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Senator Stafford, after whom the act was named, was primarily responsible for the creation of the act, although many other individuals were involved in the writing and editing of the act.

• I was interested in the portion of the article that referred to the initial scientific understanding of post-traumatic stress after the Vietnam War, so I looked into the early reports on PTSD to see how far the science has come since then.
• The article extensively referenced Hurricane Ike which I was unfamiliar with, researching the storm gave me better idea of the type of trauma that many of the survivors experienced due to the massive amount of damage that occurred.
• The article suggested that properly stoked and manned shelters for evacuated residents would be very important in preventing trauma, so I looked into the existing infrastructure in high risk locations. The government maintains stockpiles of supplies around the country and most communities have designated shelters, however there is not a single existing plan for how a community could safely evacuate the entire population.

The article uses statistics of the health care system and diagnosis methods to show that, while the program was created with good intentions to help those suffering from radiation poisoning, it has become necessary for those seeking assistance to find influential individuals or groups to try and receive enough funding to support themselves and their families.

The article focuses on the inherent necessity for emergency response to include community education, risk assessment, and premade policies that designate decision making authority in the event of a disaster, while also acknowledging the inherent unpredictability of emergencies that require flexible response plans. Emphasis is placed on the need for rapid response, and the importance of safeguarding expertise through training and records. 

The article provides statistics and excerpts of interviews to support its analysis of the narrative of illness. There are also several quotes from other works that analyze story and narrative to support the claims of the importance of emotion as a method of sharing the plot.

Data collected from a study done in Baltimore in the 1990’s, including statistics and observations is used to support the main argument. The methods used in Haiti and Rwanda as well as the results from implementing those methods are also used as examples for the claim that social conditions greatly impact disease susceptibility.