Prehospital and disaster medicine
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In 2001, a survey of Canadian emergency departments indicated significant deficiencies in disaster preparedness. Since then, there have been efforts on the part of Provincial governments to remedy this situation. ⋯ The Hospital Emergency Readiness Overview study demonstrates that despite improvements, there remain gaps in Canadian healthcare facility readiness for disaster, specifically one involving contaminated patients. It also highlights the lack of any standardized assessment of healthcare facilities' chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear readiness.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Jun 2011
ReviewDevelopment of statewide geriatric patients trauma triage criteria.
The geriatric population is unique in the type of traumatic injuries sustained, physiological responses to those injuries, and an overall higher mortality when compared to younger adults. No published, evidence-based, geriatric-specific field destination criteria exist as part of a statewide trauma system. The Trauma Committee of the Ohio Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Board sought to develop specific criteria for geriatric trauma victims. ⋯ The state of Ohio is the first state to develop evidence-based geriatric-specific field-destination criteria using data from its state-mandated trauma registry. Further analysis of these criteria will help determine their effects on over-triage and under-triage of geriatric victims of traumatic injuries and the impact on the overall mortality in the elderly.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Jun 2011
ReviewPrimary health care and disasters-the current state of the literature: what we know, gaps and next steps.
The 2009 Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction/Emergency Preparedness (DRR/EP) and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015 demonstrate increased international commitment to DRR/EP in addition to response and recovery. In addition, the World Health Report 2008 has re-focused the world's attention on the renewal of Primary Health Care (PHC) as a set of values/principles for all sectors. Evidence suggests that access to comprehensive PHC improves health outcomes and an integrated PHC approach may improve health in low income countries (LICs). Strong PHC health systems can provide stronger health emergency management, which reinforce each other for healthier communities. ⋯ Primary Health Care is very important for effective health emergency management during response and recovery, but also for risk reduction, including preparedness. There is need to; increase the quality of this research, clarify terminology, encourage paper authorship from LICs, develop and validate PHC- specific disaster indicators and to encourage organizations involved in PHC disaster activities to publish data. Lessons learned from high-income countries need contextual analysis about applicability in low-income countries.
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Jun 2011
Assessment of hospital disaster preparedness for the 2010 FIFA World Cup using an internet-based, long-distance tabletop drill.
The State University of New York at Downstate (SUNY) conducted a web-based long-distance tabletop drill (LDTT) designed to identify vulnerabilities in safety, security, communications, supplies, incident management, and surge capacity for a number of hospitals preceding the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The tabletop drill simulated a stampede and crush-type disaster at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, South Africa in anticipation of 2010 FIFA World Cup. The LDTT, entitled "Western Cape-Abilities", was conducted between May and September 2009, and encompassed nine hospitals in the Western Cape of South Africa. The main purpose of this drill was to identify strengths and weaknesses in disaster preparedness among nine state and private hospitals in Cape Town, South Africa. These hospitals were tasked to respond to the ill and injured during the 2010 World Cup. ⋯ This assessment of disaster preparedness indicated an overall good performance in categories such as hospital equipment and development of major incident plans, but improvement is needed in hospital security, public relations, and communications ahead of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.