Zhou Hong, Shi Lu, Mao Yuping, Tang Juan, Zeng Yu
Health Management, Hainan Medical University, Haikou, China.
Int J Health Plann Manage. 2014 Apr-Jun;29(2):115-23. doi: 10.1002/hpm.2137. Epub 2012 Aug 2.
The Sichuan "5.12" Earthquake in 2008 occurred in a relatively underdeveloped area in China. The rainy weather, the mountainous environment and the local languages all posed major challenges to the dissemination of information and services after the disaster. By adopting a communication perspective, this study applies the diffusion of innovations theory to investigate how healthcare professionals diffused health technologies, health information and services during the rescue and relief operation.
The authors conducted three focus group sessions with the health professionals who had attended to the rescue and relief work of the Sichuan "5.12" Earthquake in 2008. A range of questions regarding the diffusion of innovations were asked during these sessions.
The health professionals used their cell phones to communicate with other healthcare providers, disseminated knowledge of health risks and injuries to affected residents with pamphlets and posters and attended daily meetings at the local government offices. They reported on the shortage of maritime satellite cell phones and large-size tents for medical use, and the absence of fully equipped ambulances. Volunteers, local health professionals and local officials provided health information and services in different ways. However, the diffusion of health information and services was less likely to reach those living next to transportation centers, in remote areas and in disaster areas neglected by the media.
New communication devices such as cell phones and the mobile Internet enabled medical professionals to coordinate the rescue and relief work after this major natural disaster, at a time when the country's emergency response system still had plenty of room for improvement. In future, the mobile Internet should be used as a means of collecting bottom-up disaster reports so that the media will not neglect any disaster areas as they did during the Sichuan Earthquake. Rescue relief work would have been substantially easier if medical teams had been equipped with advanced appliances such as maritime satellite cell phones. "Disaster medicine" should be treated as a separate discipline in medical schools and receive more investment. Moreover, a stronger public health emergency response system is needed for more efficient dispatch and coordination.
2008年四川“5·12”地震发生在中国一个相对欠发达地区。多雨的天气、多山的环境以及当地语言都给灾后信息传播和服务带来了重大挑战。本研究从传播视角出发，运用创新扩散理论来调查医疗保健专业人员在救援和救灾行动中是如何传播健康技术、健康信息和服务的。
作者与参与2008年四川“5·12”地震救援工作的医疗专业人员进行了三场焦点小组讨论。在这些讨论中提出了一系列关于创新扩散的问题。
医疗专业人员使用手机与其他医疗服务提供者沟通，通过宣传册和海报向受灾居民传播健康风险和受伤知识，并参加当地政府办公室的每日会议。他们报告了海事卫星手机和大型医用帐篷短缺，以及没有配备齐全的救护车的情况。志愿者、当地医疗专业人员和当地官员以不同方式提供健康信息和服务。然而，健康信息和服务的传播不太可能覆盖到交通枢纽附近、偏远地区以及被媒体忽视的灾区的居民。
在国家应急系统仍有很大改进空间的情况下，手机和移动互联网等新型通信设备使医疗专业人员能够在这场重大自然灾害后协调救援工作。未来，应利用移动互联网收集自下而上的灾情报告，以免媒体像在四川地震期间那样忽视任何灾区。如果医疗队配备海事卫星手机等先进设备，救援工作会容易得多。医学院校应将“灾难医学”作为一门独立学科，并给予更多投入。此外，需要一个更强有力的公共卫生应急系统来更高效地调度和协调。
