When natural disasters such as earthquakes happen, there is a need for an efficient method to support humanitarian aid organizations in the decision making process. One such decision is placement of Foreign Field Hospitals to assist with medical help.To support such a decision lots of different information and data needs to be gathered and combined. The main objectives of this thesis are to collect existing data published shortly after the earthquake in Haiti 2010 as well as data published up to two months after the earthquake. The data is then to be evaluated according to adequacy for analysis and the result of the analysis to be compared to the actual placements of the field hospitals after the 2010 earthquake.The method used in this analysis is Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE). Data regarding population, elevation, roads, land use, damage, climate, water, health facility locations and airport location are collected and weighted relative with the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) with weights retrieved from a questionnaire sent out to Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and countries involved in the disaster relief. The result obtained from the MCE is a final suitability map depicting areas that are suitable according to the different factors.The data availability for the thesis project is an issue, due to lack of data published shortly after the earthquake. Some of the data used in the analysis do not have the sufficient detail level. Still, an analysis can be performed where suitable areas are obtained.The suitable locations found in the analysis agree well in most cases with where the actual FFHs are placed, however a few locations are not in proximity to where the suitable areas lie. A few of the locations were located in areas exposed to frequently floods. Even though the data availability and quality leaves things to desire, the analysis method shows promising results for future research. The approach could help aggregating information from different sources and provide support in pre-dispatch organization, already having a set of suitable locations to arrive to.

Humanitarian help organisations today may benefit on improving their location analysis when placing field hospitals in countries hit by a disasters or catastrophe. The main objective of this thesis is to develop and evaluate a spatial decision support method for strategic placing of field hospitals for two time perspectives, long term (months) and short term (weeks). Specifically, the possibility of combining existing infrastructure and satellite data is examined to derive a suitability map for placing field hospitals. Haut-Katanga in Congo is used as test area where exists a large variety of ground features and has been visited by aid organisations in the past due to epidemics and warzones. The method consists of several steps including remote sensing for estimation of population density, a Multi Criteria Evaluation (MCE) for analysis of suitability, and visualization in a webmap. The Population density is used as a parameter for an MCE operation to create a decision support map for locating field hospitals. Other related information such as road network, water source and landuse is also taken into consideration in MCE. The method can generate a thematic map that highlights the suitability value of different areas for field hospitals. By using webmap related technologies, these suitability maps are also dynamic and accessible through the Internet. This new approach using the technology of dasymetric mapping for population deprival together with an MCE process, yielded a method with the result being both a standalone population distribution and a suitability map for placing field hospitals with the population distribution taken into consideration. The use of dasymetric mapping accounted for higher resolution and the ability to derive new population distributions on demand due to changing conditions rather than using pre-existing methods with coarser resolution and a more seldom update rate. How this method can be used in other areas is also analysed. The result of the study shows that the created maps are reasonable and can be used to support the locating of field hospitals by narrowing down the available areas to be considered. The results from MCE are compared to a real field hospital scenario, and it is shown that the proposed method narrows down the localisation options and shortens the time required for planning an operation. The method is meant to be used together with other decision methods which involves non spatial factors that are beyond the scope of this thesis.

La Tesi recull els intents d'orientar l'assistència sanitaria i social dels ciutadans de Catalunya per part dels governs amb capacitat de decisió autonòmica, en una línia que va des de les realitzacions de la Mancomunitat fins a les activitats dels consellers responsables de Sanitat i Assistència Social de la Generalitat Republicana.L'aixecament militar del 18 de juliol de 1936 obre un nou capítol durant el qual tots els elements de la vida del país i la seva gent es veuen trasbalsats pels efectes de la guerra. Dos fenòmens alteren l'aparell sanitari: les conseqüències dels fets bèl·lics modifiquen les necessitats habituals i la politització de les seves estructures transforma l'organització.El període de la Guerra Civil es divideix en tres etapes cronològiques. La primera comprèn des de l'inici de l'aixecament el juliol del 36 fins al mes d'octubre del mateix any, quan els anarcosindicalistes entren a formar part d'un nou govern de concentració. S'estudia principalment el paper del Comitè Sanitari de Milicies Antifeixistes i la resposta de la Conselleria de Sanitat davant del "nou ordre". La segona etapa s'estén des de l'octubre de 1936 fins als mes de maig de 1937, data que marca la fi de l'hegemonia anarquista. L'actuació del metge Félix Marti Ibáñez, Director general del Departament, i el paper del Consell de Sanitat de Guerra omplen el capìtol. La tercera etapa recull la darrera fase de la guerra a Catalunya, fins el mes de gener de 1939. La conselleria ha de fer front als problemes dels bombardeigs, dels refugiats, de la manca de queviures i de l'empitjorament de les condicions higièniques i sanitàries de la població. La progresiva militarització de la Sanitat es tradueix en la creació i ampliació de la xarxa d'Hospitals de Sang.El final de la guerra, amb els problemes sanitaris dels civils i soldats que marxen cap a l'exili marca la fi de l'estudi. / En este trabajo se estudia la política y la organización sanitarias llevadas a cabo por el Gobierno de Cataluña durante el período que abarca desde la proclamación de la Segunda República en abril de 1931 hasta el final de la Guerra Civil a principios de 1939.Durante los primeros años del régimen republicano, y tras unas primeras medidas de contenido circunstancial, la aprobación del Estatuto de Autonomía permite al gobierno catalán iniciar una discreta labor legislativa, que se verá interrumpida por los sucesivos cambios de orientación política. Destaca en este período el protagonismo del consejero Josep Dencàs.El período de la Guerra Civil se divide en tres etapas cronológicas. Durante la primera (julio-octubre de 1936) se estudia principalmente el papel del Comité Sanitario de las Milicias Antifascistas y la respuesta de la Consejería de Sanidad ante el "nuevo orden". La segunda etapa (octubre 1936- mayo 1937) termina con el fin de la hegemonía anarquista. La actuación del médico Félix Martí Ibáñez, Director General de Sanidad y Asistencia Social, y el papel del Consejo de Sanidad de Guerra llenan este capítulo. Durante la tercera etapa (mayo 1937-enero 1939) la Consejería se enfrenta a los problemas que plantean los bombardeos aéreos, los refugiados, la falta de alimentos y el empeoramiento de las condiciones higiénicas y sanitarias de la población. Finalmente, la progresiva militarización de la Sanidad se traduce en la creación y ampliación de una extensa red de Hospitales destinados a acoger a los combatientes heridos y enfermos. / In this work we study the sanitary politic and organization developed by the Catalunya Government during the period between the proclamation of the Second Republic in Abril 1931 and the end of the Civil War at the beginning of 1939.In the early stage of the Republican Régime, and after the first arrangements, the approval of the Autonomy Statute allowed the Catalan Government to start a reasonable legislative labour, which was often interrupt by the several political changes. To point up during this period the importance of the Councillor Josep Dencàs.The Civil War Period is divided in three chronological stages. During the first stage ( July- October 1936) the role of the Sanitary Committee of the Antifascist Militia and the answer of the Health Ministry towards the 'new order' was studied.The second stage ( October 1936- May 1937) finished with the end of the Anarchist hegemony. To remark the work of the doctor Felix Martí Ibañez, Sanitary and Welfare Managing Director, and the role of the Military Health CouncilDuring the third stage ( May 1937- January 1939) the Ministry faced the problems of the raids, refugees, shortage of food and the deterioration of health and hygienic people conditions. Finally, the progressive militaritation of the Public Health led to the creation of a wide system of hospitals to assist wounded and sick people.