Natural disasters are increasingly common and devastating. It is essential to understand children’s health needs during disasters as they are a particularly vulnerable population. The objective of this study was to evaluate pediatric disease burden after Hurricane Harvey compared to the preceding month and the same period in the previous year to inform pediatric disaster preparedness.
The impact of floods on emergency department (ED) operations and patient health has not been well studied. We sought to detail challenges and lessons learned from the severe weather event caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas, in August 2017.
Author Affiliation Kristi L. Koenig, MD University of California, Irvine, Center for Disaster Medical Sciences, Orange, California Frederick M. Burkle, Jr, MD Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Cambridge, Massachusetts LIMITS OF OUR CAPACITY The last 3 decades have seen a worldwide appreciation for advances in disaster medicine and public health preparedness that […]
Antarctica is one of the most remote regions on Earth. Mass casualty incident (MCI) responses in Antarctica are prone to complications from multiple environmental and operational challenges. This review of the current status of MCI risks and response strategies for Antarctica focuses on aeromedical evacuation, a critical component of many possible MCI scenarios.
Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) is a type of Emergency Medical Dispatch (EMD) system used to prioritize 9-1-1 calls and optimize resource allocation. Dispatchers use a series of scripted questions to assign determinants to calls based on chief complaint and acuity.
As recent events highlight, a global requirement exists for evidence-based training in the emerging field of Disaster Medicine. The following is an example of an International Disaster Medical Sciences Fellowship created to fill this need. We provide here a program description, including educational goals and objectives and a model core curriculum based on current evidence-based literature. In addition, we describe the administrative process to establish the fellowship. Information about this innovative educational program is valuable to international Disaster Medicine scholars, as well as U.S. institutions seeking to establish formal training in Disaster Medical Sciences.
