Medication supply for people evacuated during disasters.
File(s)Ochi_J_Evid_Based_Med_2015.pdf (232.67 KB)
Accepted version
Author(s)
Ochi, S
Hodgson, S
Landeg, O
Mayner, L
Murray, V
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Medication loss is a major problem in disaster settings, and it is crucial for patients to bring their medication and healthcare items with them when they leave their homes during an evacuation. This article is based on a systematic literature review on medication loss, the objectives of which were to identify the extent and implications of medication loss, to identify the burden of prescription refill, and to make recommendations on effective preparedness. The review revealed that medication loss, prescription loss and refills, and the loss of medical aids are a significant burden on the medical relief teams. The medical aids are not limited to drugs, but include routine medications, medical/allergy records, devices for specific care and daily life, and emergency medications. One possible solution is to make a personal emergency pack and for people to carry this with them at all times. To ensure that patients are adequately prepared, stakeholders, especially health professionals, need to be actively involved in the preparation plans. Since our findings have little impact on disaster risk reduction unless shared broadly, we are now taking actions to spread our findings, such as presenting in conferences and via posters, in order to raise awareness among patients and healthcare professionals. As part of these activities, our findings were presented at the Evidence Aid Symposium on 20 September 2014, at Hyderabad, India.
Date Issued
2015-03-25
Date Acceptance
2014-10-28
Citation
Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 2015, 8 (1), pp.39-41
ISSN
1756-5391
Publisher
Wiley
Start Page
39
End Page
41
Journal / Book Title
Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine
Volume
8
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Ochi, S., Hodgson, S., Landeg, O., Mayner, L. and Murray, V. (2015), Medication supply for people evacuated during disasters. Journal of Evidence-Based Medicine, 8: 39–41. , which has been published in final form at https://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jebm.12138. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance With Wiley Terms and Conditions for self-archiving.
Subjects
Medication
drug
emergency
preparedness
Disasters
Health Services Accessibility
Humans
Pharmaceutical Preparations
Publication Status
Published