Auckland University of Technology (AUT), Auckland, New Zealand.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Oct 28;22(10):e18310. doi: 10.2196/18310.
Although both disaster management and disaster medicine have been used for decades, their efficiency and effectiveness have been far from perfect. One reason could be the lack of systematic utilization of modern technologies, such as eHealth, in their operations. To address this issue, researchers' efforts have led to the emergence of the disaster eHealth (DEH) field. DEH's main objective is to systematically integrate eHealth technologies for health care purposes within the disaster management cycle (DMC).
This study aims to identify, map, and define the scope of DEH as a new area of research at the intersection of disaster management, emergency medicine, and eHealth.
An extensive scoping review using published materials was carried out in the areas of disaster management, disaster medicine, and eHealth to identify the scope of DEH. This review procedure was iterative and conducted in multiple scientific databases in 2 rounds, one using controlled indexed terms and the other using similar uncontrolled terms. In both rounds, the publications ranged from 1990 to 2016, and all the appropriate research studies discovered were considered, regardless of their research design, methodology, and quality. Information extracted from both rounds was thematically analyzed to define the DEH scope, and the results were evaluated by the field experts through a Delphi method.
In both rounds of the research, searching for eHealth applications within DMC yielded 404 relevant studies that showed eHealth applications in different disaster types and disaster phases. These applications varied with respect to the eHealth technology types, functions, services, and stakeholders. The results led to the identification of the scope of DEH, including eHealth technologies and their applications, services, and future developments that are applicable to disasters as well as to related stakeholders. Reference to the elements of the DEH scope indicates what, when, and how current eHealth technologies can be used in the DMC.
Comprehensive data gathering from multiple databases offered a grounded method to define the DEH scope. This scope comprises concepts related to DEH and the boundaries that define it. The scope identifies the eHealth technologies relevant to DEH and the functions and services that can be provided by these technologies. In addition, the scope tells us which groups can use the provided services and functions and in which disaster types or phases. DEH approaches could potentially improve the response to health care demands before, during, and after disasters. DEH takes advantage of eHealth technologies to facilitate DMC tasks and activities, enhance their efficiency and effectiveness, and enhance health care delivery and provide more quality health care services to the wider population regardless of their geographical location or even disaster types and phases.
尽管灾难管理和灾难医学已经使用了几十年，但它们的效率和效果远非完美。原因之一可能是在其运作过程中缺乏对现代技术（如电子健康）的系统利用。为了解决这个问题，研究人员的努力导致了灾难电子健康（DEH）领域的出现。DEH 的主要目标是在灾难管理周期（DMC）中系统地整合电子健康技术以用于医疗保健目的。
本研究旨在确定、描绘和定义 DEH 的范围，将其作为灾难管理、急诊医学和电子健康交叉领域的一个新的研究领域。
使用发表的材料在灾难管理、灾难医学和电子健康领域进行了广泛的范围界定综述，以确定 DEH 的范围。该综述过程是迭代的，在两轮科学数据库中进行，一轮使用受控索引术语，另一轮使用类似的非受控术语。两轮的出版物范围均为 1990 年至 2016 年，考虑了所有发现的适当研究，无论其研究设计、方法和质量如何。从两轮中提取的信息进行了主题分析，以定义 DEH 的范围，并通过德尔菲法由领域专家对结果进行评估。
在研究的两轮中，在 DMC 中搜索电子健康应用程序产生了 404 项相关研究，这些研究展示了不同类型和阶段的灾难中的电子健康应用程序。这些应用程序在电子健康技术类型、功能、服务和利益相关者方面有所不同。研究结果导致确定了 DEH 的范围，包括电子健康技术及其在灾难以及相关利益相关者中的应用、服务和未来发展。参考 DEH 范围的要素可以说明当前电子健康技术在 DMC 中何时以及如何使用。
从多个数据库中全面收集数据为定义 DEH 范围提供了一个基于实际的方法。该范围包括与 DEH 相关的概念及其定义的边界。该范围确定了与 DEH 相关的电子健康技术以及这些技术可以提供的功能和服务。此外，该范围告诉我们哪些群体可以使用提供的服务和功能，以及在哪些灾难类型或阶段。DEH 方法有可能改善灾难前、期间和之后对医疗需求的响应。DEH 利用电子健康技术来促进 DMC 任务和活动，提高其效率和效果，并增强医疗保健服务的提供，为更广泛的人群提供更优质的医疗服务，无论其地理位置如何，甚至无论灾难类型和阶段如何。
