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International Guidelines and Standards for Education and Training to Reduce the Consequences of Events that May Threaten the Health Status of a Community – A Report of an Open International WADEM Meeting, Brussels, Belgium, 29-31 October 2004

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Frank Archer  and
Geert Seynaeve
Frank Archer*
Affiliation:
Department of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia
Geert Seynaeve
Affiliation:
Chief Medical Officer, Emergency Medical Services, Ministry of Health, Belgium
*
Geert Seynaeve Huart-Hamoirlaan 681030 Brussels, Belgium E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The continued professionalization of the humanitarian workforce requires sound underpinning by appropriate educational programs.The international disaster medicine and emergency health community requested the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM) develop international standards and guidelines for the education and training for disaster medicine. The Working Group of the WADEM Education Committee prepared and circulated an Issues Paper to structure input on this significant international task. Subsequently, the Working Group facilitated an Open International Meeting convened in Brussels, Belgium, 2004. The “Issues Paper” also was used as a framework to structure this International Meeting, which utilized case studies selected to represent the scope of disaster medicine, and prepared a meeting consensus on a framework for disaster health and for related educational programs.

The two-day Brussels meeting attracted 51 participants from 19 countries, representing 21 disciplines.Participants reinforced the need to address the development of international standards and guidelines on education and training in this emerging discipline.Participants supported the view that the term “Disaster Health” suggested a multidisciplinary approach that is a more inclusive contemporary and appropriate term to describe this field, although there were dissenting views.

The meeting formulated a consensus view in support of a framework for “Disaster Health”, which included: (1) primary disciplines; (2) support disciplines; (3) community response, resilience, and communication; and (4) socio-political context. The participants considered that this model lends itself to facilitating the development of educational programs in this field and believed that standards and guidelines initially should be developed in the “Core of Disaster Health” for undergraduates in relevant professions, for practicing professionals wishing to expand their practice in this field, and in the “Breadth of Disaster Health” for those wishing to be recognized as “Disaster Health Specialists” as academics, professionals, or policy leaders in this field at a University multidisciplinary Masters Degree level. A community-level and higher-specialist doctoral level would follow.

Although the view of the participants was that the establishment of international approval/endorsement processes for education programs may have some benefits, there was less comfort in identifying which body/agency should be charged with this responsibility. The WADEM, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, and the World Health Organization were identified as potential lead agents.

The outcome of this international meeting is an important step toward meeting the challenge given the WADEM and will be developed further in consultation with the international disaster and emergency health community in order to improve education and training standards and professional practice.

Keywords

disasterdisaster healthdisaster medicineeducationemergency medical servicestraining
Type
Special Report
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , April 2007 , pp. 120 - 130
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2007

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Footnotes

*

On behalf of the WADEM Education Committee Working Group members:

Dr. Geert Seynaeve (Belgium)-Convenor

A/Prof. Frank Archer, (Australia)

Dr. Judith Fisher (UK/USA)

A/Prof Brigitte Lueger-Schuster (Austria)

Dr. Alison Rowlands (UK)

Mr. Phillip Sellwood (UK)

Dr. Karel Vandevelde (Belgium)

Dr. Anastasia Zigoura (Greece)

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