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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

The St Croix disaster and the National Disaster Medical System.

The National Disaster Medical System was designed to respond to a catastrophic disaster by creating a group of specially trained civilian disaster medical assistance teams. The teams would be transported to the periphery of the event to triage, stabilize, and then prepare victims for evacuation to facilities elsewhere in the United States that have agreed in advance to accept such patients. Hurricane Hugo's devastation in St Croix offered the first opportunity to test the system. The event was an example of a type of medical disaster that resulted in a sudden reduction in medical resources without a great increase in casualties. Background information and operation of the New Mexico disaster medical assistance team are presented with a clinical profile of the patients seen during the disaster. We describe the first actual deployment of a disaster medical assistance team and the issues that must be addressed before future deployments.

Disaster Planning↗
PubMed1987

Catastrophic disasters and the design of disaster medical care systems.

The National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) is aimed at medical care needs resulting from catastrophic earthquakes, which may cause thousands of deaths and injuries. Other geophysical events may cause great mortality, but leave few injured survivors. Weather incidents, technological disasters, and common mass casualty incidents cause much less mortality and morbidity. Catastrophic disasters overwhelm the local medical care system. Supplemental care is provided by disaster relief forces; this care should be adapted to prevalent types of injuries. Most care should be provided at the disaster scene through supplemental medical facilities, while some can be provided by evacuating patients to distant hospitals. Medical response teams capable of stabilizing, sorting, and holding victims should staff supplemental medical facilities. The NDMS program includes hospital facilities, evacuation assets, and medical response teams. The structure and capabilities of these elements are determined by the medical care needs of the catastrophic disaster situation.

Disasters↗
PubMed1991

Psychological impairment in the wake of disaster: the disaster-psychopathology relationship.

The present review examines the relationship between disaster occurrence and psychopathology outcome for 52 studies that used quantitative measures of such a relationship. Descriptive and inferential techniques were used to examine relationships among four sets of variables: (a) the characteristics of the victim population, (b) the characteristics of the disaster, (c) study methodology, and (d) the type of psychopathology. A small but consistently positive relationship between disasters and psychopathology was found. The distribution of effect-size estimates was significantly heterogeneous, and this heterogeneity was partially accounted for by methodological characteristics of the research. When controlling for methodology, victim and disaster characteristics also contributed variance to the disaster-psychopathology relationship. Implications for future research are outlined in view of these results.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Long-term psychiatric morbidity after a natural disaster. Implications for disaster planners and emergency services.

The prevalence and longitudinal course of post-traumatic stress disorder were studied in a group of 459 firefighters who were exposed to the Ash Wednesday bushfires in South Australia. The main finding, that the level of morbidity four months after the disaster remained almost unchanged at 29 months, indicates the long-term nature of post-traumatic stress disorder. Twenty-nine months after the fire, 21% of the firefighters were continuing to experience imagery of the disaster, in a way that interfered with their lives. The failure of present disaster management plans to recognize the psychological impact of natural disasters and the long-term nature of post-traumatic stress disorder is emphasized, and the need for preventive mental health programmes to minimize such morbidity in the future is discussed.

Australia↗
PubMed1990

[The dentist as an expert in disasters: dental identification in the disasters with the Zeebrugge ferry].

The Herald of Free Enterprise Disaster on the 6th of March 1987 just outside Zeebrugge harbour was without any doubt a disaster of major proportions. The ferry disaster highlighted different approaches in major incident procedures in both countries involved but nevertheless the identification team which was composed of both British and Belgian specialists did perform good work. The identification of the victims had to be done in three phases each of them with its own specific work and problems. As the process of identification of bodies is an exacting science, and forensic odontology is known to be among the most reliable scientific methods in mass disasters, it is easily understood that forensic odontology took an active part in all three phases of the identification process.

Denture Identification Marking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Definition and classification of disasters: introduction of a disaster severity scale.

In disaster medicine, a meaningful definition of the word disaster is lacking. A simple definition, using only two criteria, is proposed. Added to this, a classification scheme is formulated. Based on this definition and classification, a disaster severity scale is introduced. The methodology used is described, and the significance of these proposals is discussed.

Disaster Planning↗
PubMed1991

The psychological effects of disaster work: implications for disaster planning.

The paper focuses on the psychological consequences of disaster work. The issue of identifying staff who may be more vulnerable to psychological distress is discussed as is the need for services to plan psychological screening and support for staff who will be exposed to the trauma of dealing with the aftermath of disasters. It is concluded that active steps need to be taken to incorporate psychological aspects into disaster planning. Specifically, attention should be paid to staff selection, training, use of resources, supervision, debriefing, counselling and feedback.

Counseling↗
PubMed1976

Medical planning for disaster in Israel. Evaluation of the military surgical experience in the October 1973 War, and implications for the organization of the civilian disaster services.

During its 27 years of existence, Israel has experienced four wars and dozens of mass casualty situations from various causes. This experience has led to the development of a plan for the management of mass casualties. This plan was put to the test in the October War of 1973 and proved successful. Although disasters and procedures vary widely in time and location certain principles of organization and management apply to most of them. In this paper the organization of the evacuation and management of the casualties in the October War is evaluated and its implications in the organization of civilian disaster services discussed.

Civil Disorders↗
PubMed1976

Disaster at Buffalo Creek. Children of disaster: clinical observations at Buffalo Creek.

Most of the 224 children who were survivor-plaintiffs of the Buffalo Creek disaster were emotionally impaired by their experiences. The major factors contributing to this impairment were the child's developmental level at the time of the flood, his perceptions of the reactions of his family, and his direct exposures to the disaster. The author focuses on children under 12, describing their responses to fantasy-eliciting techniques and their observed behavior after the flood compared with developmental norms for their age and reports of their previous behavior. These children share a modified sense of reality, increased vulnerability to future stresses, altered senses of the power of the self, and early awareness of fragmentation and death. These factors could lead to "after-trauma" in later life if they cannot make the necessary adaptations and/or do not receive special help to deal with the traumas.

Child↗
PubMed1976

Disaster at Buffalo Creek. Discussion of the Buffalo Creek disaster: the course of psychic trauma.

The specific contribution of the psychiatrist to the team study of the human disaster at Buffalo Creek focuses on the course of psychic trauma. The initial violent intrusion by the flood waters was followed by a second phase of the traumatic cycle, the physical dislocation of the survivors, with disruption of their "ground" and "surround." During this long subsequent period the level of trauma did not recede but kept rising, although at a slower pace. Distant effects of the trauma may succeed the more immediate ones. The finite psychic space of the survivors is encroached upon by traumatic memories for an indefinite period of time, leaving fewer resources available for normal effective living. The absorption and merging of traumatic stimuli into a traumatophilia poses still another potential problem. The unprecedented legal decision as to the linear effects of psychic trauma on a succession of connected individuals will need further interdisciplinary clarification.

Disasters↗