Geriatric Mental Health Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

Chapter 5 National and Cross-National Models of Geriatric Disaster 93
welcome at clinical sites during a disaster as agencies struggle to respond.
During the SARS outbreak in Ontario, health science students were removed
from clinical placements. This sharply limits resource availability
and students’ ability to prepare for emergency situations, a key competency
for future practice.
Falkiner (2003) surveyed 38 of Canada’s largest universities and
schools to determine if the necessary programs were in place to meet
the anticipated DM education gap. Results indicated the distribution of
courses was poor. Geography departments offered the majority of DM
courses; however, most focused on the physical aspect of hazards. There
were almost no courses that examined disaster planning, management, or
mitigation. Falkiner concluded that DM representation in disciplines such
as political science, psychology, and economics was very limited, a surprising
finding given the broad social impact of disasters on individuals and
communities. Falkiner recommended that these disciplines increase
course offerings on DM by developing DM education modules that could
be integrated into existing curricula. He also called for more research on
courses in the natural science fields and graduate programs as a baseline
for planning and curriculum development.
Cummings, Corte, and Cummings (2005) surveyed Canadian medical
schools to determine the number of programs offering disaster medicine
education before and after the events of September 11. The results were
surprising: 22 programs were offered at nine sites before September 11
compared with 14 programs after, representing a 37% decrease. Eighty
percent of survey respondents felt DM should be taught to undergraduates,
and all respondents agreed DM should be core content in fellowship
programs.
In Canada, DM education has traditionally been included in the Emergency
Medicine and Public Health curriculae; the Royal College of Physicians
and Surgeons of Canada does not require competency in DM. After
September 11, the number of DM programs dropped from nine to three.
One major online program in Alberta closed, and DM medical education
shifted away from emergency medicine to infectious disease management
with the outbreak of SARS. Cummings and colleagues (2005) concluded
that Canada has a social obligation to prepare physicians for disaster management
and that at least a basic program should be mandatory for undergraduates
and fellows at all Canadian medical schools.
Bruce, Donovan, Hornof, and Barthos (2004) conducted a study to examine
emergency/disaster management postsecondary courses and programs
in Canada and generated recommendations for education and