CHEST Guidelines-Engagement-and-Education

Engagement-and-Education_chest
Pdf Summary
The CHEST Consensus Statement on the care of critically ill and injured patients during pandemics and disasters highlights the challenges and recommendations for integrating ICU clinicians into disaster preparedness. Authored by a task force led by Asha V. Devereaux and others, the statement underscores the fragmented nature of current clinician engagement and education due to time and institutional barriers, often only addressed during disasters.<br /><br />The task force conducted a literature review from 2007 to 2013 and acknowledged the absence of high-quality studies to form evidence-based recommendations. Consequently, they developed 23 expert opinion-based suggestions through a modified Delphi process, focusing on four thematic areas: situational awareness, clinician roles and responsibilities, education, and community engagement.<br /><br />Key suggestions include establishing integrated communication systems and robust electronic health records to facilitate tracking during mass events, utilizing virtual ICUs and telemedicine for information sharing, engaging ICU clinicians in regular disaster response training, and incorporating disaster medicine into critical care training curricula.<br /><br />Hospitals are encouraged to delineate clinician roles during pandemics in legal documents and ensure ICU leadership is knowledgeable in surge capacity management. Furthermore, forming healthcare coalitions to share expertise and resources is recommended.<br /><br />Community involvement is vital; engaging critical care clinicians in pre-event planning and incorporating community values into decision-making are emphasized. Hospitals should foster community conversations about mass critical care to build trust and transparency.<br /><br />The consensus details a proactive approach to disaster readiness, emphasizing the need for uniform preparedness. It suggests developing educational standards and evaluating educational processes continually to maintain their relevance. Finally, the consensus highlights the need for further research to better understand effective education and engagement strategies for future pandemics and disasters.
Keywords
pandemics
disasters
ICU clinicians
disaster preparedness
task force
situational awareness
telemedicine
surge capacity
community engagement
education standards