Prehospital and disaster medicine
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Mar 2007
International guidelines and standards for education and training to reduce the consequences of events that may threaten the health status of a community. A report of an Open International WADEM Meeting, Brussels, Belgium, 29-31 October, 2004.
The continued professionalization of the humanitarian workforce requires sound underpinning by appropriate educational programs. The international disaster medicine and emergency health community requested the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) develop international standards and guidelines for the education and training for disaster medicine. The Working Group of the WADEM Education Committee prepared and circulated an Issues Paper to structure input on this significant international task. ⋯ Although the view of the participants was that the establishment of international approval/endorsement processes for education programs may have some benefits, there was less comfort in identifying which body/agency should be charged with this responsibility. The WADEM, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the World Health Organization were identified as potential lead agents. The outcome of this international meeting is an important step toward meeting the challenge given the WADEM and will be developed further in consultation with the international disaster and emergency health community in order to improve education and training standards and professional practice.