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• 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.

The main argument of the article is that the attempt to depoliticize sexual violence has a negative effect on the ability for the victims of sexual violence to receive humanitarian aid and prevents the recognition of all manifestations of this type of violence.

The article mentioned a proposed framework for health threats of security created by the World Health Organization, I did some research on the organization in order to understand their approach to emergency response as outlined the their Health Emergencies Program.

Recent developments in life sciences and bioengineering were cited several times throughout the article as having the potential to be a health risk. I looked at the headline research being done in those areas to better understand how health risks may be changing.

The article mentioned an unsuccessful vaccination program meant to prevent a smallpox outbreak, I looked into the history of that as a way of considering the preventative aspects of disaster response.

The article highlights large gaps in existing research concerning violence against health care workers in environments were the political and cultural atmosphere affects security in complex and unstudied ways. The article argues that the lack of research is partly due to discrepancies between public opinion, government opinion, and academic review makes understanding the causes of violence and risks to health workers challenging. The article suggests that an effort on the part of aid organizations to make their data easily accessible along with greater funding and academic interest the motives behind violence against health workers could be better understood.

“the demands placed on an investigation have as much, or more, to do with defining the dominant investigator and quickly addressing the fears and anger of the press, government, and an outraged public than they do with discovering the definitive technical truths of a catastrophic event.” (Knowles 11)

“The Hague Street inquest featured many experts, none with the authority to effect real change. The result was a blanket of blame that covered everyone” (Knowles 19)

“With the exception of federal oversight, Iroqouis set the tone for investigations of modern disasters from the Baltimore Conflagration (1904) to the world Trade Center collapse.” (Knowles 24)

The article provides statistics of approved applications based on the medical reason for the application and the department the application was processed at based on location, to show how different acceptance rates are. The article also provides many stories of applications, invoking an emotional response that allows the reader to sympathize with the personal challenge that faces medical officers and government officials making the discussions that may dramatically affect the health and wellbeing of individuals.