Published Guardian online, Carl Heneghan, 26/09/2011

Comment: Dr Carl Heneghan, director of the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine and a clinical reader in the Department of Primary Health Care Sciences at the University of Oxford, writes: ‘Where were you when the tsunami hit in December 2004? ... Have you ever considered how rescue workers and medics on the ground make the right decisions under such extreme circumstances? To improve their decision-making, the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine at the University of Oxford organised the first conference on Evidence Aid, held in Oxford on Monday ... Evidence Aid was born after the 2004 tsunami. Its aim is to provide summaries of Cochrane reviews of health research in one place and in a timely fashion for those involved in disaster management ... Yet the evidence to support informed choices in disasters is scarce. Evidence is lacking not only for many health decisions, but also for simple interventions such as what are the best shelters, what is the best way to ensure security, and how best to support displaced people, and many more.’

Read more at the Guardian