Improving Pediatric Administrative Disaster Preparedness Through Simulated Disaster Huddles

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-speci...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Disaster medicine and public health preparedness 2021-06, Vol.15 (3), p.352-357
Main Authors: Gross, Isabel T., Goldberg, Scott A., Whitfill, Travis, Liebling, Storm, Garcia, Angelica, Alfano, April, Hasdianda, Adrian, Cicero, Mark X.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Confidence intervals
Disasters
Emergency preparedness
Pediatrics
Regression analysis
Simulation
Training
Workforce planning
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Summary: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.
ISSN:1935-7893
1938-744X
DOI:10.1017/dmp.2020.10