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A Qualitative and Quantitative Study of the Surgical and Rehabilitation Response to the Earthquake in Haiti, January 2010

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2012

Anthony D. Redmond ,
Simon Mardel ,
Bertrand Taithe ,
Thomas Calvot ,
Jim Gosney ,
Antony Duttine  and
Susan Girois
Anthony D. Redmond*
Affiliation:
Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University of Manchester, UK
Simon Mardel
Affiliation:
Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University of Manchester, UK
Bertrand Taithe
Affiliation:
Handicap International, France
Thomas Calvot
Affiliation:
Handicap International, France
Jim Gosney
Affiliation:
Handicap International, France
Antony Duttine
Affiliation:
Handicap International, France
Susan Girois
Affiliation:
Handicap International, France
*
Correspondence: Anthony D Redmond, MD Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK, E-mail: tony.redmond@manchester.ac.uk
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Abstract

Background: The disaster response environment in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake represented a complex healthcare challenge. This study was designed to identify challenges during the Haiti disaster response.

Methods: Qualitative and quantitative study of injured patients carried out six months after the January 2010 earthquake in Haiti to review the surgical inputs of foreign medical teams.

Results: Study findings revealed a need during the response for improved medical records and data gathering for regulation, quality assurance, coordination and resource allocation; wider adherence to standard patient referral mechanisms and protocols linking surgical service provision with appropriate hospital and community based rehabilitation services; a greater recognition of the impact of non-amputation injury, and the need for patients to have a greater say in their management and to be the keepers of their medical records. Key first steps to improving the international response are a minimum dataset and uniform reporting.

Conclusion: This study showed that challenges for emergency medical response during the Haiti Earthquake involved issues of accountability, professional ethics, standards-of-care, unmet needs, patient agency and expected outcomes for patients in such settings:

Keywords

disastermedical disaster responsehumanitarianearthquake responseHaiti
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 26 , Issue 6 , December 2011 , pp. 449 - 456
Copyright
Copyright Redmond © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2012

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References

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