Practice, Experience, and Prospect of Disaster Medicine in China

Abstract

Introduction:

In recent years, the development of disaster medicine has made rapid progress in China after the Wenchuan earthquake in 2008. China formed a more systematic and specialized health emergency force. In addition, the Ministry of Emergency Management was established In 2018, which demonstrated that the Chinese government is paying more attention to the disaster rescue work. In this report, the practice, experience, and prospect of disaster medicine in China was reviewed.

Aim:

To explore the current status and prospects of disaster medicine development in China.

Methods:

The literature research method was used to analyze literature at home and abroad. It was used to retrospectively analyze the rescue experience of Chinese medical rescue teams, sort out the current situation of disaster medical disciplines and rescue teams, and propose disaster medical development recommendations suitable for China’s national conditions.

Results:

After years of construction, China has formed a more systematic and specialized health emergency force, but the personnel, equipment, plans, and training of the professional rescue team need to be improved. The discipline system of disaster medicine in China is still lagging behind, and it is still unable to meet the needs of the rescue situation at home and abroad.

Discussion:

Disaster medicine is the area of medical specialization serving the dual areas of providing health care to disaster survivors and providing medically related disaster preparation, disaster planning, disaster response, and disaster recovery leadership throughout the disaster life cycle. It requires multidisciplinary intervention, integration, and application. A forward-looking perspective must be strengthened on the discipline and team building of disaster medicine.