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Medical support for children's mass gatherings
Andreas R Thierbach1, Benno B Wolcke, Tim Piepho
1Clinic of Anesthesiology, Clinic of Pediatrics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Mainz, Germany. Thierbac@mail.uni-mainz.de
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
|December 26, 2003
Summary
Medical care at a children's fun fair primarily addressed minor injuries and issues, with a low rate of serious trauma. Planning for mass gathering medical services should account for unaccompanied minors and a high volume of afternoon patient contacts.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Emergency Medicine
- Public Health
- Event Medicine
Background:
- Mass gatherings pose unique challenges for medical care planning due to increased risk of injuries and disasters.
- Evaluating medical services at large-scale events is crucial for optimizing resource allocation and patient outcomes.
- A television-sponsored fun fair for approximately 100,000 children served as the setting for this study.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the level and quality of medical care provided at a mass gathering event.
- To analyze patient demographics, chief complaints, and treatment modalities during the event.
- To provide data-driven recommendations for future mass gathering medical planning.
Main Methods:
- Patient contacts were systematically documented using printed forms, capturing demographics, escort status, time of contact, diagnoses, therapies, and discharge information.
- Data were subsequently coded, transferred to a computer database, and analyzed using descriptive statistics.
- The study analyzed 192 patient encounters over a nine-hour period at the fun fair.
Main Results:
- The overall patient encounter rate was 19.2 per 10,000 spectators.
- Minor trauma (53.6%) and minor medical issues (10.9%) were the most frequent complaints; 85.4% of patients were treated in under 10 minutes.
- Twenty percent of children under 10 required medical attention without an adult escort, and 75% of contacts occurred in the afternoon.
Conclusions:
- The majority of medical needs at the fun fair were minor, but preparedness for serious emergencies and major trauma is essential for event medical teams.
- Medical services should anticipate that up to 33% of children may seek assistance unaccompanied by adults.
- Future planning should consider the specific demographic (children) and the temporal distribution of patient contacts (afternoon peak).