Search results for: emergency software
Commenced in January 2007
Frequency: Monthly
Edition: International
Paper Count: 5544

Search results for: emergency software

5544 Requirement Analysis for Emergency Management Software

Authors: Tomáš Ludík, Jiří Barta, Sabina Chytilová, Josef Navrátil

Abstract:

Emergency management is a discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks. Appropriate emergency management software allows better management of these risks and has a direct influence on reducing potential negative impacts. Although there are several emergency management software products in the Czech Republic, they cover user requirements from the emergency management field only partially. Therefore, the paper focuses on the issues of requirement analysis within development of emergency management software. Analysis of the current state describes the basic features and properties of user requirements for software development as well as basic methods and approaches for gathering these requirements. Then, the paper presents more specific mechanisms for requirement analysis based on chosen software development approach: structured, object-oriented or agile. Based on these experiences it is designed new methodology for requirement analysis. Methodology describes how to map user requirements comprehensively in the field of emergency management and thus reduce misunderstanding between software analyst and emergency manager. Proposed methodology was consulted with department of fire brigade and also has been applied in the requirements analysis for their current emergency management software. The proposed methodology has general character and can be used also in other specific areas during requirement analysis.

Keywords: emergency software, methodology, requirement analysis, stakeholders, use case diagram, user stories

Procedia PDF Downloads 509
5543 Design Patterns for Emergency Management Processes

Authors: Tomáš Ludík, Jiří Barta, Josef Navrátil

Abstract:

Natural or human made disasters have a significant negative impact on the environment. At the same time there is an extensive effort to support management and decision making in emergency situations by information technologies. Therefore the purpose of the paper is to propose a design patterns applicable in emergency management, enabling better analysis and design of emergency management processes and therefore easier development and deployment of information systems in the field of emergency management. It will be achieved by detailed analysis of existing emergency management legislation, contingency plans, and information systems. The result is a set of design patterns focused at emergency management processes that enable easier design of emergency plans or development of new information system. These results will have a major impact on the development of new information systems as well as to more effective and faster solving of emergencies.

Keywords: analysis and design, Business Process Modelling Notation, contingency plans, design patterns, emergency management

Procedia PDF Downloads 453
5542 “Friction Surfaces” of Airport Emergency Plan

Authors: Jakub Kraus, Vladimír Plos, Peter Vittek

Abstract:

This article focuses on the issue of airport emergency plans, which are documents describing reactions to events with impact on aviation safety or aviation security. The article specifically focuses on the use and creation of emergency plans, where could be found a number of disagreements between different stakeholders, for which the airport emergency plan applies. Those are the friction surfaces of interfaces, which is necessary to identify and ensure them smooth process to avoid dangerous situations or delay.

Keywords: airport emergency plan, aviation safety, aviation security, comprehensive management system, friction surfaces of airport emergency plan, interfaces of processes

Procedia PDF Downloads 487
5541 Thermal Radiation and Noise Safety Assessment of an Offshore Platform Flare Stack as Sudden Emergency Relief Takes Place

Authors: Lai Xuejiang, Huang Li, Yang Yi

Abstract:

To study the potential hazards of the sudden emergency relief of flare stack, the thermal radiation and noise calculation of flare stack is carried out by using Flaresim program 2.0. Thermal radiation and noise analysis should be considered as the sudden emergency relief takes place. According to the Flaresim software simulation results, the thermal radiation and noise meet the requirement.

Keywords: flare stack, thermal radiation, safety assessment, noise

Procedia PDF Downloads 321
5540 Improving the Emergency Medicine Teaching from the Perspective of Faculty Training

Authors: Qin-Min Ge, Shu-Ming Pan

Abstract:

Emergency clinicians usually get teaching qualification after graduating from medical universities without special faculty training in China mainland. Emergency departments are overcrowded places, with large numbers of patients suffering undifferentiated illness. In the field of emergency medicine (EM), improving the faculty competencies and developing the teaching skills are important for medical education, they could enhance learners outcomes and hence affect the patients prognosis indirectly. This article highlights the necessities of faculty training in EM, illustrates the qualities a good clinical educator should qualify, advances the skills as educators in an academic setting and discusses the ways to be good clinical teachers.

Keywords: emergency education, competence, faculty training, teaching, emergency medicine

Procedia PDF Downloads 563
5539 Multi Agent Based Pre-Hospital Emergency Management Architecture

Authors: Jaleh Shoshtarian Malak, Niloofar Mohamadzadeh

Abstract:

Managing pre-hospital emergency patients requires real-time practices and efficient resource utilization. Since we are facing a distributed Network of healthcare providers, services and applications choosing the right resources and treatment protocol considering patient situation is a critical task. Delivering care to emergency patients at right time and with the suitable treatment settings can save ones live and prevent further complication. In recent years Multi Agent Systems (MAS) introduced great solutions to deal with real-time, distributed and complicated problems. In this paper we propose a multi agent based pre-hospital emergency management architecture in order to manage coordination, collaboration, treatment protocol and healthcare provider selection between different parties in pre-hospital emergency in a self-organizing manner. We used AnyLogic Agent Based Modeling (ABM) tool in order to simulate our proposed architecture. We have analyzed and described the functionality of EMS center, Ambulance, Consultation Center, EHR Repository and Quality of Care Monitoring as main collaborating agents. Future work includes implementation of the proposed architecture and evaluation of its impact on patient quality of care improvement.

Keywords: multi agent systems, pre-hospital emergency, simulation, software architecture

Procedia PDF Downloads 385
5538 Assessment of the Simulation Programs Usable to Support Decision Making Processes of the Critical Infrastructure Emergency Management

Authors: Jiří Barta, Oldřich Svoboda

Abstract:

This article deals with the issue of practical training of the management staff during emergency events in the frame of critical infrastructure. Critical infrastructure represents one of the possible targets of destructive activities as well as operational accidents and incidents which can seriously influence the functioning of the system of ensuring the basic needs of the inhabitants. Therefore, protection of critical infrastructure and training of the staff in dealing with emergencies becomes a broadly discussed topic. Nowadays, the market offers a wide range of simulation tools which proclaim that they are suitable for practical training of management staff and completing their tasks. Another group of programs declares that they are not primarily designed for this type of simulations. However, after some minor adaptations, for example by adding or changing users‘ roles, they are able to fulfil the needs of practical training as well as the process of emergency simulation. This paper characterises and selects simulators and programs for simulating emergency events.

Keywords: computer simulation, Symos´97, simulation software, harmful substances, Konstruktivní simulace, SIMEX

Procedia PDF Downloads 227
5537 Evaluation of Patients' Satisfaction Aspects in Governmental Egyptian Emergency Departments

Authors: N. Rashed, Z. Aysha, M. Fakher

Abstract:

Patient satisfaction is one of the core objectives of health care facilities. It is difficult to evaluate patients response in the emergency setting. The current study aimed to evaluate patients and family aspects of satisfaction in both adult and pediatric emergency departments and their recommendations for improvement. Cross-section survey(Brief Emergency department Patient Satisfaction Scale (BEPSS), was translated and validated, then performed to evaluate patients satisfaction in two governmental hospitals Emergency departments. Three hundred patients and their families were enrolled in the study. The waiting time in the adult Emergency department ranged from (5 minutes to 120 minutes), and most admissions were at the morning shift while at the pediatric hospital the waiting time ranged from 5 minutes to 100 minutes) and most admissions were at the afternoon shift. The results showed that the main domain of satisfaction in BEPSS in the adult emergency department was respecting the patients family while in the pediatric emergency department, the main domain was the nursing care about treatment. The main recommendation of improvement in pediatric Emergency Department was modifying the procedures while in adult Emergency Department was improving the training of physicians.

Keywords: emergency, department-patient, satisfaction-adult-pediatric

Procedia PDF Downloads 115
5536 The Ludic Exception and the Permanent Emergency: Understanding the Emergency Regimes with the Concept of Play

Authors: Mete Ulaş Aksoy

Abstract:

In contemporary politics, the state of emergency has become a permanent and salient feature of politics. This study aims to clarify the anthropological and ontological dimensions of the permanent state of emergency. It pays special attention to the structural relation between the exception and play. Focusing on the play in the context of emergency and exception enables the recognition of the difference and sometimes the discrepancy between the exception and emergency, which has passed into oblivion because of the frequency and normalization of emergency situations. This study coins the term “ludic exception” in order to highlight the difference between the exceptions in which exuberance and paroxysm rule over the socio-political life and the permanent emergency that protects the authority with a sort of extra-legality. The main thesis of the study is that the ludic elements such as risk, conspicuous consumption, sacrificial gestures, agonism, etc. circumscribe the exceptional moments temporarily, preventing them from being routine and normal. The study also emphasizes the decline of ludic elements in modernity as the main factor in the transformation of the exceptions into permanent emergency situations. In the introduction, the relationship between play and exception is taken into consideration. In the second part, the study elucidates the concept of ludic exceptions and dwells on the anthropological examples of the ludic exceptions. In the last part, the decline of ludic elements in modernity is addressed as the main factor for the permanent emergency.

Keywords: emergency, exception, ludic exception, play, sovereignty

Procedia PDF Downloads 59
5535 Understanding ASPECTS of Stroke: Interrater Reliability between Emergency Medicine Physician and Radiologist in a Rural Setup

Authors: Vineel Inampudi, Arjun Prakash, Joseph Vinod

Abstract:

Aims and Objectives: To evaluate the interrater reliability in grading ASPECTS score, between emergency medicine physician at first contact and radiologist among patients with acute ischemic stroke. Materials and Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 86 acute ischemic stroke cases referred to the Department of Radiodiagnosis during November 2014 to January 2016. The imaging (plain CT scan) was performed using GE Bright Speed Elite 16 Slice CT Scanner. ASPECTS score was calculated separately by an emergency medicine physician and radiologist. Interrater reliability for total and dichotomized ASPECTS (≥ 6 and < 6) scores were assessed using statistical analysis (ICC and Cohen ĸ coefficients) on SPSS software (v17.0). Results: Interrater agreement for total and dichotomized ASPECTS was substantial (ICC 0.79 and Cohen ĸ 0.68) between the emergency physician and radiologist. Mean difference in ASPECTS between the two readers was only 0.15 with standard deviation of 1.58. No proportionality bias was detected. Bland Altman plot was constructed to demonstrate the distribution of ASPECT differences between the two readers. Conclusion: Substantial interrater agreement was noted in grading ASPECTS between emergency medicine physician at first contact and radiologist thereby confirming its robustness even in a rural setting.

Keywords: ASPECTS, computed tomography, MCA territory, stroke

Procedia PDF Downloads 207
5534 The New Approach to Airport Emergency Plans

Authors: Jakub Kraus, Vladimír Plos, Peter Vittek

Abstract:

This article deals with a new approach to the airport emergency plans, which are the basic documents and manuals for dealing with events with impact on safety or security. The article describes the identified parts in which the current airport emergency plans do not fulfill their role and which should therefore be considered in the creation of corrective measures. All these issues have been identified at airports in the Czech Republic and confirmed at airports in neighboring countries.

Keywords: airport emergency plan, aviation safety, aviation security, comprehensive management system

Procedia PDF Downloads 472
5533 Software Cloning and Agile Environment

Authors: Ravi Kumar, Dhrubajit Barman, Nomi Baruah

Abstract:

Software Cloning has grown an active area in software engineering research community yielding numerous techniques, various tools and other methods for clone detection and removal. The copying, modifying a block of code is identified as cloning as it is the most basic means of software reuse. Agile Software Development is an approach which is currently being used in various software projects, so that it helps to respond the unpredictability of building software through incremental, iterative, work cadences. Software Cloning has been introduced to Agile Environment and many Agile Software Development approaches are using the concept of Software Cloning. This paper discusses the various Agile Software Development approaches. It also discusses the degree to which the Software Cloning concept is being introduced in the Agile Software Development approaches.

Keywords: agile environment, refactoring, reuse, software cloning

Procedia PDF Downloads 496
5532 Software Engineering Revolution Driven by Complexity Science

Authors: Jay Xiong, Li Lin

Abstract:

This paper introduces a new software engineering paradigm based on complexity science, called NSE (Nonlinear Software Engineering paradigm). The purpose of establishing NSE is to help software development organizations double their productivity, half their cost, and increase the quality of their products in several orders of magnitude simultaneously. NSE complies with the essential principles of complexity science. NSE brings revolutionary changes to almost all aspects in software engineering. NSE has been fully implemented with its support platform Panorama++.

Keywords: complexity science, software development, software engineering, software maintenance

Procedia PDF Downloads 237
5531 Software Architectural Design Ontology

Authors: Muhammad Irfan Marwat, Sadaqat Jan, Syed Zafar Ali Shah

Abstract:

Software architecture plays a key role in software development but absence of formal description of software architecture causes different impede in software development. To cope with these difficulties, ontology has been used as artifact. This paper proposes ontology for software architectural design based on IEEE model for architecture description and Kruchten 4+1 model for viewpoints classification. For categorization of style and views, ISO/IEC 42010 has been used. Corpus method has been used to evaluate ontology. The main aim of the proposed ontology is to classify and locate software architectural design information.

Keywords: semantic-based software architecture, software architecture, ontology, software engineering

Procedia PDF Downloads 512
5530 Influence of Security Attributes in Component-Based Software Development

Authors: Somayeh Zeinali

Abstract:

A component is generally defined as a piece of executable software with a published interface. Component-based software engineering (CBSE) has become recognized as a new sub-discipline of software engineering. In the component-based software development, components cannot be completely secure and thus easily become vulnerable. Some researchers have investigated this issue and proposed approaches to detect component intrusions or protect distributed components. Software security also refers to the process of creating software that is considered secure.The terms “dependability”, “trustworthiness”, and “survivability” are used interchangeably to describe the properties of software security.

Keywords: component-based software development, component-based software engineering , software security attributes, dependability, component

Procedia PDF Downloads 516
5529 Investigating the Role of Emergency Nurses and Disaster Preparedness during Mass Gathering in Saudi Arabia

Authors: Fuad Alzahrani, Yiannis Kyratsis

Abstract:

Although emergency nurses, being the frontline workers in mass-gatherings, are essential for providing an effective public health response, little is known about the skills that emergency nurses have, or require, in order to respond effectively to a disaster event. This paper is designed to address this gap in the literature by conducting an empirical study on emergency nurses’ preparedness at the mass-gathering event of Hajj in Mecca city. To achieve this aim, this study conducted a cross-sectional survey among 106 emergency department nurses in all the public hospitals in Mecca in 2014. The results revealed that although emergency nurses’ role understanding is high; they have limited knowledge and awareness of how to respond appropriately to mass-gathering disaster events. To address this knowledge gap, the top three most beneficial types of education and training courses suggested are: hospital education sessions, the Emergency Management Saudi Course and workshop; and short courses in disaster management. Finally, recommendations and constructive strategies are developed to provide the best practice in enhancing disaster preparedness. This paper adds to the body of knowledge regarding emergency nurses and mass gathering disasters. This paper measures the level of disaster knowledge, previous disaster response experience and disaster education and training amongst emergency nurses in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is anticipated that this study will provide a foundation for future studies aimed at better preparing emergency nurses for disaster response. This paper employs new strategies to improve the emergency nurses’ response during mass gatherings for the Hajj. Increasing the emergency nurses’ knowledge will develop their effective responses in mass-gathering disasters.

Keywords: emergency nurses, mass-gatherings, hajj, disaster preparedness, disaster knowledge, perceived role, disaster training, previous disaster response experience

Procedia PDF Downloads 401
5528 Optimal Emergency Shipment Policy for a Single-Echelon Periodic Review Inventory System

Authors: Saeed Poormoaied, Zumbul Atan

Abstract:

Emergency shipments provide a powerful mechanism to alleviate the risk of imminent stock-outs and can result in substantial benefits in an inventory system. Customer satisfaction and high service level are immediate consequences of utilizing emergency shipments. In this paper, we consider a single-echelon periodic review inventory system consisting of a single local warehouse, being replenished from a central warehouse with ample capacity in an infinite horizon setting. Since the structure of the optimal policy appears to be complicated, we analyze this problem under an order-up-to-S inventory control policy framework, the (S, T) policy, with the emergency shipment consideration. In each period of the periodic review policy, there is a single opportunity at any point of time for the emergency shipment so that in case of stock-outs, an emergency shipment is requested. The goal is to determine the timing and amount of the emergency shipment during a period (emergency shipment policy) as well as the base stock periodic review policy parameters (replenishment policy). We show that how taking advantage of having an emergency shipment during periods improves the performance of the classical (S, T) policy, especially when fixed and unit emergency shipment costs are small. Investigating the structure of the objective function, we develop an exact algorithm for finding the optimal solution. We also provide a heuristic and an approximation algorithm for the periodic review inventory system problem. The experimental analyses indicate that the heuristic algorithm is computationally more efficient than the approximation algorithm, but in terms of the solution efficiency, the approximation algorithm performs very well. We achieve up to 13% cost savings in the (S, T) policy if we apply the proposed emergency shipment policy. Moreover, our computational results reveal that the approximated solution is often within 0.21% of the globally optimal solution.

Keywords: emergency shipment, inventory, periodic review policy, approximation algorithm.

Procedia PDF Downloads 110
5527 A Study of Emergency Nurses' Knowledge and Attitudes regarding Pain

Authors: Liqun Zou, Ling Wang, Xiaoli Chen

Abstract:

Objective: Through the questionnaire about emergency nurses’ knowledge and attitudes regarding pain management to understand whether they are well mastered and practiced the related knowledge about pain management, providing a reference for continuous improvement of the quality of nursing care in acute pain and for improving the effect of management on emergency pain patients. Method: The Chinese version questionnaire about KASRP (knowledge and attitudes survey regarding pain) was handed out to 132 emergency nurses to do a study about the knowledge and attitude of pain management. Meanwhile, SPSS17.0 was used to do a descriptive analysis and variance analysis on collected data. Results: The emergency nurses’ correct answer rate about KASRP questionnaire is from 25% to 65% and the average correct rate is (44.65 + 7.85)%. In addition, there are 10 to 26 items being given the right answer. Therefore, the average correct items are (17.86 ± 3.14). Moreover, there is no statistical significant on the differences about the correct rate for different age, gender and work experience to answer; however, the difference of the correct rate in different education background and the professional title is significant. Conclusion: There is a remarkable lack of knowledge and attitude towards pain management in emergency nurses, whose basic knowledge of pain is sufficient. Besides, there is a deviation between the knowledge of pain management and clinical practice, which needs to be improved.

Keywords: emergency nurse, pain, KASRP questionnaire, pain management

Procedia PDF Downloads 224
5526 In Case of Possible Disaster Management with Geographic Information System in Konya

Authors: Savaş Durduran, Ceren Yağci

Abstract:

The nature of the events going on in the world, when people’s lives are considered significantly affects natural disasters. Considering thousands of years of earth history, it is seen that many natural disasters, particularly earthquakes located in our country. Behaving cautious, without occurring hazards, after being disaster is much easier and cost effective than returning to the normal life. The four phases of disaster management in the whole world has been described as; pre-disaster preparedness and mitigation, post-disaster response and rehabilitation studies. Pre-disaster and post-disaster phases has half the weight of disaster management. How much would be prepared for disaster, no matter how disaster damage reducing work gives important, we will be less harm from material and spiritual sense. To do this in a systematic way we use the Geographic Information Systems (GIS). The execution of the emergency services to be on time and emergency control mechanism against the development the most appropriate decision Geographic Information System GIS) can be useful. The execution of the emergency services to be on time and emergency control mechanism towards for developing to be the most appropriate decision Geographic Information System (GIS) can be useful. The results obtained by using products with GIS analysis of seismic data to the city, manager of the city required information and data that can be more healthy and satisfies the appropriate policy decisions can be produced. In this study, using ArcGIS software and benefiting reports of the earthquake that occurred in the Konya city, spatial and non-spatial data consisting databases created, by the help of this database a potential disaster management aimed in the city of Konya regard to urban earthquake, GIS-aided analyzes were performed.

Keywords: geographic information systems (GIS), disaster management, emergency control mechanism, Konya

Procedia PDF Downloads 440
5525 A 'Four Method Framework' for Fighting Software Architecture Erosion

Authors: Sundus Ayyaz, Saad Rehman, Usman Qamar

Abstract:

Software Architecture is the basic structure of software that states the development and advancement of a software system. Software architecture is also considered as a significant tool for the construction of high quality software systems. A clean design leads to the control, value and beauty of software resulting in its longer life while a bad design is the cause of architectural erosion where a software evolution completely fails. This paper discusses the occurrence of software architecture erosion and presents a set of methods for the detection, declaration and prevention of architecture erosion. The causes and symptoms of architecture erosion are observed with the examples of prescriptive and descriptive architectures and the practices used to stop this erosion are also discussed by considering different types of software erosion and their affects. Consequently finding and devising the most suitable approach for fighting software architecture erosion and in some way reducing its affect is evaluated and tested on different scenarios.

Keywords: software architecture, architecture erosion, prescriptive architecture, descriptive architecture

Procedia PDF Downloads 465
5524 A Survey of Chronic Pain Patients’ Experiences in the Emergency Department

Authors: G. Fitzpatrick, S. O. Chonghaile, D. Harmon

Abstract:

Objective: Chronic pain patients represent a unique challenge in the Emergency Department. Very little literature has been published regarding this group of patients. Our aim was to determine the attitude of patients with chronic pain to the Emergency Department in order to improve and streamline their future visits. Methods: A two-year survey was carried out on Chronic Pain Patients regarding their Emergency Department Attendances. Patients attending the Pain Clinic in Croom Hospital, Co. Limerick were asked to complete a 20-part questionnaire regarding their experiences of visiting the Emergency Department in the preceding year. 46 questionnaires were completed. Results: Unbearable breakthrough pain was the main reason for visiting the Emergency Department. More than half (54%) of those surveyed were not satisfied with the treatment received. Problems indicated included under-treatment of pain (59%), a sense of being under undue suspicion of drug-seeking behaviour (33%) and a perception that the patient themselves understood their condition better than the treating doctor (76%). Paracetamol, NSAIDs, or time off work comprised 72% of the treatments offered – all of which could have been provided by their General Practitioner. Only 4% were offered a nerve block. 67% felt that the creation of personalised Patient Plans, consisting of an agreed plan between the patient, their pain specialist, and the Emergency Department, would expedite their trip through the Emergency Department. Conclusions: Chronic pain patients generally have a negative experience in the ED. Possible future solutions include increasing our empathy and levels of knowledge, provision of nerve blocks in the ED, and use of personalised “Patient Plans” to streamline the treatment pathway for this group of patients.

Keywords: chronic pain, survey, patients, emergency department

Procedia PDF Downloads 339
5523 Optimal Allocation of Multiple Emergency Resources for a Single Potential Accident Node: A Mixed Integer Linear Program

Authors: Yongjian Du, Jinhua Sun, Kim M. Liew, Huahua Xiao

Abstract:

Optimal allocation of emergency resources before a disaster is of great importance for emergency response. In reality, the pre-protection for a single critical node where accidents may occur is common. In this study, a model is developed to determine location and inventory decisions of multiple emergency resources among a set of candidate stations to minimize the total cost based on the constraints of budgetary and capacity. The total cost includes the economic accident loss which is accorded with probability distribution of time and the warehousing cost of resources which is increasing over time. A ratio is set to measure the degree of a storage station only serving the target node that becomes larger with the decrease of the distance between them. For the application of linear program, it is assumed that the length of travel time to the accident scene of emergency resources has a linear relationship with the economic accident loss. A computational experiment is conducted to illustrate how the proposed model works, and the results indicate its effectiveness and practicability.

Keywords: emergency response, integer linear program, multiple emergency resources, pre-allocation decisions, single potential accident node

Procedia PDF Downloads 125
5522 Major Incident Tier System in the Emergency Department: An Approach

Authors: Catherine Bernard, Paul Ransom

Abstract:

Recent events have prompted emergency planners to re-evaluate their emergency response to major incidents and mass casualties. At the Royal Sussex County Hospital, we have adopted a tiered system comprised of three levels, anticipating an increasing P1, P2 or P3 load. This will aid planning in the golden period between Major Incident ‘Standby,’ and ‘Declared’. Each tier offers step-by-step instructions on appropriate patient movement within and out of the department, as well as suggestions for overflow areas and additional staffing levels. This system can be adapted to individual hospitals and provides concise instructions to be followed in a potentially overwhelming situation.

Keywords: disaster planning, emergency preparedness, major incident planning, mass casualty event

Procedia PDF Downloads 343
5521 Allocation of Mobile Units in an Urban Emergency Service System

Authors: Dimitra Alexiou

Abstract:

In an urban area the allocation placement of an emergency service mobile units, such as ambulances, police patrol must be designed so as to achieve a prompt response to demand locations. In this paper, a partition of a given urban network into distinct sub-networks is performed such that; the vertices in each component are close and simultaneously the difference of the sums of the corresponding population in the sub-networks is almost uniform. The objective here is to position appropriately in each sub-network a mobile emergency unit in order to reduce the response time to the demands. A mathematical model in the framework of graph theory is developed. In order to clarify the corresponding method a relevant numerical example is presented on a small network.

Keywords: graph partition, emergency service, distances, location

Procedia PDF Downloads 456
5520 Exposure of Emergency Department Staff in Jordanian Hospitals to Workplace Violence: A Cross Sectional Study

Authors: Ibrahim Bashayreh Al-Bashtawy Mohammed, Al-Azzam Manar Ahmad Rawashda, Abdul-Monim Batiha Mohammad Sulaiman

Abstract:

Background: Workplace violence against emergency department staff (EDS) is considered one of the most common and widespread phenomena of violence. Purpose: The purpose of this research is to determine the incidence rates of workplace violence and the predicting factors of violent behaviors among emergency departments’ staff in Jordanian hospitals. Methods: A cross-sectional study was used to investigate workplace violence towards a convenience sample of 355 emergency staff departments from 8 governmental and 4 private Jordanian hospitals. Data were collected by a self-administered questionnaire that was developed for the purpose of this study. Results: 72% of workers in emergency departments within Jordanian hospitals are exposed to violent acts, and that patients and their relatives are the main source of workplace violence. The contributing factors as reported by the participants were related to overcrowding, lack of resources, staff shortages, and the absence of effective antiviolence policies. Conclusions/implications for Practice: Policies and legislation regarding violence should be instituted and developed, and emergency department staff should be given training on how to deal with violent incidents, as well as on violence-management policies.

Keywords: Jordan, emergency staff department, workplace violence, community health

Procedia PDF Downloads 292
5519 Development of a Nurse Led Tranexamic Acid Administration Protocol for Trauma Patients in Rural South Africa

Authors: Christopher Wearmouth, Jacob Smith

Abstract:

Administration of tranexamic acid (TXA) reduces all-cause mortality in trauma patients when given within 3 hours of injury. Due to geographical distance and lack of emergency medical services patients often present late, following trauma, to our emergency department. Additionally, we found patients that may have benefited from TXA did not receive it, often due to lack of staff awareness, staff shortages out of hours and lack of equipment for delivering infusions. Our objective was to develop a protocol for nurse-led administration of TXA in the emergency department. We developed a protocol using physiological observations along with criteria from the South African Triage Scale to allow nursing staff to identify patients with, or at risk of, significant haemorrhage. We will monitor the use of the protocol to ensure appropriate compliance and for any adverse events reported.

Keywords: emergency department, emergency nursing, rural healthcare, tranexamic acid, trauma, triage

Procedia PDF Downloads 199
5518 Audit Outcome Cardiac Arrest Cases (2019-2020) in Emergency Department RIPAS Hospital, Brunei Darussalam

Authors: Victor Au, Khin Maung Than, Zaw Win Aung, Linawati Jumat

Abstract:

Background & Objectives: Cardiac arrests can occur anywhere or anytime, and most of the cases will be brought to the emergency department except the cases that happened in at in-patient setting. Raja IsteriPangiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital is the only tertiary government hospital which located in Brunei Muara district and received all referral from other Brunei districts. Data of cardiac arrests in Brunei Darussalam scattered between Emergency Medical Ambulance Services (EMAS), Emergency Department (ED), general inpatient wards, and Intensive Care Unit (ICU). In this audit, we only focused on cardiac arrest cases which had happened or presented to the emergency department RIPAS Hospital. Theobjectives of this audit were to look at demographic of cardiac arrest cases and the survival to discharge rate of In-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (IHCA) and Out-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA). Methodology: This audit retrospective study was conducted on all cardiac arrest cases that underwent Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in ED RIPAS Hospital, Brunei Muara, in the year 2019-2020. All cardiac arrest cases that happened or were brought in to emergency department were included. All the relevant data were retrieved from ED visit registry book and electronic medical record “Bru-HIMS” with keyword diagnosis of “cardiac arrest”. Data were analyzed and tabulated using Excel software. Result: 313 cardiac arrests were recorded in the emergency department in year 2019-2020. 92% cases were categorized as OHCA, and the remaining 8% as IHCA. Majority of the cases were male with age between 50-60 years old. In OHCA subgroup, only 12.4% received bystander CPR, and 0.4% received Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) before emergency medical personnel arrived. Initial shockable rhythm in IHCA group accounted for 12% compare to 4.9% in OHCA group. Outcome of ED resuscitation, 32% of IHCA group achieved return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) with a survival to discharge rate was 16%. For OHCA group, 12.35% achieved ROSC, but unfortunately, none of them survive till discharge. Conclusion: Standardized registry for cardiac arrest in the emergency department is required to provide valid baseline data to measure the quality and outcome of cardiac arrest. Zero survival rate for out hospital cardiac arrest is very concerning, and it might represent the significant breach in cardiac arrest chains of survival. Systematic prospective data collection is needed to identify contributing factors and to improve resuscitation outcome.

Keywords: cardiac arrest, OHCA, IHCA, resuscitation, emergency department

Procedia PDF Downloads 55
5517 Decision Tree Modeling in Emergency Logistics Planning

Authors: Yousef Abu Nahleh, Arun Kumar, Fugen Daver, Reham Al-Hindawi

Abstract:

Despite the availability of natural disaster related time series data for last 110 years, there is no forecasting tool available to humanitarian relief organizations to determine forecasts for emergency logistics planning. This study develops a forecasting tool based on identifying probability of disaster for each country in the world by using decision tree modeling. Further, the determination of aggregate forecasts leads to efficient pre-disaster planning. Based on the research findings, the relief agencies can optimize the various resources allocation in emergency logistics planning.

Keywords: decision tree modeling, forecasting, humanitarian relief, emergency supply chain

Procedia PDF Downloads 447
5516 The Relationship between First-Day Body Temperature and Mortality in Traumatic Patients

Authors: Neda Valizadeh, Mani Mofidi, Sama Haghighi, Ali Hashemaghaee, Soudabeh Shafiee Ardestani

Abstract:

Background: There are many systems and parameters to evaluate trauma patients in the emergency department. Most of these evaluations are to distinguish patients with worse conditions so that the care systems have a better prediction of condition for a better care-giving. The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between axillary body temperature and mortality in patients hospitalized in the intensive care unit (ICU) with multiple traumas and with other clinical and para-clinical factors. Methods: All patients between 16 and 75 years old with multiple traumas who were admitted into Emergency Department then hospitalized in the ICU were included in our study. An axillary temperature in the first and the second day of admission, Glasgow cola scale (GCS), systolic blood pressure, Serum glucose levels, and white blood cell counts of all patients at the admission day were recorded and their relationship with mortality were analyzed by SPSS software with suitable statistical tests. Results: Axillary body temperatures in the first and second day were statistically lower in expired traumatic patients (p=0.001 and p<0,001 respectively). Patients with lower GCS had a significantly lower first-day temperature and a significantly higher mortality. (p=0.006 and p=0.006 respectively). Furthermore, the first-day axillary temperature was significantly lower in patients with a lower first-day systolic blood pressure (p=0.014). Conclusion: Our results showed that lower axillary body temperature in the first day is associated with higher mortality, lower GCS, and lower systolic blood pressure. Thus, this could be used as a predictor of mortality in evaluation of traumatic patients in emergency settings.

Keywords: fever, trauma, mortality, emergency

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5515 Clinical Outcomes of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury with Acute Traumatic Intracranial Hemorrhage on Initial Emergency Ward Neuroimaging

Authors: S. Shafiee Ardestani, A. Najafi, N. Valizadeh, E. Payani, H. Karimian

Abstract:

Objectives: Treatment of mild traumatic brain injury in emergency ward patients with any type of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage is flexible. The aim of this study is to assess the clinical outcomes of mild traumatic brain injury patients who had acute traumatic intracranial hemorrhage on initial emergency ward neuroimaging. Materials-Methods: From March 2011 to November 2012 in a retrospective cohort study we enrolled emergency ward patients with mild traumatic brain injury with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores of 14 or 15 and who had stable vital signs. Patients who had any type of intracranial hemorrhage on first head CT and repeat head CT within 24 hours were included. Patients with initial GCS < 14, injury > 24 hours old, pregnancy, concomitant non-minor injuries, and coagulopathy were excluded. Primary endpoints were neurosurgical procedures and/or death and for discharged patients, return to the emergency ward during one week. Results: Among 755 patients who were referred to the emergency ward and underwent two head CTs during first 24 hours, 302 (40%) were included. The median interval between CT scans was 6 hours (ranging 4 to 8 hours). Consequently, 135 (45%) patients had subarachnoid hemorrhage, 124 (41%) patients had subdural hemorrhage, 15 (5%) patients had epidural hemorrhage, 28 (9%) patients had cerebral contusions, and 54 (18%) patients had intra-parenchymal hemorrhage. Six of 302 patients died within 15 days of injury. 200 patients (66%) have been discharged from the emergency ward, 25 (12%) of whom returned to the emergency ward after one week. Conclusion: Discharge of the head trauma patients after a repeat head CT and brief period of observation in the emergency ward lead to early discharge of mild traumatic brain injury patients with traumatic ICH without adverse events.

Keywords: clinical outcomes, emergency ward, mild traumatic intracranial hemorrhage, Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS)

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