An Analysis of Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) Deployments in the United States

Mace, Sharon E.; Jones, Jaszmine T; Bern, Andrew

doi:10.1080/10903120601023396

Cited by 24 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(3 reference statements)

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“…In recent years, DMATs have been called on to respond to a growing number of water-related disasters, consistent with the climate change trend of more frequent severe precipitation events. 126 The NDMS's role was apparent in the response to Hurricane Katrina, as was the role of EM in general, as noted above.…”

Section: Effects On Em's Prehospital Mission: Ems and Disaster Responsementioning

confidence: 87%

Climate Change and Emergency Medicine: Impacts and Opportunities

Hess

Heilpern

Davis

et al. 2009

Academic Emergency Medicine

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There is scientific consensus that the climate is changing, that human activity plays a major role, and that the changes will continue through this century. Expert consensus holds that significant health effects are very likely. Public health and health care systems must understand these impacts to properly pursue preparedness and prevention activities. All of medicine will very likely be affected, and certain medical specialties are likely to be more significantly burdened based on their clinical activity, ease of public access, public health roles, and energy use profiles. These specialties have been called on to consider the likely impacts on their patients and practice and to prepare their practitioners. Emergency medicine (EM), with its focus on urgent and emergent ambulatory care, role as a safety-net provider, urban concentration, and broad-based clinical mission, will very likely experience a significant rise in demand for its services over and above current annual increases. Clinically, EM will see amplification of weather-related disease patterns and shifts in disease distribution. In EM's prehospital care and disaster response activities, both emergency medical services (EMS) activity and disaster medical assistance team (DMAT) deployment activities will likely increase. EM's public health roles, including disaster preparedness, emergency department (ED)-based surveillance, and safety-net care, are likely to face increasing demands, along with pressures to improve fuel efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, EM's roles in ED and hospital management, particularly related to building and purchasing, are likely to be impacted by efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance energy efficiency. Climate change thus presents multiple clinical and public health challenges to EM, but also creates numerous opportunities for research, education, and leadership on an emerging health issue of global scope. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2009; 16:782-794 ª 2009 by the Society for Academic Emergency MedicineKeywords: emergency medicine, emergency services, hospital, emergency medical services, disaster planning, climate, weather, greenhouse effect, health policy T here is abundant evidence and clear consensus among climate scientists that human activity is changing the world's climate. Lay opinion in the United States has begun to reflect this concern. Projections for future climate change include a global average surface temperature rise of 1.8 to 4.0°C, sea level rise of 0.18 to 0.59 m, and significantly increased weather variability.1 These changes will very likely have net negative health effects through a range of direct and indirect exposures, both globally and in the United States, and place greater demands on acute care, disaster response, and public health services. 2,3 These increased demands are likely to burden health care generally and emergency medicine (EM) in several areas specifically. EM's clinical care mission is very likely to be influenced as the populations at gre...

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Section: Effects On Em's Prehospital Mission: Ems and Disaster Responsementioning

confidence: 87%

Climate Change and Emergency Medicine: Impacts and Opportunities

Hess

Heilpern

Davis

et al. 2009

Academic Emergency Medicine

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“…According to Briere and Elliott (2000), in the United States the most prevalent natural disaster has been an earthquake and the least prevalent a hurricane. However, recent tracking of Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) indicated that of late, the response to hurricanes is rising (FEMA, 2003;Mace, Jones, & Bern, 2007). While there is no U.S. region considered disaster-free, the South and the West reported the most events.…”

Section: Prevalencementioning

confidence: 99%

How Individuals With Chronic Illnesses Manage Health-Related Concerns During Disasters: Development of a Theoretical Framework

Owens

2011

West J Nurs Res

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Disaster preparedness frequently does not address populations less able to prepare for disaster such as those with chronic illness. Although individuals with chronic illnesses are at particular risk of poor outcomes, little is known about how these individuals manage their illnesses in the context of disaster. The purpose of the study is to develop a theoretical framework that describes how individuals with chronic illnesses who have experienced a disaster managed health-related challenges during the disaster. Theory about the five phases of disaster response (nondisaster, predisaster, impact, emergency, and reconstruction) and the individual, local, state, and federal level model served as the conceptual frameworks for this study. Thirty individuals with chronic illnesses who have experienced disaster and 10 lay caregivers were recruited from Florida and New Orleans. This study is using grounded theory methods from the qualitative tradition. Three data sources are being used: interviews with individuals with chronic illnesses and caregivers who have experienced disasters, and media data. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the sample. The combined interviews from the perspectives of those who have experienced disaster (individuals with chronic illness and caregivers) with media reports added contextual description of circumstances surrounding the disaster. Constant comparative analysis techniques are being used to build the theoretical framework. MNRS PhD Student Award Abstractat UNIV OF MASSACHUSETTS on April 9, 2015 wjn.sagepub.com Downloaded from

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“…In the US, the DMATs also have been deployed for humanmade disasters including fires, 13 as well as terrorist attacks. 14 Japenese DMATs currently are expected to be deployed mainly for natural events such as earthquakes.…”

Section: Future Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…12 In the US, the DMATs are deployed to a variety of events, including many cases of slow-onset disasters such as floods. 13 In contrast, Japanese DMATs are small-scale and mobile. These small-scale teams are best suited for coping with the intense demands during the acute phase of disasters.…”

Section: Acknowledgementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Establishing Disaster Medical Assistance Teams in Japan

Kondo

Koido

Morino

et al. 2009

Prehosp. Disaster med.

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Introduction: The large number casualties caused by the 1995 Great Hanshin and Awaji Earthquake created a massive demand for medical care. However, as area hospitals also were damaged by the earthquake, they were unable to perform their usual functions. Therefore, the care capacity was reduced greatly. Thus, the needs to: (1) transport a large number of injured and ill people out of the disaster-affected area; and (2) dispatch medical teams to perform such wide-area transfers were clear. The need for trained medical teams to provide medical assistance also was made clear after the Niigata-ken Chuetsu Earthquake in 2004. Therefore, the Japanese government decided to establish Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs), as "mobile, trained medical teams that rapidly can be deployed during the acute phase of a sudden-onset disaster". Disaster Medical Assistance Teams have been established in much of Japan. The provision of emergency relief and medical care and the enhancement and promotion of DMATs for wide-area deployments during disasters were incorporated formally in the Basic Plan for Disaster Prevention in its July 2005 amendment. Results: The essential points pertaining to DMATs were summarized as a set of guidelines for DMAT deployment. These were based on the results of research funded by a Health and Labour Sciences research grant from the, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) of the Ministry of Health. The guidelines define the basic procedures for DMAT activities-for example: (1) the activities are to be based on agreements concluded between prefectures and medical institutions during non-emergency times; and (2) deployment is based on requests from disaster-affected prefectures and the basic roles of prefectures and the MHLW.The guidelines also detail DMAT activities at the disaster scene of the, support from medical institutions, and transportation assistance including "wide-area" medical transport activities, such as medical treatment in staging care units and the implementation of medical treatment onboard aircraft. Conclusions: Japan's DMATs are small-scale units that are designed to be suitable for responding to the demands of acute emergencies. Further issues to be examined in relation to DMATs include expanding their application to all prefectures, and systems to facilitate continuous education and training. http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Kondo, Koido, Morino, et al 557 http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Kondo, Koido, Morino, et al http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Kondo, Koido, Morino, et al http://pdm.medicine.wisc.edu Prehospital and Disaster Medicine Kondo, Koido, Morino, et al

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An Analysis of Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) Deployments in the United States

Cited by 24 publications

References 10 publications

Climate Change and Emergency Medicine: Impacts and Opportunities

Climate Change and Emergency Medicine: Impacts and Opportunities

How Individuals With Chronic Illnesses Manage Health-Related Concerns During Disasters: Development of a Theoretical Framework

Establishing Disaster Medical Assistance Teams in Japan

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