Women's health issues, and women's studies in general, encompass a broad range of topics, however rigorous studies that examine the roles of, and effects on, women in public health emergencies remains a relatively unexplored area of empirical research.Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) is itself a relatively new field. Although disasters have existed as long as civilization, and the public health consequences of disasters have been well-documented throughout history, a field devoted to thinking about, preparing for, and mobilizing the resources of multiple communities to mitigate and respond to public health emergencies is a relatively new phenomenon. This new field, not yet a decade old, is still struggling to define itself. In 2007, researchers from RAND undertook an effort to formally define PHEP. Their resulting definition was:
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