Prehospital and disaster medicine
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Oct 2014
Nationwide program of education for undergraduates in the field of disaster medicine: development of a core curriculum centered on blended learning and simulation tools.
In recent years, effective models of disaster medicine curricula for medical schools have been established. However, only a small percentage of medical schools worldwide have considered at least basic disaster medicine teaching in their study program. In Italy, disaster medicine has not yet been included in the medical school curriculum. ⋯ The blended approach and the use of simulation tools were appreciated by all participants and successfully increased participants' knowledge of disaster medicine and basic competencies in performing mass-casualty triage. This manuscript reports on the designing process and the initial outcomes with respect to learners' achievements and satisfaction of a 1-month educational course on the fundamentals of disaster medicine. This experience might represent a valid and innovative solution for a disaster medicine curriculum for medical students that is easily delivered by medical schools. [table: see text].
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Oct 2014
Health care workers in danger zones: a special report on safety and security in a changing environment.
Violence against humanitarian health care workers and facilities in situations of armed conflict is a serious humanitarian problem. Targeting health care workers and destroying or looting medical facilities directly or indirectly impacts the delivery of emergency and life-saving medical assistance, often at a time when it is most needed. ⋯ While there is work being done to improve conditions for health care personnel and patients, there need to be concerted actions to stigmatize attacks against workers, facilities, and patients to protect the neutrality of the medical mission.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Oct 2014
Assessing pediatric and young adult substance use through analysis of prehospital data.
Substance use in young adults is a significant and growing problem. Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel often encounter this problem, yet the use of prehospital data to evaluate the prevalence and magnitude of substance abuse has been limited. ⋯ All three hypotheses were supported: the type of substance being abused was associated with both age and location, and substance abuse was associated with a history of mental illness. This research has important implications for understanding how EMS resources are utilized for substance use. This information is valuable in not only the education and training of prehospital care providers, but also for the targeting of future public health interventions.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Oct 2014
Prehospital Care and In-hospital Mortality of Trauma Patients in Iran.
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of prehospital time and advanced trauma life support interventions for trauma patients transported to an Iranian Trauma Center. ⋯ In-hospital trauma mortality was more common for patients with severe injuries and long prehospital transport times. While more severely injured patients received ALS interventions and died, these interventions were associated with positive survival trends when conducted in suburban and out-of-city road locations with long transport times.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Oct 2014
The State of Leadership Education in Emergency Medical Services: A Multi-national Qualitative Study.
This study investigated how leadership is learned in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) from a multi-national perspective by interviewing EMS providers from multiple nations working in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. ⋯ Emergency Medical Services leadership education that prepares students for the complexities of the profession is needed. Likewise, the need for EMS leadership education and training to be part of continuing education is supported. Both are viewed as a way to advance the EMS profession. A need for further research on the topic of EMS leadership is recognized, and supported, with a call for action on suggested topics identified within the study.