Public Health Disaster Response Team’s awareness on disaster medical management capacity

¹National Emergency Medical Center, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea
²Department of Emergency Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea
³Department of Emergency Medicine, Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Korea

Correspondence

Seokran Yeom ,Tel: 051-254-3119, Fax: 051-254-3112, Email: seokrany@pusan.ac.kr,

Received: September 3, 2019; Revised: October 18, 2019 Accepted: November 11, 2019. Published online: February 28, 2020.

ABSTRACT

Objective:
The Public Health Disaster Response Team (PHDRT) has been organized by the Community Health Center since 2016 under the National Disaster Response Frame. They are mobilized when a Mass-Casualty-Incident is expected to occur. This study sheds light on the disaster medical system by analyzing the awareness of the PHDRT on the disaster medical management capacity.
Method:
To develop the questionnaire, a literature review was conducted. The questionnaire was distributed and obtained after inspecting the survey questionnaire filled out by the PHDRT. There were 254 samples. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression.
Results:
Research has proven that the awareness of the disaster medical management capacity was 3.11 (rating 1-5). In detail, organizational capacity received the highest agreement score (3.54±0.84), while the budget and organization management was below the midpoint (2.73±0.83). Significant positive correlations were found between the capacity components, particularly the organizational capacity and cooperation system (r=0.71, P<0.01). The awareness was significantly different according to sex, age, job (type), total career, and task weight. The factors influencing the awareness of disaster medical management capacity included age, total career, and task weight.
Conclusion:
The findings from awareness analysis suggest that national and systemic supports, as well as personal efforts, are necessary to strengthen the disaster medical management capacity.

Key words: Disasters; Disaster medicine; Disaster medical management; Community health centers; Public health disaster response team