Abstract:

Planning for disasters at the community level is often uneven and problematic.  There are a number of typical non-medical problems in the delivery of emergency medical services during a disaster. Search and rescue, the majority of which is undertaken informally by individuals at the site, may have problems of coordination, communication between search and rescue and hospitals, and unsystematic triage.  Victims are likely to be transported by private vehicles to the most familiar hospital, regardless of disaster plans, resulting in and uneven distribution among hospitals. At hospitals, the less seriously injured usually arrive first and tend to be treated first.  New groups providing emergency medical services often emerge during disasters, and established groups such as hospitalized are often underutilized.  Most integration and coordination of emergency medical services during a disaster is not planned, although links develop between responding groups.  Research based knowledge of what is likely to happen during a disaster can be helpful.

Paper Requests:

The full-text of this article is available for $5.00 All publication orders must be PREPAID in U.S. DOLLARS ONLY. A proforma invoice is available upon request. Orders submitted without prepayment will be returned, unfilled, to the sender. 

                                       DOMESTIC: Add 10% to all orders for postage and
                                       handling. All items are sent Third-class mail. If you require
                                       First Class service, add an additional $1.00 per publication
                                       ordered.

                                       FOREIGN: A 20% surcharge must be added to the total
                                       cost of the order. All items are sent Third-class mail. If air
                                       mail service is desired, add $2.00 per publication ordered
 

Please make checks payable to University of Delaware. Send inquiries, orders and payments to: 

                          Disaster Research Center--Publications 
                          University of Delaware
                          Newark, DE 19716
                           (302)831-6618:Phone 
                           (302)831-2091:Fax
                         castelli@udel.edu:Email