On the Issue of Special Exercises in the Counterterrorism System Involving Specialists of Health Care Management Bodies, Medical Formations and Organizations

Abstract

The objectives of the study are to analyze the experience of exercises conducted in the counter-terrorism system by specialists of the regional Disaster Medicine Service, to identify key organizational issues of preparation and implementation of exercises; to develop proposals for their improvement in the subject of elimination of medical and sanitary consequences of terrorist acts committed with the use of conventional means of destruction. Materials and research methods. Sources of information and materials studied: normative and methodological documents regulating the procedures of organizing and conducting military training in the field of healthcare; materials of trainings performed by specialists from regional EMC on the subject of organizing the liquidation of medical and sanitary consequences of terrorist acts; data from expert evaluation maps on the subject of the study; scientific papers and publications on technologies of training and exercises involving specialists from healthcare management bodies, medical units and organizations. The following scientific methods were used in the research: content analysis method, expert assessment method, statistical method, logical and informational modeling, and analytical method. Results of research and their analysis. The results of the study of basic organizational issues of preparing and conducting special exercises (command-staff exercise, staff training, tactical and special exercises) conducted in the regions with the participation of specialists of public health authorities, medical formations and organizations within the framework of counter-terrorism are presented. Sound proposals were made to improve the technology of preparing and conducting special exercises and communicating their results to medical specialists. The results of the study showed that almost all the experts (98.0%) were in full agreement with the need, in order to maintain and increase the preparedness of health care authorities, medical organizations, including emergency medical care and the Disaster Medicine Service, to conduct regional trainings on the subject of medical support of the population during terrorist acts. And only 2.0% of the experts had difficulty in formulating a specific conclusion on this issue.