A national framework for disaster health education in Australia.
BACKGROUND
Recent events have heightened awareness of disaster health issues and the need to prepare the health workforce to plan for and respond to major incidents. This has been reinforced at an international level by the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine, which has proposed an international educational framework.


OBJECTIVE
The aim of this paper is to outline the development of a national educational framework for disaster health in Australia.


METHODS
The framework was developed on the basis of the literature and the previous experience of members of a National Collaborative for Disaster Health Education and Research. The Collaborative was brought together in a series of workshops and teleconferences, utilizing a modified Delphi technique to finalize the content at each level of the framework and to assign a value to the inclusion of that content at the various levels.


METHODS
The framework identifies seven educational levels along with educational outcomes for each level. The framework also identifies the recommended contents at each level and assigns a rating of depth for each component. The framework is not intended as a detailed curriculum, but rather as a guide for educationalists to develop specific programs at each level.


CONCLUSIONS
This educational framework will provide an infrastructure around which future educational programs in Disaster Health in Australia may be designed and delivered. It will permit improved articulation for students between the various levels and greater consistency between programs so that operational responders may have a consistent language and operational approach to the management of major events.
FitzGerald
Gerard J
GJ
Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane. gj.fitzgerald@qut.edu.au
Aitken
Peter
P
Arbon
Paul
P
Archer
Frank
F
Cooper
David
D
Leggat
Peter
P
Myers
Colin
C
Robertson
Andrew
A
Tarrant
Michael
M
Davis
Elinor R
ER
D001315:Australia; D001364:Awareness; D003479:Curriculum; D003697:Delphi Technique; D004189:Disaster Planning; D004522:Educational Status; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D016730:Program Development; D012066:Relief Work