Barriers to Integrating Crisis Standards of Care Principles into International Disaster Response Plans: Workshop Summary

Excerpt

When a nation or region prepares for public health emergencies such as a pandemic influenza, an earthquake, or any disaster scenario in which the health system may be stressed to its limits, it is important to describe how standards of care would change due to shortage of critical resources. “Crisis standards of care” is defined as a substantial change in usual health care operations and the level of care it is possible to deliver, which is made necessary by a pervasive (e.g., pandemic influenza) or catastrophic (e.g., earthquake, hurricane) disaster. To ensure that the utmost care possible is provided to patients in a catastrophic event, nations/regions need a robust system to guide the public, health care professionals and institutions, and governmental entities at all levels. Building off a report of the U.S. Institute of Medicine, Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Situations, this session focus on opportunities and challenges to integrate crisis standards of care principles into international disaster response plans.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discuss the challenges of providing fair and equitable care in mass casualty incidents

2. Discuss a potential framework for the equitable delivery of care in situations of scarce resources and strategies for operationalizing crisis standards of care in austere environments

3. Examine strategies for integrating crisis standards of care principles into disaster response plans

4. Highlight the impact of international disaster response on changing the standard of care in the host country