title: Best practice guidelines on surgical response in disasters and humanitarian emergencies: report of the 2011 Humanitarian Action Summit Working Group on Surgical Issues within the Humanitarian Space.
abstract: The provision of surgery within humanitarian crises is complex, requiring coordination and cooperation among all stakeholders. During the 2011 Humanitarian Action Summit best practice guidelines were proposed to provide greater accountability and standardization in surgical humanitarian relief efforts. Surgical humanitarian relief planning should occur early and include team selection and preparation, appropriate disaster-specific anticipatory planning, needs assessment, and an awareness of local resources and limitations of cross-cultural project management. Accurate medical record keeping and timely follow-up is important for a transient surgical population. Integration with local health systems is essential and will help facilitate longer term surgical health system strengthening.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Surgery, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. schackun@uwo.ca
authors.forename: Smita
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chackungal
authors.forename: Jason W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Nickerson
authors.forename: Lisa M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Knowlton
authors.forename: Lynn
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: Frederick M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Burkle
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Casey
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Crandell
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Demey
authors.forename: Lillian
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Di Giacomo
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dohlman
authors.forename: Joshua
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Goldstein
authors.forename: James E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Gosney
authors.forename: Keita
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ikeda
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Linden
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Mullaly
authors.forename: Colleen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: O'Connell
authors.forename: Anthony D
authors.initials: AD
authors.lastname: Redmond
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rufsvold
authors.forename: Ana L R
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Terri
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Skelton
authors.forename: Kelly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: McQueen
mesh_terms: D000533:Altruism; D019985:Benchmarking; D003226:Congresses as Topic; D004190:Disasters; D004632:Emergency Medical Services / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D013502:General Surgery / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007258:Informed Consent; D010351:Patient Discharge