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Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers’ Characteristics Affect Disaster Survival

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 May 2023

Donald E Brannen Open the ORCID record for Donald E Brannen [Opens in a new window] ,
Melissa Howell ,
Cecilia M Bidigare  and
Jaime L Shuster Open the ORCID record for Jaime L Shuster [Opens in a new window]
Donald E Brannen*
Affiliation:
Greene County Public Health, Xenia, Ohio
Melissa Howell
Affiliation:
Greene County Public Health, Xenia, Ohio
Cecilia M Bidigare
Affiliation:
Sinclair College, Dayton, Ohio
Jaime L Shuster
Affiliation:
Kent State University, Stark, North Canton, Ohio Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio
*
Corresponding author: Donald Brannen, Email: dbrannen@gcph.info
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Abstract

Objective:

Medical Reserve Corps’ volunteers underwent stop-the-bleed, triage, and disaster preparedness training to improve victim survival of a mass casualty event.

Methods:

Volunteer responses to 16 disaster vignettes were recorded as ‘survived’ if correct, or ‘died’ if incorrect. Volunteers’ characteristics were evaluated based on the health outcomes of the vignette victims via logistic regression.

Results:

Overall, 69 volunteers evaluated 1104 vignette victims. STB training significantly improved survival from 77.2% to 93.2% (P < 0.001). The training did not improve disaster preparedness (75.5% to 73%) nor triage (33.5% to 35.1%). Volunteer first care provider training in psychological first aid improved victim survival from 10.32 (9.6 - 10.9, 95% CI) to 11.9 (11.28 - 12.5, 95% CI). The odds of survival increased when disaster victims received first care from a volunteer who had a positive perception of the public authority’s truthfulness (1.50, range 1.07 - 2.10); stated a willingness to volunteer (1.65, range 1.2 - 2.26); completed psychological first aid training (1.557, range 1.08 - 2.22); or had 4-or-more years of post-secondary education (1.30, range 1.00 - 1.701).

Conclusion:

Psychological first aid training should be a basic requirement for disaster volunteers. Trust in public authority to provide protective public health recommendations increases disaster survival.

Keywords

medical reserve corpsstop-the-bleedSALT triagetrust
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e391
Creative Commons
This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection within the United States. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
Copyright
© Greene County Public Health, 2023.

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