Citation

Gross IT, Goldberg SA, Whitfill T, Liebling S, Garcia A, Alfano A, Hasdianda A, Cicero MX. Disaster Med. Public Health Prep. 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/dmp.2020.10

PMID

32172716

Abstract

Members of an emergency department (ED) staff need to be prepared for mass casualty incidents (MCIs) at all times. Didactic sessions, drills, and functional exercises have shown to be effective, but it is challenging to find time and resources for appropriate training. We conducted brief, task-specific drills (deemed "disaster huddles") in a pediatric ED (PED) to examine if such an approach could be an alternative or supplement to traditional MCI training paradigms. Over the course of the study, we observed an improving trend in the overall score for administrative disaster preparedness. Disaster huddles may be an effective way to improve administrative disaster preparedness in the PED. Low-effort, low-time commitment education could be an attractive way for further disaster preparedness efforts. Further studies are indicated to show a potential impact on lasting behavior and patient outcomes.

Language: en

Keywords

disaster medicine; disaster preparedness; drill; exercise