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Comparison of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology Versus Standard Practice in Identification of Hazards at a Mass Casualty Incident Scenario by Primary Care Paramedic Students

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2018

Trevor Jain Open the ORCID record for Trevor Jain [Opens in a new window] ,
Aaron Sibley ,
Henrik Stryhn  and
Ives Hubloue
Trevor Jain*
Affiliation:
Division of Paramedicine, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
Aaron Sibley
Affiliation:
Division of Paramedicine, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
Henrik Stryhn
Affiliation:
Department of Health Management, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, PEI, Canada
Ives Hubloue
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Universitair Ziekenhuis Brussel, Research Group in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Trevor Jain, Division of Paramedicine, University of Prince Edward Island, Duffy Science Centre #430, 550 University Ave, Charlottetown, PE, Canada C1A 4P3 (e-mail: Tjain@upei.ca).
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Abstract

Introduction

The proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) has the potential to change the situational awareness of incident commanders allowing greater scene safety. The aim of this study was to compare UAV technology to standard practice (SP) in hazard identification during a simulated multi-vehicle motor collision (MVC) in terms of time to identification, accuracy and the order of hazard identification.

Methods

A prospective observational cohort study was conducted with 21 students randomized into UAV or SP group, based on a MVC with 7 hazards. The UAV group remained at the UAV ground station while the SP group approached the scene. After identifying hazards the time and order was recorded.

Results

The mean time (SD, range) to identify the hazards were 3 minutes 41 seconds (1 minute 37 seconds, 1 minute 48 seconds-6 minutes 51 seconds) and 2 minutes 43 seconds (55 seconds, 1 minute 43 seconds-4 minutes 38 seconds) in UAV and SP groups corresponding to a mean difference of 58 seconds (P=0.11). A non-parametric permutation test showed a significant (P=0.04) difference in identification order.

Conclusion

Both groups had 100% accuracy in hazard identification with no statistical difference in time for hazard identification. A difference was found in the identification order of hazards. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:631–634)

Keywords

UAVmass casualty incidentssituational awarenessEMSparamedics
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 12 , Issue 5 , October 2018 , pp. 631 - 634
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2018 

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