The 20th WADEM Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine in Toronto, Canada

Three CCOUC members attended the 20th World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) Congress held in Toronto, Canada from 25 to 28 April 2017. The four-day event brought together experts from 65 countries to exchange knowledge on disaster health and response, emergency medical care, and public safety.

CCOUC team delivered five oral presentations, held 1 co-chaired session, and run an exhibition booth. Dr Chunlan Guo gave two presentations, entitled “Teaching Public Health in Disasters using Massive Open Online Course and Building the Global Humanitarian Response Community” (by Chan, Guo, Huang, Chan & Ho) and “An analysis of student engagement patterns and course outcomes in a public health and disaster online course” (by Chan, Guo, Huang, Chan & Ho). Ms Sharon Lo presented on “Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (H‐EDRM): developing the research field within the Sendai Framework paradigm” (by Lo, Chan, Chan, Murray, Ardalan & Abrahams), and served as co-chair for the “Public Health” session on the second day. Ms Janice Ho also delivered two presentations, entitled “Vulnerable population study of household injuries: a case study in Hong Kong” (by Zhang, Chan, Guo & Ho) and “Association between water security, disaster risk perception and preparedness behaviour of a rural ethnic minority village in Chongqing, China: pilot study” (by Ho, Chan, Guo and Yung). Through the exhibition booth, CCOUC shared its works with more than 200 fellow researchers and practitioners, showcasing the multifaceted research of the centre and introducing the collaborative and training opportunities available.

The biennial WADEM Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine was a valuable occasion for CCOUC to participate in a global exchange of ideas on disaster health and emergency response, strengthen existing partnerships and establish new ones, and showcase the recent work of CCOUC. The conference also provided a platform to further engage potential stakeholders for the World Health Organization Thematic Platform for Health Emergency & Disaster Risk Management Research Group, of which CCOUC serves as the Secretariat.