Scientific Framework for Research on Disaster and Mass Casualty Incident in Korea: Building Consensus Using Delphi Method

Abstract

We aimed to determine the scientific framework for research on disaster and mass casualty incident (MCI) in Korea, especially Korean terminology, feasible definition, and epidemiologic indices. The two staged policy Delphi method was performed by instructors of National Disaster Life Support (NDLS®) with the constructed questionnaire containing items based on the literature review. The first-stage survey was conducted by 11 experts through two rounds of survey for making issue and option. The second-stage survey was conducted by 35 experts for making a generalized group based consensus. Experts were selected among instructors of National Disaster Life Support Course. Through two staged Delphi survey experts made consensus: 1) the Korean terminology "jaenan" with "disaster" and "dajung-sonsang-sago" with "MCI"; 2) the feasible definition of "disaster" as the events that have an effect on one or more municipal local government area (city-county-district) or results in ≥ 10 of death or ≥ 50 injured victims; 3) the feasible definition of MCI as the events that result in ≥ 6 casualties including death; 4) essential 31 epidemiologic indices. Experts could determine the scientific framework in Korea for research on disaster medicine, considering the distinct characteristics of Korea and current research trends.

Prehospital Response Time Delays for Emergency Patients in Events of Concurrent Mass Casualty Incidents

“…We applied the definition of a previous study in which an MCI was defined as an incident that involves more than 6 casualties, regardless of the affected area or number of deaths. 17 Application of a different definition has the possibility of different demographics and characteristics of MCIs. However, we tried compensating for this limitation by analyzing the PRT according to the MCI scale in order to verify the effect.…”

Marked decline of sudden mass fatality events in New Zealand 1900 to 2015: the basic epidemiology

“…We defined a sudden mass fatality event as one that involved 10 or more fatalities, as per one component of a previously published framework for “mass casualty incidents” 6 . The ‘sudden’ component of the event required that most of the deaths occurred within a 24‐hour period.…”

“…We defined a sudden mass fatality event as one that involved 10 or more fatalities, as per one component of a previously published framework for "mass casualty incidents". 6 The 'sudden' component of the event required that most of the deaths occurred within a 24hour period. The location -NZ's boundaries in 2016 -included the country's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ; 200 nautical miles out to sea) and its territorial claim on Antarctica (the Ross Dependency).…”

Epidemiology of Emergency Medical Services-Assessed Mass Casualty Incidents according to Causes

“…This cross-sectional observational study evaluated an EMS database for six South Korean provinces during 2012. We defined an EMS-assessed MCI as any event that involved ≥ 6 victims who were transported via EMS, according to the experts’ consensus definition ( 5 ).…”

“…However, this definition is conceptual (not practical), and the declaration of an MCI typically depends on the decision of an EMS provider, and not the victims’ desired or required medical attention. Therefore, a new working definition of MCIs is needed, and a recent scientific framework has been developed using expert opinions ( 5 ). This framework defines an MCI as any event that results in ≥ 6 casualties (up to and including death).…”