scientific information is given about the disease and injuries seen; its all based on personal opinion.
"Anna Pou, defended herself on national television, saying her role was to “help” patients “through their pain,” a position she maintains today"
"The laws also encourage prosecutors to await the findings of a medical panel before deciding whether to prosecute medical professionals. Pou has also been advising state and national medical organizations on disaster preparedness and legal reform; she has lectured on medicine and ethics at national conferences and addressed military medical trainees"
This article is referenced in various other papers concerning cultural factors in patient treatment.
The Red Cross was started during the Civil War to provide care to wounded soldiers.
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.
The article is largely a review/update on the state of the research being done into disaster-related mental health conditions. Thus all the support for the arguments is research based rather than example based. The author backs up their definition of disasters in three categories: natural, human-made nonintentional, and human-made intentional. These criteria affect the outcomes for the psyches of the victims, with the human-made disasters carrying more weight, particularily the intentional ones.
PTSD has been continually supported in literature, and the author simply recites sources of research dating back to the Vietnam War. The WHO has since devleoped more detailed planning tools and treatment tools for victims of trauma.
The authors also cite multiple levels of research into the risk factors for multiple mental health issues, regardless of and related to specific disasters.
Doctor Adriana Petryna holds a Ph.D in Anthropology from the University of California, Berkeley. She holds an M.A. in Anthropology as well as a B.S. in Architecture from the University of Michigan. She is a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and has been focused on nuclear science and medicine, and it's cultural and political ramifications.