Document Type : Original Article
Authors
- . Mehdi Beyramijam 1
- . Mehrdad Farrokhi 1
- . Abbas Ebadi 2
- . Gholamreza Masoumi 3
- . Hamid Reza Khankeh 4
1 Health in Emergency and Disaster Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran
2 Behavioral Sciences Research Center, Life Style Institute, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran, Nursing Faculty, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Scienses, Tehran, Iran
3 Health in Emergency and Disaster Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Emergency Management Research Center, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
4 Health in Emergency and Disaster Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Abstract
The Emergency Medical Services (EMSs) are in the frontline between the health-care systems and
people in emergencies and disasters. With the increase in the frequency of natural or man-made
disasters around the world, the need for prepared EMS services is increasing. This study aimed to
evaluate the current disaster preparedness status of the EMS agencies in the literature and exploring
the key preparedness elements and the strategies to improve the EMS disaster preparedness. The
electronic database such as PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar was searched
from 2000 to 2019. The searching keywords included: “EMS,” “Disaster,” “Preparedness,” “Emergency”
“Preparedness,” “Disaster Preparedness,” “Readiness,” and the terms related to “disaster types” were
used in combination with Boolean operators OR and AND. Out of 1412 articles, 7 articles were
included in the review. The most important elements of the EMS disaster preparedness include the
size and scope of the incident, surge capacity, planning, communication, training and education,
policymaking, financial support, coordination, safety and security, early warning system, disaster
response experience, and legal considerations. This systematic review showed that the EMS agencies
in the world generally are inadequately prepared for an effective response to major emergencies and
disasters. This study provides valuable information to EMS educators, EMS administrators to adopt
and perform appropriate activities to improve the EMS disaster preparedness.
Keywords
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