title: Prehospital care of tsunami victims in Thailand: description and analysis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  On 26 December 2004 at 09:00 h, an earthquake of 9.0 magnitude (Richter scale) struck the area off of the western coast of northern Sumatra, Indonesia, triggering a Tsunami. As of 25 January 2005, 5,388 fatalities were confirmed, 3,120 people were reported missing, and 8,457 people were wounded in Thailand alone. Little information is available in the medical literature regarding the response and restructuring of the prehospital healthcare system in dealing with major natural disasters.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objective of the study was to analyze the prehospital medical response to the Tsunami in Thailand, and to identify possible ways of improving future preparedness and response.
  
  
  METHODS
  The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) Home Front Command Medical Department sent a research delegation to study the response of the Thai medical system to the 2004 earthquake and Tsunami disaster. The delegation met with Thai healthcare and military personnel, who provided medical care for and evacuated the Tsunami victims. The research instruments included questionnaires (open and closed questions), interviews, and a review of debriefing session reports held in the days following the Tsunami.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Beginning the day after the event, primary health care in the affected provinces was expanded and extended. This included: (1) strengthening existing primary care facilities with personnel and equipment; (2) enhancing communication and transportation capabilities; (3) erecting healthcare facilities in newly constructed evacuation centers; (4) deploying mobile, medical teams to make house calls to flood refugees in affected areas; and (5) deploying ambulance crews to the affected areas to search for survivors and provide primary care triage and transportation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The restructuring of the prehospital healthcare system was crucial for optimal management of the healthcare needs of Tsunami victims and for the reduction of the patient loads on secondary medical facilities. The disaster plan of a national healthcare system should include special consideration for the restructuring and reinforcement prehospital system.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben Gurion University, Beer-Sheva, Israel.
authors.forename: Dagan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schwartz
authors.forename: Avishay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Goldberg
authors.forename: Issac
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ashkenasi
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nakash
authors.forename: Rami
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Pelts
authors.forename: Adi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Leiba
authors.forename: Yeheskel
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Levi
authors.forename: Yaron
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Bar-Dayan
mesh_terms: D004190:Disasters; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013785:Thailand