Emergency medical services preparedness for terrorism: A scoping review
Harjula, Tuomas; Tuomikoski, Anna-Maria; Roivainen, Petri (2023)
Sotilaslääketieteen keskus ja Suomen Lääkintäupseeriliitto ry
2023
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20231122148321
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi-fe20231122148321
Tiivistelmä
Terrorism is one of the current challenges of emergency medical services (EMS) preparedness. A prominent change in EMS preparedness between 2000-2020 has been a
shift from primarily preparing for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN)
terrorism to preparing for terrorism carried out with more conventional means like
weapons, explosives, and vehicles.
The concept of EMS should be reformed to answer the demands of these modern-day
threats. A change to proactive measures from the prevailing reactive actions demands
a similar paradigm shift in EMS that police forces have undergone in the United States
following Columbine and in Finland following Jokela and Kauhajoki. For EMS this could
include adapting tactics and equipment that allow trained providers to operate closer
to victims in an ongoing incident.
This review examines the preparedness of prehospital first responders to the threat of
terrorism between 2000-2020 and collates best practices for the benefit of all actors
in the prehospital field. The results of this review can be utilized in the planning and
execution of pre-hospital medical response(s) at any level.
shift from primarily preparing for chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear (CBRN)
terrorism to preparing for terrorism carried out with more conventional means like
weapons, explosives, and vehicles.
The concept of EMS should be reformed to answer the demands of these modern-day
threats. A change to proactive measures from the prevailing reactive actions demands
a similar paradigm shift in EMS that police forces have undergone in the United States
following Columbine and in Finland following Jokela and Kauhajoki. For EMS this could
include adapting tactics and equipment that allow trained providers to operate closer
to victims in an ongoing incident.
This review examines the preparedness of prehospital first responders to the threat of
terrorism between 2000-2020 and collates best practices for the benefit of all actors
in the prehospital field. The results of this review can be utilized in the planning and
execution of pre-hospital medical response(s) at any level.