CJEM Articles: disaster
Displaying 1-4 of 4 results
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May
2007
9
3
Chul-Su Kim, In-Chul Jung, Sung-Hyuk Choi, Sung-Woo Lee, Yun-Sik Hong
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September
2005
7
5
Brian Schwartz, Daniel Kollek, Michael D. Christian
Canada is moving forward quickly with plans to ensure that it is prepared to deal with emergencies. The National Framework for Health Emergency Management, released Nov. 26, 2004, recommends that a National Health Incident Management System (IMS) be developed. However, although most communities have successfully implemented IMS in the emergency services sector, many are still struggling with the integration of IMS into their health care systems. It is essential that all health care workers, regardless of profession or position, understand at least the basic concepts of emergency preparedness because of the wide variety of roles they may be asked to fulfill in an emergency situation. This article will review the basic concepts in emergency preparedness and management with a specific focus on IMS in health care.
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January
2003
5
1
Daniel Kollek
Since the terror attacks of September 11th, emergency departments across North America have become more aware of the need to be prepared to deal with a mass casualty terror event, particularly one involving nuclear, biological or chemical contaminants. The effects of such an attack could also be mimicked by accidental release of toxic chemicals, radioactive substances or biological agents unrelated to terrorist activity.
The purpose of this study was to review the risks and characteristics of these events and to assess the preparedness of Canadian emergency departments to respond. This was done by means of a survey, which showed a significant risk of a mass casualty event (most likely chemical) coupled with a deficiency in preparedness -- most notably in the availability of appropriate equipment, antidotal therapy and decontamination capability. There were also significant deficiencies in the ability to respond to a major biologic or nuclear event.
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November
2002
4
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Adam Lund, Kenneth Lam, Paul Parks
Canada has no formal training program in disaster medicine for health care professionals. The University of Alberta's Division of Emergency Medicine has developed a means to fill the gap. Disaster Medicine Online (DMO) is an Internet-based, interactive, facilitator-guided distance-learning course on the fundamentals of disaster medicine. The 3-week pilot of DMO was offered in March 2002 and taken by a multidisciplinary group of 22 health care professionals, including resident and attending physicians, paramedics and nurses. Evaluation of the learning materials and educational methodology by experts and learners demonstrated a high degree of satisfaction with the Web interface, site usability, lesson content and format, and the interactive components of the online course. Learners reported spending a mean of 11.2 hours (range = 5-20) over the 3-week course period. Twenty of 22 learners completed the final assignment, and all 20 were successful in passing the course. Overall, 95% of learners said they would pursue another module if offered, and 100% would recommend DMO to their colleagues. DMO is a viable option for health care professionals who would like to pursue continuing medical education in this area without having to take time out of their personal and professional lives to travel to a face-to-face, traditional educational program.
