TY - JOUR
T1 - A global survey of emergency department responses to the COVID-19 pandemic
AU - Mahajan, Prashant
AU - Shu-Ling, Chong
AU - Gutierrez, Camilo
AU - White, Emily
AU - Cher, Benjamin A.Y.
AU - Freiheit, Elizabeth
AU - Belle, Apoorva
AU - Kaartinen, Johanna
AU - Kumar, Vijaya Arun
AU - Middleton, Paul M.
AU - Ng, Chip Jin
AU - Osei-Kwame, Daniel
AU - Roth, Dominik
AU - Sinja, Tej Prakash
AU - Galwankar, Sagar
AU - Nypaver, Michele
AU - Kuppermann, Nathan
AU - EKelund, Ulf
AU - eMERGE Network
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Mahajan et al. This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Introduction: Emergency departments (ED) globally are addressing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with varying degrees of success. We leveraged the 17-country, Emergency Medicine Education & Research by Global Experts (EMERGE) network and non-EMERGE ED contacts to understand ED emergency preparedness and practices globally when combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We electronically surveyed EMERGE and non-EMERGE EDs from April 3-June 1, 2020 on ED capacity, pandemic preparedness plans, triage methods, staffing, supplies, and communication practices. The survey was available in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish to optimize participation. We analyzed survey responses using descriptive statistics. Results: 74/129 (57%) EDs from 28 countries in all six World Health Organization global regions responded. Most EDs were in Asia (49%), followed by North America (28%), and Europe (14%). Nearly all EDs (97%) developed and implemented protocols for screening, testing, and treating patients with suspected COVID-19 infections. Sixty percent responded that provider staffing/back-up plans were ineffective. Many sites (47/74, 64%) reported staff missing work due to possible illness with the highest provider proportion of COVID-19 exposures and infections among nurses. Conclusion: Despite having disaster plans in place, ED pandemic preparedness and response continue to be a challenge. Global emergency research networks are vital for generating and disseminating large-scale event data, which is particularly important during a pandemic.
AB - Introduction: Emergency departments (ED) globally are addressing the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic with varying degrees of success. We leveraged the 17-country, Emergency Medicine Education & Research by Global Experts (EMERGE) network and non-EMERGE ED contacts to understand ED emergency preparedness and practices globally when combating the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: We electronically surveyed EMERGE and non-EMERGE EDs from April 3-June 1, 2020 on ED capacity, pandemic preparedness plans, triage methods, staffing, supplies, and communication practices. The survey was available in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish to optimize participation. We analyzed survey responses using descriptive statistics. Results: 74/129 (57%) EDs from 28 countries in all six World Health Organization global regions responded. Most EDs were in Asia (49%), followed by North America (28%), and Europe (14%). Nearly all EDs (97%) developed and implemented protocols for screening, testing, and treating patients with suspected COVID-19 infections. Sixty percent responded that provider staffing/back-up plans were ineffective. Many sites (47/74, 64%) reported staff missing work due to possible illness with the highest provider proportion of COVID-19 exposures and infections among nurses. Conclusion: Despite having disaster plans in place, ED pandemic preparedness and response continue to be a challenge. Global emergency research networks are vital for generating and disseminating large-scale event data, which is particularly important during a pandemic.
U2 - 10.5811/WESTJEM.2021.3.50358
DO - 10.5811/WESTJEM.2021.3.50358
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85116064850
SN - 1936-900X
VL - 22
SP - 1037
EP - 1044
JO - Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
JF - Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
IS - 5
ER -
