Exploring the Gender and Age Demographics of Patients Treated by Emergency Medical Teams during Disasters

Noriyuki Shiroma, Odgerel Chimed-Ochir (), Yui Yumiya, Matchecane Cossa, Isse Ussene, Yoshiki Toyokuni, Kayako Chishima, Kouki Akahoshi, Seiji Mimura, Akinori Wakai, Hisayoshi Kondo, Yuichi Koido, Flavio Salio, Ryoma Kayano and Tatsuhiko Kubo
Additional contact information
Noriyuki Shiroma: Department of Public Health and Health Policy, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Odgerel Chimed-Ochir: Department of Public Health and Health Policy, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Yui Yumiya: Department of Public Health and Health Policy, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan
Matchecane Cossa: Ministry of Health of Mozambique, Maputo 1008, Mozambique
Isse Ussene: Ministry of Health of Mozambique, Maputo 1008, Mozambique
Yoshiki Toyokuni: National Hospital Organization Headquarters DMAT Secretariat MHLW, Tokyo 190-8579, Japan
Kayako Chishima: National Hospital Organization Headquarters DMAT Secretariat MHLW, Tokyo 190-8579, Japan
Kouki Akahoshi: Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Tokyo 100-8916, Japan
Seiji Mimura: National Hospital Organization Headquarters DMAT Secretariat MHLW, Tokyo 190-8579, Japan
Akinori Wakai: National Hospital Organization Headquarters DMAT Secretariat MHLW, Tokyo 190-8579, Japan
Hisayoshi Kondo: National Hospital Organization Headquarters DMAT Secretariat MHLW, Tokyo 190-8579, Japan
Yuichi Koido: National Hospital Organization Headquarters DMAT Secretariat MHLW, Tokyo 190-8579, Japan
Flavio Salio: Emergency Medical Teams, World Health Organization, 1211 Geneva, Switzerland
Ryoma Kayano: World Health Organization Centre for Health Development (WHO Kobe Centre), Kobe 651-0073, Japan
Tatsuhiko Kubo: Department of Public Health and Health Policy, Graduate School of Biomedical and Health Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 6, 1-11

Abstract: Background: Standardized health-data collection enables effective disaster responses and patient care. Emergency medical teams use the Japan Surveillance in Post-Extreme Emergencies and Disasters (J-SPEED) reporting template to collect patient data. EMTs submit data on treated patients to an EMT coordination cell. The World Health Organization’s (WHO) EMT minimum dataset (MDS) offers an international standard for disaster data collection. Goal: The goal of this study was to analyze age and gender distribution of medical consultations in EMT during disasters. Methods: Data collected from 2016 to 2020 using the J-SPEED/MDS tools during six disasters in Japan and Mozambique were analyzed. Linear regression with data smoothing via the moving average method was employed to identify trends in medical consultations based on age and gender. Results: 31,056 consultations were recorded: 13,958 in Japan and 17,098 in Mozambique. Women accounted for 56.3% and 55.7% of examinees in Japan and Mozambique, respectively. Children accounted for 6.8% of consultations in Japan and 28.1% in Mozambique. Elders accounted for 1.32 and 1.52 times more consultations than adults in Japan and Mozambique, respectively. Conclusions: Study findings highlight the importance of considering age-specific healthcare requirements in disaster planning. Real-time data collection tools such as J-SPEED and MDS, which generate both daily reports and raw data for in-depth analysis, facilitate the validation of equitable access to healthcare services, emphasize the specific needs of vulnerable groups, and enable the consideration of cultural preferences to improve healthcare provision by EMTs.

Keywords: emergency medical team minimum data set; epidemiology; J-SPEED; disasters; health services accessibility; gender inequality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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