European survey on training objectives in disaster medicine

Area of Science:

• Disaster Medicine Training
• Emergency Preparedness
• Medical Simulation

Background:

• The Interactive Simulation Exercise for Emergencies (I SEE) project, funded by the European Commission, aimed to improve emergency response training.
• A gap existed in understanding the specific needs of various target groups (physicians, nurses, etc.) for disaster exercises.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess preferred disaster scenarios and essential tasks for emergency training exercises.
• To describe the current state of computer-based training in disaster medicine within European training centers.

Main Methods:

• A validated questionnaire was distributed to European training centers across partner countries.
• Interviews were conducted with training personnel.
• Data analysis involved descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and the Kruskal-Wallis test.

Main Results:

• Major road traffic accidents combined with chemical incidents were the top-ranked scenario (36.4%).
• Priorities for training included medical coordination, on-site management, alert procedures, needs assessment, resource management, and victim transport.
• 27% of institutions utilized computer-based training, with 23% planning future implementation.

Conclusions:

• European training centers favor mass casualty scenarios for disaster medicine education.
• Prehospital medical care and management are key training priorities.
• The I SEE project will create a template and pilot exercise for team training across participating countries.