Emergency medical preparedness during the 2006 World Cup in Frankfurt, Germany

Emergency pharmacy workforce views and experience related to the provision of pharmaceutical care during mass gathering events: the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ experience

Purpose

This study aimed to explore emergency pharmacy workforce perspectives and experiences in providing pharmaceutical care during mass gathering events (i.e., FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™).

Methods

A qualitative methodology was employed using focus groups discussions. Emergency pharmacists across Hamad Medical Corporation were invited to participate using a combination of purposive and snowball sampling. Focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and validated. Inductive thematic analysis was undertaken to generate key themes and subthemes.

Results

Four focus groups were conducted which included 21 participants and generated five major themes. Whilst participants had mixed opinions in relation to their preparedness to practice during the World Cup, they perceived their experience as successful and smooth. The primary perceived facilitators were management support, mobile medical units, and high public health awareness. The main highlighted barriers were related to staff insufficiency, medications availability, and cultural and language challenges. Participants recommended pharmacist's role identification in mass gatherings, development of pharmacy action plan, and offering simulation training and pharmacy-specific training.

Conclusion

Despite the perceived barriers, pharmacists reported positive views in relation to their experience in providing pharmaceutical care during mass gatherings. Future research should focus on the development of theory-driven action framework for pharmacy departments to adopt during mass gatherings.

Disaster Preparedness Amongst Emergency Pharmacists for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Purpose

The aim of this study is to assess the level of preparedness of pharmacists working in the emergency department at Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) for any emergency disasters that may take place during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ by evaluating their awareness (A), attitude (A), and readiness (R).

Methods

A cross-sectional quantitative observational study was conducted through a web-based survey. The survey was distributed among emergency pharmacists working in general hospitals under HMC. The questionnaire was composed of three major domains assessing awareness, attitude, readiness, as well as an additional domain to collect the participants' demographics. Student's t-test, analysis of variance, Pearson's correlation, and linear regression were used with an alpha level of 0.05.

Results

Most pharmacists working in the emergency departments at HMC had high levels of awareness (76.9%), attitude (92%), and readiness (53.8%) for any emergency disasters that may occur during the FIFA World Cup 2022. Nonetheless, almost half of the respondents reported moderate level of readiness for emergency events. Pharmacists with >10 years' practice experience had significantly higher AAR score compared to those with <5 years' experience (P = 0.002). Significant direct positive correlations were found among the 3 AAR parameters (P < 0.05). Attitude was found to be a significant predictor of readiness (P < 0.05). A model composed of attitude and awareness could predict 12% of readiness score.

Conclusion

Emergency pharmacists at HMC have high level of preparedness for any emergency disaster event during the World Cup. Future research should focus on the development of theory-based action framework for pharmacy departments during mass gathering events.

A Redundant Resource: A Pre-Planned Casualty Clearing Station for a FIFA 2010 Stadium in Durban

This report details the background, planning, and establishment of a mass-casualty management area for the Durban Moses Mabhida Stadium at the Natal Mounted Rifles base, by the Department of Health and the eThekwini Fire and Rescue Service, for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) 2010 Soccer World Cup. The report discusses the use of the site during the seven matches played at that stadium, and details the aspects of mass-gathering major incident site planning for football (soccer).

The area also was used as a treatment area for other single patient incidents outside of the stadium, but within the exclusion perimeter, and the 22 patients treated by the Casualty Clearing Station (CCS) team are described and briefly discussed. A site-specific patient presentation rate of 0.48 per 10,000 and transport-to-hospital rate (TTHR) of 0.09/10,000 are reported. Lessons learned and implications for future event planning are discussed in the light of the existing literature.

HardcastleTC, SamlalS, NaidooR, HendrikseS, GlosterA, RamlalM, NgemaS, RoweM. A redundant resource: a pre-planned casualty clearing station for a FIFA 2010 stadium in Durban. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(2):1-7.

Non-communicable health risks during mass gatherings

Mass gatherings (MGs) have been associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality from non-communicable diseases, accidents, and terrorist attacks, thus posing complex public health challenges. We assessed the health risks and public health responses to MGs to identify an evidence-based framework for public health interventions. Human stampedes and heat-related illnesses are the leading causes of mortality. Minor traumatic injuries and medical complaints are the main contributors to morbidity and, particularly, the need for on-site medical care. Infrastructure, crowd density and mood, weather, age, and sex determine the risks to health. Many predictive models for deployment of medical resources are proposed, but none have been validated. We identified the risks for mortality and morbidity during MGs, most efficient public health interventions, and need for robust research into health risks for non-communicable diseases during MGs.

The influence of the 2010 World Cup on the Tygerberg Poison Information Centre

INTRODUCTION

The soccer World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events in the world, but data on the effect of sporting events of such a magnitude on the service demand on Poison Information Centres (PICs) are limited.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of the 2010 World Cup on the workload of the Tygerberg Poison Information Centre (TPIC).

METHODS

Data were collected prospectively for three time periods during 2010: (1) 31 days preceding the World Cup (10 May-10 June); (2) 31 days during the World Cup (11 June-11 July); and (3) 31 days after the World Cup (12 July-11 August). The calls received during 2010 were compared to calls received during corresponding time periods in 2008 and 2009. Collected data included date and time, caller's location and medical background, patient's age and gender, intent of exposure, route of exposure and specific toxin class.

RESULTS

During the study, 3888 calls related to human poisoning were received (1162 in 2010, 1412 in 2009 and 996 in 2008). The mean daily call volume between 2010 (12.49; 95% CI 11.57-13.42) and 2009 (13.23; 95% CI 12.30-14.15) did not differ significantly (p = 0.25). The mean daily call volume during the World Cup was 11.13 (95% CI 9.59-12.67; n = 345) compared to 14.26 (95% CI 12.71-15.80; n = 442) for the similar period in 2009 (p = 0.08). The mean daily call volume before and after the World Cup was 12.74 (95% CI 11.20-14.29; n = 395) and 13.61 (95% CI 12.07-15.16; n = 422); p = 1.00 and p = 0.39, respectively, when compared with the World Cup period.

DISCUSSION

An unexpected finding of this study was that the hosting of the 2010 World Cup resulted in fewer calls to the TPIC. This decrease could be attributed to the high visibility of policing, an extended school holiday and the positive attitudes of South Africans towards making the World Cup a success.

CONCLUSION

PICs should be consulted during the planning stages of major sporting events. Contingency plans should still be in place to overcome any unexpected rise in call volume.

Transporting clinical tools to new settings: cultural adaptation and validation of the Emergency Severity Index in German

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To date, no German triage tool with proven reliability and validity exists. The goal of this project is to translate and culturally adapt the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) and to assess reliability and validity of the German version.

METHODS

The ESI was translated following principles recommended for the translation and cultural adaptation of instruments. We performed a prospective, single-center cohort study. Reliability was assessed by calculating Cohen's weighted κ for agreement of 2 experts who reviewed the triage nurses' notes. To assess validity, associations of the number of resources, hospitalization, admission to intensive care, length of stay, and mortality with the assigned ESI level were investigated.

RESULTS

Only small cultural adaptations had to be made during the translation process. Interrater agreement was high (κ(w) = 0.985) in a sample of 125 patients. For the assessment of validity, a sample of 2,114 patients was used. Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between ESI category and number of resources was ρ = -0.567. The association (Kendall's τ) between ESI category and disposition, and hospitalization was τ = -0.429 and τ = -0.453, respectively. The areas under the curves for the predictive ability of the ESI for hospitalization in general and hospitalization to an ICU were 0.788 and 0.856, respectively. The association between emergency department length of stay and ESI category was also significant (Kruskal-Wallis χ² = 450.8; df = 4; P < .001). Furthermore, the association between ESI category and survival probability was significant (log-rank χ² = 36.06; df = 3; P < .001).

CONCLUSION

Translation of the ESI following guidelines was feasible and resulted in a reliable and valid German version.