Emergency Response Coordination Research Articles

A Survey on Emergency Vehicle Route Optimization and Traffic Management Application

Abstract: Ambulance delays in India result in approximately 10,000 lives lost annually, highlighting the critical need for efficient emergency response systems. To address this issue, we present the "Emergency Vehicle Priority with Route Optimization and Traffic Management Application." Leveraging advanced technology, including an Android application, Firebase, and IoT integration with traffic signals, our system dynamically calculates and optimizes ambulance routes using Google API, minimizing delays and improving overall efficiency. The application facilitates seamless coordination between ambulance drivers and traffic police officers, triggering real-time route updates and traffic signal adjustments to expedite ambulance passage. By streamlining traffic flow and enhancing emergency response coordination, our solution aims to significantly reduce ambulance delays and save lives in urban areas.

Coordination and modularization: the experience of the joint prevention and control mechanism to COVID emergencies in China.

The integration of disparate emergency resources and the improvement of emergency response teamwork are the underlying trends and shared requirements for building resilience in an era of multiple global public health crises. This study investigated the emergency response with emergency collaboration networks of each functional module and the overall Joint Epidemic Prevention and Control Mechanism (JPCM) network in China's COVID outbreak prevention and control. The study employed a scholarly framework of "the integration of JPCM coordination and emergency collaborative modularization" to explore the attributes of JPCM using social network analysis. The data were obtained from administrative records from JPCM's official website, spanning January 2020 to December 2022. The study examined the JPCM coordination and found several functional working modules of JPCM, such as Interrupt Spread, Manage Supply, Medical Rescue, Restore Work and Production, and Implement Responsibility modules. The network structure indicators showed that the Manage Supply module had the most extensive network connectivity, the shortest communication distance, and the most consistent collaboration. The E-I index of the overall JPCM network and the Manage Supply network were - 0.192 and - 0.452, respectively (at p < 0.001 and p < 0.05), indicating more internal relationships than external relationships. The E-I index of the Medical Rescue and Implement Responsibility collaboration networks were 0.122 and 0.147, respectively (at p < 0.001 and p < 0.05), indicating more external relationships than internal relationships. The QAP regression analysis showed that the most vital driver on the overall JPCM network was the Interrupt Spread module, followed by the Implement Responsibility and Medical Rescue modules. The Interrupt Spread module initiated emergency coordination with most departments and agencies. The Manage Supply module ensured the flow of medical supplies and survival essentials, while the Medical Rescue module addressed the core aspects of the health emergency response. The Restore Work and Production module repaired the halt in production and livelihoods caused by the outbreak, strengthening and developing emergency coordination and roles across emergency organizations. The Implement Responsibility module provided more heterogeneous emergency response resources for the overall JPCM coordination, complementing the COVID cross-organizational emergency response coordination. The study on the JPCM case in China improves public health emergency management and aids informed decision-making.

Emergency medical dispatch technologies: Addressing communication challenges and coordinating emergency response in low and middle-income countries

A majority of emergency response in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) without formal emergency medical services (EMS) rely on uncoordinated layperson first responders (LFRs) to respond to emergencies using readily available mobile phones and private transport. Although formally trained LFRs are an important foundation for nascent emergency medical services (EMS) development, without coordination by standardized emergency medical dispatch (EMD) systems, LFR response is limited to witnessed emergencies, which provides significant but incomplete coverage. After training and equipping LFRs, EMD implementation using telecommunications technologies is the next step in formal EMS development and is essential to coordinate response, given the impact of timely prehospital response, intervention, and transportation on reducing morbidity/mortality. In this paper, we describe the current state of dispatch technologies used for emergency response in LMICs, focusing on the role of communication technologies, current approaches, and challenges in communication, and offer potential strategies for future development.

PrioriNet

During disaster scenarios, effective communication systems are essential for coordinating emergency response efforts and ensuring the safety of affected individuals. However, existing communication protocols often face challenges in providing reliable and efficient communication in these highly dynamic and resource-constrained environments. To overcome these challenges a novel energy-efficient emergency priority protocol namely PrioriNet technique which specifically tailored for urban earthquake scenarios. The protocol focuses on prioritizing the transmission of emergency data packets to ensure their prompt and reliable delivery, while appropriately managing normal data packets. The PrioriNet prioritizes the emergency messages as high and low priority messages and allocate them to energy efficient nodes efficiently. The experimental results indicates that the suggested protocol performs better than the existing LEACH technique in terms of energy consumption, network coverage, packet delivery ratio, and throughput. In emergency data scenarios, the LEACH protocol demonstrates throughputs between 0.3 Mbps and 1.2 Mbps, whereas the proposed method consistently outperforms the LEACH protocol with throughputs ranging from 0.7 Mbps to 1.8 Mbps respectively.

A Coordinated Emergency Response Scheme for Electricity and Watershed Networks Considering Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity and Volatility of Rainstorm Disasters

A Coordinated Emergency Response Scheme for Electricity and Watershed Networks Considering Spatio-Temporal Heterogeneity and Volatility of Rainstorm Disasters

After action review of the COVID-19 surveillance system in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, in 2020.

Surveillance is the backbone of any response to an infectious disease outbreak, and comprehensive evaluation of surveillance systems is crucial. However, structured evaluations of surveillance systems during the COVID-19 pandemic are scarce. We conducted an after action review (AAR) of the performance of the COVID-19 surveillance system in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, during 2020 using the COVID-19-specific AAR methodology developed by the World Health Organization in combination with guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We conducted a stakeholder survey, document reviews, and key informant interviews with staff from Quang Ninh CDC's COVID-19 surveillance system. The COVID-19 surveillance system was based on the pre-existing surveillance system in the province. The system's strengths were early preparation for emergency response, strong governance and central coordination, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Stakeholders agreed that the system proved useful and adaptive to the fast-evolving COVID-19 situation but was weakened by overly complex systems, redundant administrative processes, unclear communication channels, and lack of resources. Overall, the surveillance systems in Quang Ninh province proved effective in containing COVID-19 and adaptive in a fast-changing epidemiological context. Several recommendations were made based on identified areas of concern that are of relevance for COVID-19 surveillance systems in Vietnam and similar settings.

Coordination strategies and concept of operations implemented during activation of public health emergency operations center for COVID-19 response in Pakistan

Public health emergency management systems encountered difficulties in developing countries, especially in Pakistan. The COVID-19 pandemic was extremely challenging for different agencies/departments in Pakistan. Health emergency management depends on a well-established public health emergency operations center that could generate a coordinated response to emergencies. We conducted an assessment of public health emergency response coordination implemented during the COVID-19 at strategic level. This was mix-method qualitative study. Primary data was collected by using a structured questionnaire, and secondary data was collected by desk review. The agencies engaged in pandemic response at the national level in Pakistan were included in the assessment. The overall score of the emergency response coordination system during COVID-19 was 49% for all agencies. We found that agencies faced challenges in leadership, legislation, and financing issues during the pandemic response (44%). None of the agencies had a fully developed framework for joint planning and response system for health emergencies. Roles and responsibilities attached to designated agencies in response were relatively clear (55%) for most of the agencies. Effective public health emergency response is based on multi-departmental coordination, resource mobilization, and clear roles for each agency. Pakistan must proactively address these challenges for pandemic response in future.

Strategi Pelatihan dan Pengembangan Sumber Daya Manusia untuk Menghadapi Tantangan Perubahan Organisasi

The purpose of this research is to explain a strategic approach to the training and development of the Human Resources of the Regional Disaster Management Agency (BPBD) in facing organizational change challenges. This study uses a qualitative descriptive method and a literature study approach. The research is conducted at the Office of the Regional Disaster Management Agency in Bima District. In this research, the data analysis technique used is the interactive model according to Miles and Huberman, which consists of three main components: data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion/verification. The research results show that in the context of natural disasters that are prone in this region, disaster preparedness, disaster management, and emergency response coordination are the top priorities in the training strategy. Involvement of the local community, collaboration with other institutions, and learning from previous experiences are essential elements that can strengthen the readiness of the BPBD in Bima District. Continuous evaluation, career development, utilization of local human resources, and technological innovation are supportive elements in a comprehensive training strategy. Recommendations include the development of long-term training plans, enhanced inter-agency collaboration, and investment in technology that supports disaster management and training. Facing future challenges, such as climate change that can increase the risk of natural disasters, the BPBD in Bima District must continually update their training strategy and ensure that their response to organizational changes and disasters remains relevant and responsive. Therefore, the training and development strategy for HR in the BPBD in Bima District can help strengthen their preparedness and responsiveness in facing the challenges in this region.

Disaster response strategies of governments and social organizations: From the perspective of infrastructure damage and asymmetric resource dependence

Natural disaster response is commonly regarded as a dynamic process that reflects intricate relationships between physical and social factors. The resilience of physical infrastructure impacts the availability of emergency resources, while asymmetric resource dependence among emergency cooperation organizations influences the effectiveness of the coordinated emergency response. This study has formulated differential game encompassing three emergency response models: autonomous participation, government-led, and collaborative response. These models have been designed to account for scenarios involving infrastructure damage and asymmetric resource dependence scenarios to compute the optimal level of emergency response efforts by both government and social organizations, the government cost-sharing ratio, the optimal level of emergency resource availability, and disaster response performance. The results indicated that, under specific conditions, government cost-sharing can motivate social organizations to actively engage in disaster response, leading to improvement in disaster response performance. The collaborative emergency response model outperformed the other models regarding optimal emergency response strategy and disaster response performance. Notably, infrastructure damage and asymmetric resource dependence lead to a reduction in the optimal level of emergency response efforts and system disaster response performance for both parties. Furthermore, the impact of infrastructure damage on disaster response performance and the optimization of emergency resource availability levels are shown to be more substantial than the effects of asymmetric resource dependence. This research provided theoretical support for strategic decision-making in natural disaster response and is more aligned with disaster response.

Operational Health Pavilions in Mass Disasters: Lessons Learned from the 2023 Earthquake in Turkey and Syria.

The massive earthquake that hit Turkey and Syria in February 2023 killed tens of thousands of people, and most of the deceased have not yet been identified. Many victims were pulled from the rubble hours or days later, injured and in need of assistance, treatment, and food, and many have not yet been connected with their families. Armed forces, volunteers, technicians, and health workers must cooperate in synergy in these situations to ensure effective interventions and to improve resilience. Based on the lessons learned from the response efforts to this recent natural catastrophe, this brief report proposes, for the first time, an organisational model structured around five functional pavilions that can be safely set up at the edge of a disaster area. Each pavilion should run its own activities to make a vital contribution to the overall coordinated emergency response. Looking to the future, it is extremely important to apply a technical approach that leads to maximum operational synergy at a disaster site and during the first phase of a sudden-onset emergency.

After action review of the COVID-19 surveillance system in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, in 2020.

Surveillance is the backbone of any response to an infectious disease outbreak, and comprehensive evaluation of surveillance systems is crucial. However, structured evaluations of surveillance systems during the COVID-19 pandemic are scarce. We conducted a after action review (AAR) of the performance of the COVID-19 surveillance system in Quang Ninh Province, Vietnam, during 2020 using the COVID-19-specific AAR methodology developed by the World Health Organization in combination with guidance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We conducted a stakeholder survey, document reviews, and key informant interviews with staff from Quang Ninh CDC's COVID-19 surveillance system. The COVID-19 surveillance system was based on the pre-existing surveillance system in the province. The system's strengths were early preparation for emergency response, strong governance and central coordination, and multidisciplinary collaboration. Stakeholders agreed that the system proved useful and adaptive to the fast-evolving COVID-19 situation but was weakened by overly complex systems, redundant administrative processes, unclear communication channels, and lack of resources. Overall, the surveillance systems in Quang Ninh province proved effective in containing COVID-19 and adaptive in a fast-changing epidemiological context. Several recommendations were made based on identified areas of concern that are of relevance for COVID-19 surveillance systems in Vietnam and similar settings.

How Software Agents Can Help to Coordinate Emergency Response Teams: Adaptive Team Performance Comparing Manual and Automated Team Communication

In interprofessional emergency response teams, firefighters, police, and paramedics must communicate efficiently (i.e., request the correct expert) to avoid life-threatening consequences. However, this communication is sometimes inefficient, for example, when a wrong expert is requested due to the lack of meta-knowledge. Team research has shown that meta-knowledge of “who knows what” improves team communication, so that members correctly request each other according to their expertise. Advances in technology, such as software agents holding meta-knowledge, can be used to improve team communication. In this paper, we analyze the effects of meta-knowledge on expert seeking, mistakes in requesting experts, and (adaptive) team performance by comparing manual and automated agent-based team communication. Using a control-center simulation, 360 students in 120 three-person teams had the interdependent task of handling emergencies in three phases. We manipulated meta-knowledge in advance, with 61 teams learning and 59 teams not learning other team members’ expertise. Furthermore, in phases 1 and 3, team members had to communicate manually. In phase 2, communication was automated by a software agent taking over expert requesting. In line with our hypotheses, results showed that software agents can compensate the lack of meta-knowledge, so that there were no performance differences between teams with and without meta-knowledge with automated team communication. Our findings provide implications for research and practice that established team constructs should also be considered in human-automation teams.

Study of a BIM-Based Cyber-Physical System and Intelligent Disaster Prevention System in Taipei Main Station

Because of its large area and complicated space utilization, in the event of a disaster, rescue efforts in specific areas of Taipei Main Station would be difficult. In addition, rescue efforts are also difficult to implement, because each area is managed by different units. In order to ensure emergency and safe evacuation of passengers and reduce the loss of related property during a disaster, a suitable disaster prevention system is required. This study conducted risk assessment based on the triggering factors of disaster types over the years. After synthesizing the results of the disaster risk assessment, a disaster preparedness contingency plan was designed. According to the Incident Command System (ICS), this study formulated the usual management measures and emergency response procedures for various levels of disasters. When an accident occurs, the system can automatically initiate various emergency disaster relief measures, monitor the development of the incident, transmit disaster information, and coordinate disaster emergency response procedures. This study established a building information modeling (BIM)-based cyber-physical system (CPS) and intelligent disaster prevention system integrated under the overall management of the Intelligent Joint Emergency Operation Center. The “Taipei Main Station Intelligent Disaster Prevention System” can manage the disaster prevention and relief information of various business entities in a unified way, and provide an intelligent disaster prevention function integrating BIM and virtual reality (VR). This system is functionally verified through exercises such as short-circuiting of wires in advertising boxes, firefighter disaster relief drills, indiscriminate violent attacks, and demolition of explosives. In this study, ICS was established through expert interviews, disaster-causing factors over the years, and a cloud-based electronic management system was established in combination with the BIM platform. The system provides emergency and safe evacuation of passengers in the event of a disaster, and reduces the loss of related properties.

Flexible emergency management: Operational area adaptation during a pandemic.

The pandemic environment shaped the field of emergency management in 2020, creating a new operational paradigm for Contra Costa County's coordinated emergency response capability. This discussion represents initial steps in the improvement planning process for the County Emergency Operations Center (EOC). It offers one tool supporting organizational growth through a critical discussion of adaptation and flexibility in the EOC. Drawing from local, state, and national data, the discussion frames the local EOC experience in the context of how the pandemic intersected with long-established response frameworks. The discussion considers implications for future response to complex expanding incidents. The County operational area applied the emergency management frameworks of the Incident Command System (ICS) and California's Standardized Emergency Management System (SEMS) in novel ways, developed innovative solutions to meet critical resource needs, and leveraged new partnerships to enhance capabilities in 2020. Through this experience, the County emergency management organization was both singularly challenged and informed by the pandemic, even as it responded to simultaneously occurring incidents. There are takeaways in each of these areas that bear on improvement planning. In particular the review highlights the need to expand beyond traditional ICS roles and frameworks to facilitate a more flexible response. More broadly, this suggests that the field of emergency management grows more dynamic as it responds to more complex concurrent incidents with an ever-widening spectrum of -stakeholders.

A coordinated bus bridging and metro short turning model in response to urban metro disruptions

Abstract When an urban metro disruption occurs, the urban metro usually operates in a short turning mode and bus bridging is the typical way to relink the disconnected stations. For emergency response models dealing with urban metro disruptions, minimizing passenger delay in the bus bridging process and the metro short turning process is usually the optimization objective. In this study, we simultaneously consider the passenger delay in the bus bridging process and the metro short turning process to develop a coordinated emergency response model dealing with urban metro disruptions. The proposed coordinated model is validated in an actual urban metro line using actual passenger boarding demand data. Useful insights in response to urban metro disruptions are obtained.

A Qualitative Assessment of Studies Evaluating the Classification Accuracy of Personnel Using START in Disaster Triage: A Scoping Review

BackgroundMass casualty incidents (MCIs) can occur as a consequence of a wide variety of events and often require overwhelming prehospital and emergency support and coordinated emergency response. A variety of disaster triage systems have been developed to assist health care providers in making difficult choices with regards to prioritization of victim treatment. The simple triage and rapid treatment (START) triage system is one of the most widely used triage algorithms; however, the research literature addressing real-world or simulation studies documenting the classification accuracy of personnel using START is lacking.Aims and ObjectivesTo explore the existing literature related to the current state of knowledge about studies assessing the classification accuracy of the START triage system.DesignScoping review based on Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework and narrative synthesis based on methods described by Popay and colleagues were performed.ResultsThe literature search identified 1,820 citations, of which 32 studies met the inclusion criteria. Thirty were peer-reviewed articles and 28 published in the last 10 years (i.e., 2010 and onward). Primary research studies originated in 13 countries and included 3,706 participants conducting triaging assessments involving 2,950 victims. Included studies consisted of five randomized controlled trials, 17 non-randomized controlled studies, eight descriptive studies, and two mixed-method studies. Simulation techniques, mode of delivery, contextual features, and participants' required skills varied among studies. Overall, there was no consistent reporting of outcomes across studies and results were heterogeneous. Data were extracted from the included studies and categorized into two themes: (1) typology of simulations and (2) START system in MCIs simulations. Each theme contains sub-themes regarding the development of simulation employing START as a system for improving individuals' preparedness. These include types of simulation training, settings, and technologies. Other sub-themes include outcome measures and reference standards.ConclusionThis review demonstrates a variety of factors impacting the development and implementation of simulation to assess characteristics of the START system. To further improve simulation-based assessment of triage systems, we recommend the use of reporting guidelines specifically designed for health care simulation research. In particular, reporting of reference standards and test characteristics need to improve in future studies.

The EU Response to COVID-19: From Reactive Policies to Strategic Decision-Making.

The EU Response to COVID-19: From Reactive Policies to Strategic Decision-Making.

Lessons Learned From a Large Cross-Border Field Simulation Exercise to Strengthen Emergency Preparedness in East Africa, 2019.

Field simulation exercises (FSXs) require substantial time, resources, and organizational experience to plan and implement and are less commonly undertaken than drills or tabletop exercises. Despite this, FSXs provide an opportunity to test the full scope of operational capacities, including coordination across sectors. From June 11 to 14, 2019, the East African Community Secretariat conducted a cross-border FSX at the Namanga One Stop Border Post between the Republic of Kenya and the United Republic of Tanzania. The World Health Organization Department of Health Security Preparedness was the technical lead responsible for developing and coordinating the exercise. The purpose of the FSX was to assess and further enhance multisectoral outbreak preparedness and response in the East Africa Region, using a One Health approach. Participants included staff from the transport, police and customs, public health, animal health, and food inspection sectors. This was the first FSX of this scale, magnitude, and complexity to be conducted in East Africa for the purpose of strengthening emergency preparedness capacities. The FSX provided an opportunity for individual learning and national capacity strengthening in emergency management and response coordination. In this article, we describe lessons learned and propose recommendations relevant to FSX design, management, and organization to inform future field exercises.

Policy responses to foodborne disease outbreaks in the United States and Germany

This paper explores differences in national responses to foodborne disease outbreaks, addressing both the sources of policy divergence and their implications for public health and coordinated emergency response. It presents findings from a comparative study of two multi-state E. coli outbreaks, one in the United States (2006) and one in Germany (2011), demonstrating important differences in how risk managers understood and responded to each nation’s first major outbreak associated with fresh produce. Drawing on a qualitative analysis of 36 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders and hundreds of archival documents, this paper traces how social constructions of the E. coli risk interacted with organizational dynamics among state and industry actors to produce divergent policy outcomes: the U.S. outbreak was understood primarily as an agricultural problem that led to an industry-led agricultural solution, whereas the German outbreak was understood as a human disease problem that did not result in a substantial policy response once the acute health crisis passed. The paper concludes by discussing how these policy processes generate partial solutions to foodborne contamination that expose modern societies to systemic vulnerabilities.

Evaluating Resilience of Electricity Distribution Networks via a Modification of Generalized Benders Decomposition Method

This article presents a computational framework to evaluate the resilience of electricity distribution networks (DNs) to a class of cyber-physical failures. In our model, we consider an attacker who targets multiple DN components to maximize the loss of the DN operator. We consider two types of operator responses: i) coordinated emergency response and ii) uncoordinated autonomous disconnects, which may lead to cascading failures. To evaluate resilience under response i), we consider a bilevel mixed-integer second-order cone program. This problem is computationally challenging to solve due to mixed-integer variables in the inner problem and nonconvex constraints. Our solution approach exploits the properties of power flows on radial DNs operating in a postattack contingency state to refine the classical generalized Benders decomposition method. Specifically, we suggest a modification of the right-hand side of the generalized Benders cut to be a value determined by the sum of values of a subset of inner dual cost coefficients. We show how the size of this subset can be selected to achieve a reasonable tradeoff between solution accuracy and computational effort. Furthermore, we evaluate DN resilience under response ii) by sequentially computing autonomous component disconnects due to operating bound violations resulting from the initial attack and the potential cascading failures. Our approach is useful for estimating the gain in resilience under response i), relative to ii).