Study on post-disaster emergency medical aid and contingency plan following Wenchuan Earthquake / 中华医院管理杂志

By means of field survey and expert consultation, the paper made a summary of the experiences learnt from medical aid in Wenchuan Earthquake, along with problems found. The summary and assessment covered the disaster-caused casualty and health among local residents, cost estimates for post-disaster medical aid, and targeted measures to improve medical aid plans. In addition, the authors proposed to emphasize the uniqueness of earthquake disasters and develop pre-plans in this regard, as well as such mid-and long-term plans for the promotion of disaster medicine, development of disaster medicine talents, upgrading of emergency medical rescue skills of medical staff, and volunteers management systems.

Baseline investigation of medical aid following Wenchuan Eathquake / 中华医院管理杂志

Objective This paper aims to make clear the post-disaster medical needs of residents in the disaster areas and changes among the poor population, for the purpose of policy recommendations on post-disaster medical assistance. Methods Such methods as in-home questionnaire survey and literature study were used to study the income, prevalence rate and mental health of 4 380 households in 10 counties (cities and districts) in the disaster areas. Results In the hardest hit areas, 80. 4% and 52. 8% of residents in rural and urban areas are dependent on government relief respectively;the proportion of poor population resulting from the disaster rose from 5% before the disaster to over 75% afterwards in the hard-hit areas, while such a population rose to 15% in the hardest-hit areas and about 10% in general disaster areas;It is estimated that the new medical aid funds in Sichuan Province will reach 350 million yuan, two-fold that of the budget for 2009;In the hardest hit areas, the two-week prevalence rate per thousand people is twice that found in the third survey of health services in 2003, characterized of acute respiratory illness and rheumatoid;In the hardest-hit areas, nearly 70% of the residents are exposed to high mental health risks. Conclusion Recommendations: Strengthening the raising and use of medical aid fund;dynamic management for the population in need of post-disaster medical aid;Developing appropriate medical aid packages to fit post-disaster health needs and postdisaster disease characteristics;and consolidating the connection between medical aid and primary medical insurance system.