Use of an Emergency Medical Pictorial Communication Book During Simulated Disaster Conditions

• 2013

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• Solomon Behar; Richard Benson II; Ami Kurzweil; Colleen Azen; Alan Nager
PMID: 24274127DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2013.86

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This article describes a study on using an emergency medical pictorial communication book during disasters. It highlights how language barriers can slow down patient assessment when interpreters are unavailable. The Medical Emergency Communication (MEC) book, developed at Children's Hospital Los Angeles, helps English-speaking healthcare workers communicate with Spanish-speaking patients. The study compared the accuracy of medical histories taken with and without the MEC book and found that using the book improved accuracy. Patient satisfaction was also measured, showing positive results for those who used the MEC book in simulated disaster conditions.

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Tags

Focus Area: Everyday Emergency

Audience: Emergency Managers

Emergency Management Stages: Mitigation; Response

Bundles: Disaster Research Literature Review

Keywords: Books; Communication; Communication Barriers; Computer Simulation; Emergency Medical Services; Emergency Medicine; Emergency Treatment; Hospitals, Urban; Language; Medical History Taking; Patient Satisfaction; Photography; Professional-Patient Relations; Teaching Materials; Emergency Service, Hospital; Disaster Medicine

Institutions: University of Southern California; Children's Hospital Los Angeles

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