Citation

Disaster Med. Public Health Prep. 2021; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Publisher Cambridge University Press)

DOI

10.1017/dmp.2021.326

PMID

34812132

Abstract

In Japan, despite its private-dominant and disjointed health-care system, national initiatives to coordinate various types of health-care facilities are lacking. Municipal governments manage this task with limited resources. This study describes a successful example of a bottom-up approach to create city-wide collaboration for disaster preparedness. In Minato City, located in central Tokyo, a group of physicians created a project involving a city-wide disaster medical care drill. The city Public Health Center, in charge of health-care systems including disaster medicine, helped the group to increase proponents of the project. The city-wide disaster drill started in November 2017; thereafter, the drills were held every year. Participation in drills by various health-care personnel helped establish a city-wide system for disaster medical care, coordination mechanisms among stakeholders, increased motivation among health-care personnel, and development of in-hospital systems. This approach is flexible and applicable to various forms of health-care systems in other areas.

Language: en

Keywords

disaster drills; disaster medicine; health-care coalition; private sector; Tokyo