Department of Surgery, Radboudumc, Internal Postal Code 618, P.O. Box 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Department of Surgery, Radboudumc, Geert Grooteplein Zuid 10, 6525 GA, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
World J Emerg Surg. 2022 Mar 5;17(1):14. doi: 10.1186/s13017-022-00417-z.
Humanitarian healthcare workers are indispensable for treating weapon-wounded patients in armed conflict, and the international humanitarian community should ensure adequate preparedness for this task. This study aims to assess deployed humanitarian healthcare workers' self-perceived preparedness, training requirements and mental support needs.
Medical professionals deployed with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) between October 2018 and June 2020 were invited to participate in this longitudinal questionnaire. Two separate questionnaires were conducted pre- and post-deployment to assess respondents' self-perceived preparedness, preparation efforts, deployment experiences and deployment influence on personal and professional development.
Response rates for the pre- and post-deployment questionnaires were 52.5% (114/217) and 26.7% (58/217), respectively. Eighty-five respondents (85/114; 74.6%) reported feeling sufficiently prepared to treat adult trauma patients, reflected by predeployment ratings of 3 or higher on a scale from 1 (low) to 5 (high). Significantly lower ratings were found among nurses compared to physicians. Work experience in a high-volume trauma centre before deployment was associated with a greater feeling of preparedness (mean rank 46.98 vs. 36.89; p = 0.045). Topics most frequently requested to be included in future training were neurosurgery, maxillofacial surgery, reconstructive surgery, ultrasound, tropical diseases, triage, burns and newborn noncommunicable disease management. Moreover, 51.7% (30/58) of the respondents regarded the availability of a mental health professional during deployment as helpful to deal with stress.
Overall, deployed ICRC medical personnel felt sufficiently prepared for their missions, although nurses reported lower preparedness levels than physicians. Recommendations were made concerning topics to be covered in future training and additional preparation strategies to gain relevant clinical experience. Future preparatory efforts should focus on all medical professions, and their training needs should be continuously monitored to ensure the alignment of preparation strategies with preparation needs.
人道主义医疗工作者在武装冲突中治疗武器创伤患者不可或缺，国际人道社会应确保为此任务做好充分准备。本研究旨在评估部署的人道主义医疗工作者的自我认知准备情况、培训需求和心理支持需求。
国际红十字会（ICRC）于 2018 年 10 月至 2020 年 6 月期间部署的医疗专业人员受邀参加了这项纵向问卷调查。在部署前后进行了两次单独的问卷调查，以评估受访者的自我认知准备情况、准备工作、部署经历以及部署对个人和专业发展的影响。
部署前后问卷的回复率分别为 52.5%（114/217）和 26.7%（58/217）。85 名受访者（114 名中的 85 名；74.6%）报告说，他们有足够的信心治疗成人创伤患者，这反映在部署前的评分中，从 1（低）到 5（高）的评分中为 3 或更高。与医生相比，护士的评分明显较低。在部署前有在高容量创伤中心工作的经验与更大的准备感相关（平均秩 46.98 比 36.89；p=0.045）。未来培训中最常要求包含的主题是神经外科、颌面外科、重建外科、超声、热带病、分诊、烧伤和新生儿非传染性疾病管理。此外，51.7%（30/58）的受访者认为在部署期间有心理健康专业人员提供帮助来应对压力。
总的来说，部署的 ICRC 医疗人员对自己的任务感到有足够的准备，尽管护士的准备程度低于医生。就未来培训的主题和获得相关临床经验的额外准备策略提出了建议。未来的准备工作应侧重于所有医疗专业人员，并应持续监测其培训需求，以确保准备策略与准备需求保持一致。
