Mass gathering medicine
Mass gathering medicine, also known as event medicine, crowd medicine or mass gathering health,[1] is a field of medicine that explores the health effects/risks of mass gatherings and the strategies that contribute positively to effective health services delivery during these events.[2][3][4] The reason for the development of the field of medicine gives the fact that mass gatherings generate a higher incidence of injury and illness, may be the subject to a catastrophic accident or attack with large numbers of injured or dead persons.[5][6]
Mass Gathering Medicine is viewed as a niche field of prehospital care in emergency medicine at the University of British Columbia.[7]
Among factors influencing on the demand for the health care at mass gatherings are:[8]
- the weather,
- duration of the event,
- if the crowd moves,
- containment of the event (fenced/contained or not),
- availability of alcohol/drugs,
- the density of the crowd et al.,
- possibility for spreading of communicable diseases[9]
Key purposes of Mass Gathering Medical Services at an event are:[10]
- rapid access to the injured or ill patients,
- effective stabilizing and transporting injured or ill patients,
- on-site care for minor injuries and illnesses.
The Department of Global Alert and Response of the World Health Organization supports Member States hosting mass gatherings.[11] As the acknowledgement of growth in the area of Mass Gathering Medicine, there is a need for consistency in the research and evaluation of mass gathering events.[12] This is important because mass gatherings may impact on health services and having a collective understanding of the impact of mass gatherings on health services may mitigate any poor outcomes for patients.[13]
Mass gathering medicine support requires planning in advance.[14]
In 2015, This Is Life with Lisa Ling filmed an episode featuring mass-gathering medicine with event medical specialists Dr. Andrew Bazos and Connor Fitzpatrick of CrowdRx, Inc.[16]
The inaugural Mass Gathering Medicine Summit was held in New York City on April 21–22, 2016.[17] The fourth annual Mass Gathering Medical Summit was held in Las Vegas on March 15–16, 2019.[17]
References
- S2CID 206310964.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-06-10. Retrieved 2012-04-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - S2CID 1092404.
- ^ "Public Health Preparedness for Mass Gatherings". Archived from the original on 2018-02-06. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- PMID 3963544.
- PMID 2003667.
- ^ Home | (archive) Mass Gathering Medicine Interest Group
- S2CID 24799640.
- ^ "Communicable disease alert and response for mass gatherings" (PDF). Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- PMID 10166378.
- ^ "Mass Gatherings and Public Health" (PDF). 2007. Retrieved 2010-11-04.
- S2CID 45404363.[permanent dead link]
- S2CID 7103371.
- ^ http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/massgatherings.html Archived 2018-02-06 at the Wayback Machine Public Health Preparedness for Mass Gatherings
- ^ "Global Forum on Mass Gathering Medicine".
- ^ Home - CrowdRx: Event Medical Services
- ^ a b eventmedicinesummit