Analysis of response of disaster medical assistance teams and public health disaster response teams in incident cases of mass casualty: a comparative analysis of medically underserved area and adequately served area

ABSTRACT

Objective@#When mass casualty incidents occur in Korea, disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs) and public health disaster response teams (PHDRTs) treat casualties at the scene. However, the appropriateness of their on-site responses has not been assessed so far. In this study, we evaluated their response and the variations in their response according to the accessibility of medical care. @*Methods@#We analyzed mass casualty incidents that were reported to the Disaster Emergency Medical Service Situation Room of the National Emergency Medical Center from July 2014 to December 2018. We divided the accident locations into medically underserved areas (MUAs) and adequately served areas (ASAs) and compared the responses of the two teams in each area. @*Results@#Of the 61 incidents, 20 occurred in MUAs, and 41 occurred in ASAs. In MUAs compared to ASAs, time from DMATs' dispatch to arrival was longer (48 [40-58.5] vs. 23 [18-32], P<0.001) but the time taken by the PHDRTs did not vary between two areas (19 [14-35] vs. 15.5 [9-24.5], P=0.263). In MUAs, the time elapsed from the PHDRTs' dispatch to arrival was less than that of the DMATs (48 [40-58.5] vs. 20 [15-35], P<0.001). In MUAs, the distance of the PHDRTs from the scene was lower (31.4 [25-50.95] vs. 13.6 [5.3-19.7], P=0.001) and more members were dispatched to the scene than the DMAT (5 [4-6] vs. 9 [5-10.5], P=0.013). @*Conclusion@#Because of the low accessibility to the scene in MUAs, DMATs took a long time to initiate medical support . To provide adequate disaster medical support, the PHDRTs must be specialized and trained.