Pediatric Preparedness of Emergency Medical Services Providers for Blast and Radiological-related Incidents

Introduction: Recent reports have discussed major deficiencies in the preparedness of emergency medical services (EMS) systems to effectively respond to disasters, terrorism and other public health emergencies. Lack of funding, lack of national uniformity of systems and oversight, and lack of necessary education and training have all been cited as reasons for the inadequate emergency medical preparedness in the US. Methods: A nationally representative sample of the basic and paramedic emergency medical service providers in the United States was surveyed to assess whether they had received training in pediatric considerations for blast and radiological-related events, as part of their initial provider training and continuing medical education (CME) within the past 24 months. Providers were also surveyed as to their comfort level in responding to and treating pediatric victims of these events. Results: Greater than 70% of respondents reported no training as part of their initial provider education in considerations for pediatrics following blast events. Over 80% of respondents reported no training in considerations for pediatrics following events associated with a release of radiation or radioactivity. 88% of respondents stated they were not comfortable with responding to or treating pediatric victims of a radiological incident. Conclusions: EMS workers with more hours of training in these areas report higher levels of comfort responding to and treating victims of these incidents. National standards on education of EMS workers should include content on terrorism-related morbidity and mortality in order to improve the capacity of the Nation's medical first responders to mitigate a terrorist attack.