Structural Elements and Requirements in Forming Prehospital Health Response Teams in Response to Chemical, Biological, Radiation, and Nuclear Incidents (CBRN), a Comparative Review Study

Abstract

Abstract One of the important indicators of increasing the capacity of the health system and the chances of survival of patients and injured immediately after chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear (CBRN) accidents is rapid access to medical services. Establishing prehospital health response teams is one of the main strategies to improve the capacity and ability to respond to unusual events. The aim of this study was to investigate the factors influencing the formation of rapid response teams in the field of health in response to chemical, biological, radiation and nuclear accidents (CBRN EDMRT). In this study, the comparative review method was used. The study period was from November 1, 2021 to March 2022. Forming and deploying rapid health response teams based on an extensive multi-step search and keywords in multiple databases such as PubMed, CINHAL, Blackwell, Iranmedex, SID, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, Google Scholar, Scopus Also, the websites of the Ministry of Health and the responsible organizations in different countries and the proposed structure were done by international institutions and sites. After accessing the resources and documents, the process of analysis and comparison of different team structures was performed. After the initial search, the structure and required elements of their teams were extracted. According to published articles and texts, 10 teams from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the US Department of Homeland Security, and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Australia, the British Public Health Organization, and the Japanese Red Cross were compared. Team requirements, population distribution, type of accident, level of team activity and training, equipment required by the team after the accident, according to which, each country/organization should consider the above factors to design and establish the structure of CBRN EDMRT to take. A study should be conducted to design a comprehensive and evidence-based structure.