Saving lives and restoring hope: Enhancing outcomes through comprehensive understanding of maxillofacial surgery in disaster medicine.

This article delves into the profound impact of various types of disasters, examining some specific contexts. It provides insights into the unique challenges posed by different disasters, ultimately highlighting the invaluable role of maxillofacial surgery in addressing the critical healthcare needs of affected populations. A comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to analyze the role of maxillofacial surgery in disaster management. Relevant studies were examined to gather evidence supporting the criticality of maxillofacial surgeons in disaster response. Continuous training, coordination, and international collaboration among maxillofacial surgeons were reported as key factors in enhancing preparedness and improving post-disaster recovery. Sharing experiences, implementing best practices, and staying updated with advancements in the field seemed crucial for maximizing the impact of maxillofacial surgery in disaster medicine. By prioritizing the inclusion of maxillofacial surgeons in disaster response teams, lives can be saved, functional outcomes can be improved, and hope can be restored in affected communities. Understanding the intricacies and patterns associated with various types of disasters can be crucial details for successful rescue operations.

Research on the relationship between nurses' emergency public health response capacity and workplace resilience: A cross-sectional study.

Objective: This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing nurses' ability to respond to public health emergencies and understand the relationship between nurses' ability to respond to emergencies and workplace resilience. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 361 nurses from military hospitals was conducted from January 18 to September 6, 2022, using an online survey. The Infectious Diseases Emergency Response Capacity (IDERC) questionnaire and the Workplace Resilience Scale (WRS) were utilized, and sociodemographic information was also collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and frequency analysis. Differences between groups were identified by one-way analysis of variance, and linear regression was used to analyze the main factors influencing the infectious emergency response capacity. Results: The average infectious emergency response capacity score on the IDERC questionnaire and workplace resilience, measured by WRS, were 4.01 (SD = 0.76) and 3.85 (SD = 0.71), respectively, on a scale of 1-5, indicating high performance. Factors such as degree of education, nurses' service years and experience in epidemic prevention participation were found to be the main influencing factors of the score of IDERC. The level of workplace resilience showed a positive correlation with the capacity to respond to infectious disease, the score of WRS and the service year accounted for 63.6% of the variance in emergency response capabilities. Conclusion: The results indicate an urgent need to strengthen the training of nurses with lower degree of education, shorter service years, no prior work, or no experience of epidemic prevention participation, and hospitals should also prioritize improving nurses' workplace resilience through targeted interventions, enhancing their abilities in infectious disease prevention, preparation, first aid, and subsequent critical patient care.

Physical and psychological status of emergency assistance personnel at major public health events: a qualitative descriptive study.

BACKGROUND: Many personnel respond to natural disasters like earthquakes and tsunamis and frequent public health events like Ebola and COVID-19. However, research on emergency assistance personnel remains limited. This study aims to describe the perceived well-being among responders deployed in isolated or emergency international missions while providing practical references to intervene in developing similar missions. METHODS: For this qualitative phenomenological study, purposive sampling was used following the principle of maximum differentiation to select personnel deployed on an emergency mission for over a year. Data collection continued until data saturation. Phenomenologically semi-structured interviews helped explore the physical and psychological status of the participants with Colaizzi's method. RESULTS: Eleven personnel were interviewed after the mission, with four major themes being identified: 'perceived somatic change,' 'perceived emotional change,' 'behavioral change,' and 'coping with perceived change.' CONCLUSIONS: The mental health status of the emergency assistance personnel was affected by multiple factors from external and internal environments. The current study explored the physical and psychological feelings and emotions of emergency assistance personnel during an emergency mission. The study provided a practical reference for health management under similar missions. REGISTRATIONS: Not registered.

Nationwide status of aeromedical pre-hospital and retrieval medicine in Australia.

OBJECTIVE: To survey the current structure, capability and operational scope of pre-hospital and retrieval aeromedical teams across Australia. METHODS: The medical directors of all Australian civilian adult aeromedical retrieval organisations with pre-hospital teams and/or doctors for inter-hospital critical care patient transport were contacted in a survey to qualitatively assess capacity and team structure. RESULTS: All 17 organisations contacted completed the survey. While there is diversity in team structure with the pairing of doctors, paramedics and nurses, capacity for patient care is generally homogenous. A doctor/paramedic model is the more common team structure for rotary-wing missions, and doctor/nurse for fixed-wing. Differences are mostly due to state government controlled aspects of their health services. An advanced degree of intensive patient care occurs outside of the hospital. Land and sea rescue is an important aspect of Australian aeromedical work. CONCLUSION: Aeromedicine in Australia has many consistent elements, but variable contexts have resulted in a diversity of operational models.

A retrospective analysis of mission reports in the national Swedish Police Registry on mountain rescue 2018-2022: here be snowmobiles.

BACKGROUND: Increasing mountain activity and decreasing participant preparedness, as well as climate change, suggest needs to tailor mountain rescue. In Sweden, previous medical research of these services are lacking. The aim of the study is to describe Swedish mountain rescue missions as a basis for future studies, public education, resource allocation, and rescuer training. METHODS: Retrospective analysis of all mission reports in the national Swedish Police Registry on Mountain Rescue 2018-2022 (n = 1543). Outcome measures were frequencies and characteristics of missions, casualties, fatalities, traumatic injuries, medical conditions, and incident mechanisms. RESULTS: Jämtland county had the highest proportion of missions (38%), followed by Norrbotten county (36%). 2% of missions involved ≥ 4 casualties, and 44% involved ≥ 4 mountain rescuers. Helicopter use was recorded in 59% of missions. Non-Swedish citizens were rescued in 12% of missions. 37% of casualties were females. 14% of casualties were ≥ 66 or ≤ 12 years of age. Of a total 39 fatalities, cardiac event (n = 14) was the most frequent cause of death, followed by trauma (n = 10) and drowning (n = 8). There was one avalanche fatality. 8 fatalities were related to snowmobiling, and of the total 1543 missions, 309 (20%) were addressing snowmobiling incidents. Of non-fatal casualties, 431 involved a medical condition, of which 90 (21%) suffered hypothermia and 73 (17%) cardiovascular illness. CONCLUSIONS: These baseline data suggest snowmobiling, cardiac events, drownings, multi-casualty incidents, and backcountry internal medicine merit future study and intervention.

Training nurses in an international emergency medical team using a serious role-playing game: a retrospective comparative analysis.

BACKGROUND: Although game-based applications have been used in disaster medicine education, no serious computer games have been designed specifically for training these nurses in an IEMT setting. To address this need, we developed a serious computer game called the IEMTtraining game. In this game, players assume the roles of IEMT nurses, assess patient injuries in a virtual environment, and provide suitable treatment options. METHODS: The design of this study is a retrospective comparative analysis. The research was conducted with 209 nurses in a hospital. The data collection process of this study was conducted at the 2019-2020 academic year. A retrospective comparative analysis was conducted on the pre-, post-, and final test scores of nurses in the IEMT. Additionally, a survey questionnaire was distributed to trainees to gather insights into teaching methods that were subsequently analyzed. RESULTS: There was a significant difference in the overall test scores between the two groups, with the game group demonstrating superior performance compared to the control group (odds ratio = 1.363, p value = 0.010). The survey results indicated that the game group exhibited higher learning motivation scores and lower cognitive load compared with the lecture group. CONCLUSIONS: The IEMT training game developed by the instructor team is a promising and effective method for training nurses in disaster rescue within IEMTs. The game equips the trainees with the necessary skills and knowledge to respond effectively to emergencies. It is easily comprehended, enhances knowledge retention and motivation to learn, and reduces cognitive load.

Arterial Occlusion Effectiveness of Space Blanket‒Improvised Tourniquets for the Remote Setting.

INTRODUCTION: Control of severe extremity hemorrhage by tourniquet can save lives. In remote areas or in mass casualty incidents with multiple severely bleeding victims, lack of conventional tourniquets may make it necessary to improvise tourniquets. METHODS: Occlusion of the radial artery and delayed onset of capillary refill time resulting from windlass-type tourniquets were experimentally investigated by comparing a commercial tourniquet and a space blanket‒improvised tourniquet with a carabiner as a rod. This observational study was conducted on healthy volunteers in optimal application circumstances. RESULTS: Operator-applied Combat Application Tourniquets were deployed more swiftly (27 s, 95% CI: 25.7-30.2 vs 94 s, 95% CI: 81.7-114.4) and achieved 100% complete radial occlusion compared with improvised tourniquets, as assessed by Doppler sonography (P<0.001). When space blanket‒improvised tourniquets were used, traces of radial perfusion persisted in 48% of the applications. In Combat Application Tourniquets, capillary refill times were significantly delayed (7 s, 95% CI: 6.0-8.2 vs 5 s, 95% CI: 3.9-6.3) compared with those when using improvised tourniquets (P=0.013). CONCLUSIONS: Improvised tourniquets should be considered only in dire circumstances with uncontrolled extremity hemorrhage and when no commercial tourniquets are available. Complete arterial occlusion was achieved in only half of the applications using a space blanket‒improvised tourniquet when a carabiner was used as a windlass rod. The speed of application was inferior to that for Combat Application Tourniquets. Similar to Combat Action Tourniquets, the correct assembly and application of space blanket‒improvised tourniquets on upper and lower extremities have to be trained. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: BASG No.: 13370800/15451670.

Static Rope Rescue Operations in Western Norway: A Retrospective Analysis of 141 Missions.

INTRODUCTION: The Norwegian national standard for rescuers describes medical and rescue requirements for helicopter emergency medical services (HEMS) technical crew members, but there is a lack of scientific data supporting these requirements and their safety relevance. The study aims to analyze the rescue profile of Norwegian HEMS static rope human external cargo operations, emphasizing terrain challenges and additional safety measures utilized on-site. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective descriptive analysis of static rope missions performed in daylight by 3 HEMS bases in Western Norway in the period 2015 to 2019. The analysis measures evacuation methods, terrain, on-site safety measures, and medical treatment. RESULTS: Out of 8352 primary HEMS and search and rescue missions, a total of 141 (2%) static rope missions were performed by the 3 HEMS bases in Western Norway. The most commonly used evacuation method was triangle harness (62%) and a static rope length of 30 m (81%). Ninety-two (65%) missions were completed in simple terrain, 38 (27%) in challenging terrain, and 11 (8%) in complex terrain. There were no reported accidents, but a small number of adverse events were registered. The most frequent medical intervention administered on-site was pain management, followed by spinal immobilization. CONCLUSIONS: Thirty-five percent of the static rope missions performed by HEMS in Western Norway were completed in challenging or complex terrain, requiring additional safety measures on-site. The most common safety measure needed was the ability to operate in a mountain or alpine environment. Our findings support the safety relevance of a national standard for rescuers.

Quality management of helicopter emergency medical service for critically ill patients / 中国基层医药

Public health emergencies have occurred frequently in recent years, with the characteristics of difficult rescue and a complex environment. Helicopter emergency medical service is an effective way to deal with catastrophic events. The service can effectively shorten the transfer time taken for patient transfer between hospitals, directly send patients to the hospitals that meet requirements for clinical treatment, and avoid the possible delayed treatment caused by a secondary transfer. Helicopter emergency medical service in China is still in its infancy, and there are various problems in the actual operation. Strict whole process quality management is needed to achieve the expected outcome. The paper reviews the current situation of helicopter rescue for critically ill patients in China and suggests a set of quality management schemes (including base construction, rescue equipment allocation, rescue personnel selection, rescue system construction, and on-site rescue procedure standardization). Findings from this paper hope to provide evidence for the development of aviation rescue in China. This study is innovative and scientific.

[Progress of traumatic stress disorder in emergency rescue workers].

Emergency rescue workers are the high risk group of traumatic stress disorder. A large number of intervention studies on traumatic stress disorder have been carried out at home and abroad, but there are few applied researches on the emergency rescue population. As an occupational hazard faced by the emergency rescue population, traumatic stress disorder has not attracted enough attention. In this paper, the psychological intervention, drug intervention, psychological training and social support were reviewed.

Preparação do enfermeiro para o atendimento í múltiplas ví­timas no resgate aéreo / Preparation of nurses to meet multiple victims in air recue

Objetivo: Caracterizar a atuação do enfermeiro de bordo, com ênfase no atendimento à múltiplas vítimas. Metodologia: Estudo exploratório e qualitativo. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de questionários semiestruturados, aplicados nosenfermeiros debordo em Belo Horizonte/MG. Utilizada a técnica metodológica de Bola de Neve (Snowball Sampling) e analisesob o conteúdo de Laurence Bardin. Resultado: Dos enfermeiros atuantes no resgate aéreo, que aceitaram participar, a maioria são do sexo masculino, possuem a renda familiar média de nove salários mínimos, mais de um vínculo empregatício, experiência média de seis anos. A partir da análise dos dados, as categorias elencadas foram: Atendimento Sistematizado e Capacitação Aeromédica. Conclusão: É preciso reconhecer o papel do enfermeiro no atendimento as vítimas no resgate aeromédico. Vale ressaltar a importância da capacitação para alcançar a excelência, no ambiente hostil confinado.(AU)

Objective: To characterize the role of the nurse on board, with an emphasis on attending to multiple wounds. Methodology: Exploratory and qualitative study. Data were obtained through semi-structured, scientific questionnaires on board nurses in Belo Horizonte / MG. The Snowball methodological technique was used and analyzed under the content of Laurence Bardin. Result: Of the nurses working in the air rescue, who agreed to participate: the majority are male, have an average family income of nine relative, more than one job, average experience of six years. From the analysis of the data, according to the categories listed were: Systematized Service and Aeromedical Training. Conclusion: It is necessary to recognize the role of the nurse in the care aswounds in the aeromedical rescue. It is worth emphasizing the importance of training to achieve excellence in a confined hostile environment.(AU)

Objetivo: Caracterizar a atuação do enfermeiro de bordo, com ênfase no atendimento à múltiplas vítimas. Metodologia: Estudo exploratório e qualitativo. Os dados foram obtidos por meio de questionários semiestruturados, aplicados nosenfermeiros debordo em Belo Horizonte/MG. Utilizada a técnica metodológica de Bola de Neve (Snowball Sampling) e analisesob o conteúdo de Laurence Bardin. Resultado: Dos enfermeiros atuantes no resgate aéreo, que aceitaram participar, a maioria são do sexo masculino, possuem a renda familiar média de nove salários mínimos, mais de um vínculo empregatício, experiência média de seis anos. A partir da análise dos dados, as categorias elencadas foram: Atendimento Sistematizado e Capacitação Aeromédica. Conclusão: É preciso reconhecer o papel do enfermeiro no atendimento as vítimas no resgate aeromédico. Vale ressaltar a importância da capacitação para alcançar a excelência, no ambiente hostil confinado.(AU)

Assessment of military preparedness for naturogenic threat: the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic.

This article deals with the provision of cooperation of the Army of the Czech Republic with other units of rescue teams in the implementation of rescue and liquidation work in the regions of the Czech Republic in non-military crisis situations. At the present time of the global pandemic of covid-19 and the associated mass deployment of forces and resources of the primary and secondary units of the rescue system, the required effective cooperation in practice has proved necessary. The paper deals with the analysis of emergency management in a state of emergency in order to contribute to the improvement of civil-military cooperation. Based on the results of the research survey, the authors proposed evaluation criteria for determining the level of emergency preparedness of the forces and resources of the Army of the Czech Republic.

Motociclista de urgência e emergência: reflexo dos desafios diários no atendimento pré-hospitalar / Urgency and emergency motorcyclist: a reflection of the daily challenges in prehospital care / Motociclista de emergencia y emergencia: reflejo de los desafíos diarios en la atención prehospitalaria

Objetivo: analisar e discutir as dificuldades, os riscos ocupacionais e os possíveis desafios e frustrações dos motociclistas que atuam no atendimento pré-hospitalar no serviço de urgência e emergência do Distrito Federal. Método: estudo descritivo e exploratório, de abordagem quantitativa, mediado por pesquisa de campo. Resultados: foram investigados dois grupos - A, com 33 profissionais, e B, com 18 profissionais. No grupo A, são 26 técnicos em enfermagem e 5 enfermeiros, com média de atuação de 10,6 anos, visto serem servidores estatutários, com idade média de 38 anos e tempo de motolância de 5,4 anos. No grupo B, todos são militares de carreira e combatentes, com média de 34,9 anos de idade, 11,2 anos de tempo de militar e de 5,1 anos de serviço de motorresgate. Conclusão: é visível que as atividades desempenhadas pelas equipes são divergentes do ponto de vista operacional e técnico. A formação do enfermeiro colaborador e educador torna-se relevante para a educação continuada dos profissionais que atuam no atendimento pré-hospitalar, sendo assim, é necessário refletir sobre as dificuldades vivenciadas no dia a dia desses profissionais e estratégias e ações precisam ser elaboradas para auxiliar no suporte de enfrentamento de seus desafios diários vivenciados

Objective: to analyze and discuss the difficulties, occupational risks and the possible challenges and frustrations of motorcyclists who work in pre-hospital care in the urgency and emergency service of the Federal District. Method: descriptive and exploratory study, with a quantitative approach, mediated by field research. Results: two groups were investigated - A, with 33 professionals, and B, with 18 professionals. In group A, there are 26 nursing technicians and 5 nurses, with an average of 10.6 years of experience, as they are statutory servants, with an average age of 38 years and a motorcycle driving time of 5.4 years. In group B, all are career soldiers and combatants, with an average of 34.9 years of age, 11.2 years of military experience and 5.1 years of motor-rescue service. Conclusion: it is visible that the activities performed by the teams are divergent from an operational and technical point of view. The training of collaborative nurses and educators becomes relevant for the continuing education of professionals working in pre-hospital care, therefore, it is necessary to reflect on the difficulties experienced in the daily lives of these professionals, also strategies and actions need to be developed to help in support of coping with their experienced daily challenges.

Objetivo: analizar y discutir las dificultades, riesgos laborales y los posibles desafíos y frustraciones de los motociclistas que laboran en la atención prehospitalaria en el servicio de urgencia y emergencia del Distrito Federal. Método: estudio descriptivo y exploratorio, con enfoque cuantitativo, mediado por investigación de campo. Resultados: se investigaron dos grupos: A, con 33 profesionales, y B, con 18 profesionales. En el grupo A, hay 26 técnicos de enfermería y 5 enfermeros, con una media de 10,6 años de experiencia, por ser servidores estatutarios, con una edad media de 38 años y un tiempo de conducción en motocicleta de 5,4 años. En el grupo B, todos son soldados y combatientes de carrera, con un promedio de 34,9 años de edad, 11,2 años de experiencia militar y 5,1 años de servicio de rescate motorizado. Conclusión: es visible que las actividades realizadas por los equipos son divergentes desde el punto de vista operativo y técnico. La formación de enfermeros y educadores colaborativos cobra relevancia para la formación continua de los profesionales que laboran en la atención prehospitalaria, por ello, es necesario reflexionar sobre las dificultades que viven en el día a día de estos profesionales, además de desarrollar estrategias y acciones para ayuda en apoyo para hacer frente a sus experimentados desafíos diarios.

High Tensile Strength Increases Multifunctional Use of Survival Blankets in Wilderness Emergencies.

INTRODUCTION: Metallic survival blankets are multifunctional medical devices frequently used to provide thermal insulation in sport and leisure activities and in emergency care. To assess further properties of survival blankets, we investigated their breaking strength under laboratory conditions. METHODS: An experimental study was performed with 2 commercially available survival blankets used by emergency medical services. Breaking strength measured with a tensile testing machine was determined consecutively with 10 tests conducted per brand. RESULTS: Breaking strength (mean±SD) of the tested brands was 3.8±0.4 kN, (range: 2.8-4.1 kN) and 4.0±0.5 kN (range: 3.2-4.6 kN). When using the windlass of a commercially available tourniquet for the longitudinally folded survival blanket, the windlass bent at a force of 0.8 kN; when using a carabiner, the force exceeded 3.6 kN before failure occurred in both blanket brands. CONCLUSIONS: Both brands of survival blankets show impressive tensile strength, indicating that they have the potential to serve as temporary pelvic binders or even as makeshift tourniquets when urgent bleeding control is needed.

Time Course of Hoist Operations by the Search and Rescue Helicopter Service in Southeast Norway.

INTRODUCTION: Optimal dispatch of emergency medical services relies on accurate time estimates of the various prehospital stages. Hoist rescue work time intervals performed by the search and rescue (SAR) helicopter service in Norway have not been studied to date. We aimed to describe the epidemiologic, operational, and medical aspects of the SAR service in southeast Norway. To complement the prehospital timeline, we performed simulated hoist operations. METHODS: We reviewed time and patient descriptors and medical interventions in hoist operations performed at a SAR base over 5 y. In addition, a simulation study measuring hoist rescue time intervals was performed. Data are presented as mean±SD, except National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) scores, which are presented as modes. RESULTS: There were 148 hoist operations performed during the study period, involving 180 patients. Time to take-off was 13±7 min. There were 88 patients (49%) who were injured; 53 (29%) had a medical condition, and 39 (22%) were evacuees. The mode of the NACA score was 3. Forty-five patients (25%) had an NACA score of 4 to 6. Medical interventions were performed on 77 patients (43%) in 73 operations (49%). Nine patients (5%) were endotracheally intubated, and 1 thoracostomy was performed. The simulated rescuer access time was 4±2 min, the simulated anesthesiologist access time was 6±2 min, and the simulated hoist extrication time was 13±2 min. CONCLUSIONS: Hoist rescue was performed in 10% (n=148) of the SAR operations. New information about hoist extrication time intervals can improve rescue helicopter dispatch accuracy.

Public perception towards bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

OBJECTIVE: Bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) improves survival and neurological outcomes. Nonetheless, many OHCA patients do not receive bystander CPR during a witnessed arrest. Our aim was to identify potential barriers to bystander CPR. METHODS: Participants at CPR training events conducted in the USA between February and May 2018 answered a 14-question survey prior to training. Respondents were asked about their overall comfort level performing CPR, and about potential concerns specific to performing CPR on a middle-aged female, a geriatric male, and male and female adolescent patients. Open-ended responses were analysed qualitatively by categorising responses into themes. RESULTS: Of the 677 participants, 582 (86.0%) completed the survey, with 509 (88.1%) between 18 and 29 years of age, 341 (58.6%) without prior CPR training and 556 (96.0%) without prior CPR experience. Across all four scenarios of patients in cardiac arrest, less than 65% of respondents reported that they would be 'Extremely Likely' (20.6%-29.1%) or 'Moderately Likely' (26.9%-34.8%) to initiate CPR. The leading concerns were 'causing injury to patient' for geriatric (n=193, 63.1%), female (n=51, 20.5%) and adolescent (n=148, 50.9%) patients. Lack of appropriate skills was the second leading concern when the victim was a geriatric (n=41, 13.4%) or adolescent (n=68, 23.4%) patient, whereas for female patients, 35 (14.1%) were concerned about exposing the patient or the patient's breasts interfering with performance of CPR and 15 (6.0%) were concerned about being accused of sexual assault. Significant differences were observed in race, ethnicity and age regarding the likelihood of starting to perform CPR on female and adolescent patients. CONCLUSIONS: Participants at CPR training events have multiple concerns and fears related to performing bystander CPR. Causing additional harm and lack of skills were among the leading reservations reported. These findings should be considered for improved CPR training and public education.

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Mental Distress Following the 2004 and 2005 Florida Hurricanes.

OBJECTIVE: Community characteristics, such as perceived collective efficacy, a measure of community strength, can affect mental health outcomes following disasters. We examined the association of perceived collective efficacy with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and frequent mental distress (14 or more mentally unhealthy days in the past month) following exposure to the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. METHODS: Participants were 1486 Florida Department of Health workers who completed anonymous questionnaires that were distributed electronically 9 months after the 2005 hurricane season. Participant ages ranged from 20 to 79 years (mean, 48; SD, 10.7), and the majority were female (79%), white (75%), and currently married (64%). Fifty percent had a BA/BS degree or higher. RESULTS: In 2 separate logistic regression models, each adjusted for individual sociodemographics, community socioeconomic characteristics, individual injury/damage, and community storm damage, lower perceived collective efficacy was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of having PTSD (OR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.90-0.96), and lower collective efficacy was significantly associated with frequent mental distress (OR, 0.94; 95% CI, 0.92-0.96). CONCLUSIONS: Programs enhancing community collective efficacy may be a significant part of prevention practices and possibly lead to a reduction in the rate of PTSD and persistent distress postdisaster. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:44-52).

119 Rescue team's awareness of anaphylaxis and asthma exacerbation in Gyeonggi-do province of Korea: Before and after education

PURPOSE: Anaphylaxis and asthma exacerbation could be life-threatening medical emergencies. The 119 (911 in the United States) rescue teams are at the forefront of such emergency conditions. Early recognition and proper prehospital management by 119 rescuers are important. We evaluated the awareness of 119 rescuers of anaphylaxis and asthma exacerbation in Korea. METHODS: Between May 17 and June 28 of 2018, a total of 180 rescuers were recruited from Gyeonggi-do province, Korea. The 90-minute educational sessions on anaphylaxis and asthma exacerbation were provided by an allergy specialist, which included some lectures and a hands-on workshop on self-injectable epinephrine autoinjector. A questionnaire survey with the same content was performed before and after education to assess the improvement in awareness. It had 2 domains: anaphylaxis awareness and asthma awareness. RESULTS: After education, awareness score for anaphylaxis increased from an average of 3.1 (51.7%) to 5.5 (91.7%). Particularly, the effect of education on the use of epinephrine, the most crucial treatment for anaphylaxis, was greatest. The awareness score for asthma after education increased from an average of 21.3 (78.9%) to 25.1 (93%). The effect of education on treatment and management of asthma was greatest. CONCLUSION: The 119 rescuers could be the first medical personnel at the forefront of anaphylaxis and asthma exacerbation. Hence, it is important to increase their awareness of anaphylaxis and asthma exacerbation. A simple educational activity can dramatically change the level of awareness.

Evacuation of Swedish survivors after the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami: The survivors' perspective and symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

AIMS: Following the 2004 Southeast Asian tsunami, Swedish authorities received public criticism for slow implementation of rescue work. Meanwhile, data are scarce on survivors' perspectives and potential mental health symptoms associated with timing of evacuation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate survivors' contentment with evacuation time and whether duration at disaster site following the 2004 tsunami was associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and psychological morbidity. METHODS: Of 10,116 Swedish tsunami survivors who returned to Sweden in the first 3 weeks post tsunami, 4910 (49%) answered a questionnaire 14 months later including questions on evacuation time, contentment with evacuation time and PTSS (Impact of Event Scale). We used logistic regression to calculate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of PTSS by timing of evacuation adjusting for gender, age, education, various indicators of trauma exposure and pre-tsunami psychiatric diagnoses. RESULTS: More than half of the survivors (53%) were content with evacuation time while 33% wanted later evacuation and 13% earlier evacuation. Compared with those evacuated 14-21 days post tsunami, individuals evacuated at day 1-4 presented with increased odds of PTSS (crude OR 3.0, 95% CI 2.0-4.5; and multivariable adjusted OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.3-3.0) and impaired mental health (crude OR 1.7, 95% CI 1.2-2.4; and multivariable adjusted OR 1.4 95% CI 1.0-2.0). CONCLUSIONS: One-third of Swedish tsunami survivors preferred a later evacuation from disaster sites. These findings call for further studies, with prospective designs, to disentangle the causal direction of the association between evacuation time and PTSS.