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Use of an Emergency Medical Pictorial Communication Book During Simulated Disaster Conditions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 August 2013

Solomon Behar ,
Richard Benson II ,
Ami Kurzweil ,
Colleen Azen  and
Alan L. Nager
Solomon Behar*
Affiliation:
Departments of Emergency Medicine & Pediatrics, Los Angeles County Medical Center, and Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency and Transport Medicine, University of Southern California
Richard Benson II
Affiliation:
Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California; and Meharry School of Medicine, Nashville, Tennessee
Ami Kurzweil
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency and Transport Medicine, University of Southern California
Colleen Azen
Affiliation:
Children's Clinical Investigations Center (CLIC), The Saban Research Institute, University of Southern California
Alan L. Nager
Affiliation:
Department of Pediatrics, Division of Emergency and Transport Medicine, University of Southern California
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to Solomon Behar, MD, Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, Los Angeles County Medical Center, 1200 State St, GNH 1011, Los Angeles, CA 90033 (e-mail sbehar@chla.usc.edu).
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Abstract

During disasters, the needs of victims outstrip available resources. Rapid assessment of patients must be performed; however, language barriers can be an impediment to efficient patient assessment, especially if interpreter resources are limited. Dependency on interpretive services requiring technology such a telephones, cell phones, and video conferencing may be inefficient, as they may be unavailable during disaster conditions. A low-tech, portable tool that aids in communication with non-English speakers would be beneficial. The medical emergency communication (MEC) book, developed at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, has the potential to be a useful tool in this capacity.

The goal of this pilot study was to compare the accuracy of a newly developed disaster-focused medical history obtained from Spanish-speaking patients or caregivers using the MEC book, compared to a control group with whom no book was used. Our hypothesis was that use of the MEC book improves accuracy of medical history taking between English-only speaking health care workers and Spanish-speaking patients better than a monolingual clinician trying to take a medical history without it. We anticipated a higher overall score in the group of subjects whose histories were taken using the MEC book than in the control group. Patient satisfaction with the MEC book also was measured. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;0:1-6)

Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 7 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 475 - 480
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2013 

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