Guidelines For Essential Trauma Care

Injury is an increasingly significant health problem throughout the world, accounting for 16 per cent of the global burden of disease. The public health burden of death and disability from injury is particularly notable in low and middle income countries. These guidelines seek to establish practical and affordable standards applicable to injury or trauma care worldwide, whether in rural health posts, small hospitals, hospitals staffed by specialists or tertiary care centres. It sets out a list of key trauma treatment services designed to be achievable in all settings, and defines the various human and physical resources required. It also includes a number of recommendations for methods to promote such standards including training, performance improvement, trauma team organisation and hospital inspection.

Developed by WHO and the International Committee of the Red Cross in collaboration with the International Federation for Emergency Medicine Basic Emergency Care (BEC): Approach to the acutely ill and injured is an open-access training course for frontline healthcare providers who manage acute illness and injury with limited resources. BEC teaches a systematic approach to the initial assessment and management of time-sensitive conditions where early intervention saves lives. It includes modules on: the ABCDE and SAMPLE history approach trauma difficulty in breathing shock and altered mental status. The practical skills section covers the essential time-sensitive interventions for these key acute presentations. The BEC package includes a Participant Workbook and electronic slide decks for each module. BEC integrates the guidance from WHO Emergency Triage Assessment and Treatment (ETAT) for children WHO Pocket Book of Hospital Care for Children WHO Integrated Management of Pregnancy and Childbirth and the Integrated Management of Adult/Adolescent Illness (IMAI).

"Injury accounts for a significant proportion of the world's burden of disease. Each year 5.8 million people die from injury and millions more are disabled. The response to this global health problem needs to include a range of activities, from better surveillance to more in-depth research, and primary prevention. Also needed are efforts to strengthen care of the injured. The World Health Organization (WHO) has responded to this need with a variety of actions. It has supported countries in setting up trauma care programmes and in developing their capacity to care for the injured. It has also developed, in consultation with global experts, guidelines to assist with the organization and planning of trauma care, such as Prehospital trauma care systems, Guidelines for essential trauma care, and Guidelines for trauma quality improvement programmes. These publications have been used in many countries and have helped to stimulate 'on the ground' improvements and policy changes. Through this publication, WHO seeks to increase communication and the exchange of ideas among those working in the field of trauma care, whether in the prehospital setting, in acute care in hospitals, or in longer term rehabilitation; to increase communication among those involved in planning, administering, advocating for, or directly providing trauma care services; and to increase communication among those working in the field of trauma care in different countries worldwide." - p. iii.

Advances in trauma care have accelerated over the past decade, spurred by the significant burden of injury from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. Between 2005 and 2013, the case fatality rate for United States service members injured in Afghanistan decreased by nearly 50 percent, despite an increase in the severity of injury among U.S. troops during the same period of time. But as the war in Afghanistan ends, knowledge and advances in trauma care developed by the Department of Defense (DoD) over the past decade from experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq may be lost. This would have implications for the quality of trauma care both within the DoD and in the civilian setting, where adoption of military advances in trauma care has become increasingly common and necessary to improve the response to multiple civilian casualty events. Intentional steps to codify and harvest the lessons learned within the military's trauma system are needed to ensure a ready military medical force for future combat and to prevent death from survivable injuries in both military and civilian systems. This will require partnership across military and civilian sectors and a sustained commitment from trauma system leaders at all levels to assure that the necessary knowledge and tools are not lost. A National Trauma Care System defines the components of a learning health system necessary to enable continued improvement in trauma care in both the civilian and the military sectors. This report provides recommendations to ensure that lessons learned over the past decade from the military's experiences in Afghanistan and Iraq are sustained and built upon for future combat operations and translated into the U.S. civilian system.

Injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among people under age 35 in the United States. Despite great strides in injury prevention over the decades, injuries result in 150,000 deaths, 2.6 million hospitalizations, and 36 million visits to the emergency room each year. Reducing the Burden of Injury describes the cost and magnitude of the injury problem in America and looks critically at the current response by the public and private sectors, including: Data and surveillance needs. Research priorities. Trauma care systems development. Infrastructure support, including training for injury professionals. Firearm safety. Coordination among federal agencies. The authors define the field of injury and establish boundaries for the field regarding intentional injuries. This book highlights the crosscutting nature of the injury field, identifies opportunities to leverage resources and expertise of the numerous parties involved, and discusses issues regarding leadership at the federal level.

Treating the Trauma Survivor is a practical guide to assist mental health, health care, and social service providers in providing trauma-informed care. This resource provides essential information in order to understand the impacts of trauma by summarizing key literature in an easily accessible and user-friendly format. Providers will be able to identify common pitfalls and avoid re- traumatizing survivors during interactions. Based on the authors’ extensive experience and interactions with trauma survivors, the book provides a trauma-informed framework and offers practical tools to enhance collaboration with survivors and promote a safer helping environment. Mental health providers in health care, community, and addictions settings as well as health care providers and community workers will find the framework and the practical suggestions in this book informative and useful.