JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Although both disaster management and disaster medicine have been used for decades, their efficiency and effectiveness have been far from perfect. One reason could be the lack of systematic utilization of modern technologies, such as e-health, in their operations. To address this issue, researchers’ efforts have led to the emergence of the Disaster e-Health field (DEH). DEH’s main objective is to systematically integrate e-health technologies for healthcare purposes within the Disaster Management Cycle (DMC).

Objective:

The objectives of this research are to identify, map and define the scope of DEH as a new area of research at the intersection of disaster management, emergency medicine and e-health

Methods:

An extensive scoping review, using published material was carried out in the areas of disaster management, disaster medicine and e-health, to identify the scope of DEH. This review procedure was iterative and conducted in multiple scientific databases, in two rounds, one using controlled indexed terms and the other using similar uncontrolled terms. In both rounds, all the appropriate research studies discovered were considered, regardless of their research design, methodology and quality. Information extracted from both rounds was thematically analysed to define the DEH scope and the results were evaluated by the fields’ experts through a Delphi method.

Results:

Searching for the e-health application within DMC, in both rounds of the research, yielded 404 relevant studies that showed e-health applications in different disaster types, and disaster phases. These applications were varied with respect to the e-health technology types, functions, services and stakeholders. The results led to the identification of the scope of DEH including e-health technologies, their applications, services and future developments that are applicable in disasters as well as to the related stakeholders. Reference to the elements of the DEH scope indicates what, when, and how current e-health technologies can be used in the DMC.

Conclusions:

The comprehensive data gathering from multiple databases offered a grounded method to define the DEH scope. This scope comprises the concepts related to DEH and the boundaries that define it. The scope identifies the e-health technologies relevant to DEH and the functions and services that can be provided by these technologies. Additionally, the scope tells us which groups can use the provided services and functions, and in which disaster types or phases. DEH approaches could potentially improve the response to healthcare demands before, during and after disasters. DEH takes advantage of e-health technologies to facilitate DMC tasks and activities, enhance their efficiency and effectiveness, and last but not least, enhancing healthcare delivery and providing more quality healthcare services to the wider population regardless of their geographical location, or even disaster types and phases. Clinical Trial: Not Applicable