! Formally evaluate the effectiveness and appropriateness of the different methods and strategies of search and rescue (128).

! Integrate knowledge obtained from different disciplines. Most earthquake casualty studies have addressed the problem from the point of view of a single discipline, either that of engineers or that of health researchers. This lack of active collaboration between workers from different disciplines has been a major shortcoming of past research into the health effects of disasters. Successful epidemiologic studies will require close interdisciplinary collaboration among structural engineers, physicians, and epidemiologists.