Dataset Information

Emergency medical services preparedness in mass casualty incidents: A qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

The effective response of emergency medical services in mass casualty incidents (MCIs) calls for sufficient preparation. The components of preparation must be determined first to achieve this goal. This study aimed to describe the elements of preparedness of emergency medical services for MCIs.

Methods

A qualitative study was carried out on emergency medical service systems in Iran (from April 2022 to mid-March 2023), using in-depth semistructured interviews with participants who were managers and members of the incident command team, experts, technicians, paramedics, and telecommunicators of emergency medical services. Interviews were carried out face-to-face and via telephone. The data were collected using voice recorder and transcript and analyzed by content analysis method. This study was conducted using the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research.

Results

Thirty-six participants were included in the study. A total of 834 codes were analyzed. Thirteen components were extracted from the study and classified as five categories including "Strengthening management and organization," "individual and group empowerment," "capacity expansion," "technology and infrastructure development," and "operational response measures."

Conclusion

Emergency medical service preparedness in response to MCIs is a critical issue. For improving preparedness, the main components must be identified. The study results described the elements of emergency medical service preparedness, which could be used as a framework for developing the national model of emergency medical service preparedness in MCIs.

SUBMITTER: Saadatmand V

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10587387 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Emergency medical services preparedness in mass casualty incidents: A qualitative study.

Saadatmand Vahid V Ahmadi Marzaleh Milad M Abbasi Hamid Reza HR Peyravi Mahmoud Reza MR Shokrpour Nasrin N Shokrpour Nasrin N

Health science reports 20231019 10

<h4>Background and aims</h4>The effective response of emergency medical services in mass casualty incidents (MCIs) calls for sufficient preparation. The components of preparation must be determined first to achieve this goal. This study aimed to describe the elements of preparedness of emergency medical services for MCIs.<h4>Methods</h4>A qualitative study was carried out on emergency medical service systems in Iran (from April 2022 to mid-March 2023), using in-depth semistructured interviews wi ...[more]

PMID: 37867788

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Project description:Introduction and objectiveScientific reporting on major incidents, mass-casualty incidents (MCIs), and disasters is challenging and made difficult by the nature of the medical response. Many obstacles might explain why there are few and primarily non-heterogenous published articles available. This study examines the process of scientific reporting through first-hand experiences from authors of published reports. It aims to identify learning points and challenges that are important to address to mitigate and improve scientific reporting after major incidents.MethodsThis was a qualitative study design using semi-structured interviews. Participants were selected based on a comprehensive literature search. Ten researchers, who had published reports on major incidents, MCIs, or disasters from 2013-2018 were included, of both genders, from eight countries on three continents. The researchers reported on large fires, terrorist attacks, shootings, complex road accidents, transportation accidents, and earthquakes.ResultsThe interview was themed around initiation, workload, data collection, guidelines/templates, and motivation factors for reporting. The most challenging aspects of the reporting process proved to be a lack of dedicated time, difficulties concerning data collection, and structuring the report. Most researchers had no prior experience in reporting on major incidents. Guidelines and templates were often chosen based on how easily accessible and user-friendly they were.Conclusion and relevanceThere are few articles presenting first-hand experience from the process of scientific reporting on major incidents, MCIs, and disasters. This study presents motivation factors, challenges during reporting, and factors that affected the researchers' choice of reporting tools such as guidelines and templates. This study shows that the structural tools available for gathering data and writing scientific reports need to be more widely promoted to improve systematic reporting in Emergency and Disaster Medicine. Through gathering, comparing, and analyzing data, knowledge can be acquired to strengthen and improve responses to future major incidents. This study indicates that transparency and willingness to share information are requisite for forming a successful scientific report.

Project description:BackgroundMass gathering (MG) events may cause delayed emergency responses via various mechanisms and strain the resources of local emergency services. Therefore, preparedness, including adequate pre-planning and sufficient resourcing during MG events, is vital. The aim of this retrospective register study was to investigate the impact of MG events on the workload of rescue and emergency medical service (EMS) personnel during events to enable more precise and sufficient deployment of these authorities' operative resources.MethodsThe data from Finland covered of 25,124 EMS and rescue service missions during a three-year period (2015-2017), including data from nine MG events and reference material for the same weekdays two weeks before and after the event. The data were analysed through statistical and geospatial analyses.ResultsOur findings showed that missions increased in most events included in this study. Analysis of the missions' reasons showed that the categories of violence, traffic accidents and other accidents and injuries increased during events, with violence-related missions showing the highest relative risk (RR 1.87, 95% CI 1.43-2.44). In the four-grade (A-D) urgency grading, the analysis showed an increase in category C missions and a decrease in non-urgent category D missions. The analysis indicated an increase in missions during the evening and night-time. The geospatial analysis revealed dense hotspots of missions in the vicinity of the event area.ConclusionThe workload for EMS and rescue service personnel increases during MG events. Most of the increase is allocated to EMS staff, peaking in evening and night hours. The geospatial analysis showed hotspots of missions on the outskirts of the actual event area during events; thus, the workload can also increase for those authority resources that are not directly allocated to the event. Detailed information regarding workloads is valuable for the authorities that are responsible for resource planning and preparedness for MG events. Replicating the study internationally would improve the methodology for the future.

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Dataset Information

Emergency medical services preparedness in mass casualty incidents: A qualitative study.

Background and aims

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Emergency medical services preparedness in mass casualty incidents: A qualitative study.

Similar Datasets

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