ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:The purpose of this study was to document the correlation between medical and wilderness training with levels of preparedness for acute mountain sickness (AMS), illness, and injury among backcountry hikers. METHODS:We conducted a cross-sectional, convenience survey in Rocky Mountain National Park in July and August 2015. The study group consisted of 380 hikers who completed a written survey that collected information about demographics, wilderness experience, altitude experience, hiking equipment, communications devices, and trip planning. RESULTS:Factors such as wilderness training (wilderness first aid [WFA], wilderness first responder [WFR], or wilderness emergency medical technician [WEMT]), wilderness experience, and altitude experience all affected hikers' emergency preparedness. Respondents with medical training were more prepared to avoid or respond to AMS (62.3％ vs. 34.3％ [P<0.001]). They were also more prepared to avoid or manage injury/illness than hikers without medical training (37.7％vs. 20.7％ [P=0.003]). Participants with wilderness training were more likely to be prepared to avoid or respond to AMS (52.3％ vs. 36.8％ [P=0.025]) but not significantly more likely to be prepared to manage illness/injury (31.8％ vs. 22.0％ [P<0.11]). Adjusting for experience, wilderness training, age, and gender, we found that medical training was associated with increased preparedness for AMS (OR 2.72; 95％ CI 1.51–4.91) and injury/illness (OR 2.71; 95％ CI 1.5–4.89). CONCLUSION:Medically trained hikers were more likely to be prepared to avoid or manage AMS, medical emergencies, and injuries than their non-medically trained counterparts. Wilderness training increased hikers' preparedness for AMS but did not significantly alter preparedness for illness/injury.
ABSTRACT
@#BACKGROUND:Human activity in wilderness areas has increased globally in recent decades, leading to increased risk of injury and illness. Wilderness medicine has developed in response to both need and interest. METHODS:The field of wilderness medicine encompasses many areas of interest. Some focus on special circumstances (such as avalanches) while others have a broader scope (such as trauma care). Several core areas of key interest within wilderness medicine are discussed in this study. RESULTS:Wilderness medicine is characterized by remote and improvised care of patients with routine or exotic illnesses or trauma, limited resources and manpower, and delayed evacuation to definitive care. Wilderness medicine is developing rapidly and draws from the breadth of medical and surgical subspecialties as well as the technical fields of mountaineering, climbing, and diving. Research, epidemiology, and evidence-based guidelines are evolving. A hallmark of this field is injury prevention and risk mitigation. The range of topics encompasses high-altitude cerebral edema, decompression sickness, snake envenomation, lightning injury, extremity trauma, and gastroenteritis. Several professional societies, academic fellowships, and training organizations offer education and resources for laypeople and health care professionals. CONCLUSIONS:The future of wilderness medicine is unfolding on multiple fronts:education, research, training, technology, communications, and environment. Although wilderness medicine research is technically difficult to perform, it is essential to deepening our understanding of the contribution of specific techniques in achieving improvements in clinical outcomes.