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Implication of Burn Disaster Planning and Management: Coverage and Accessibility of Burn Centers in Belgium

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 October 2019

Mustafa Al-Shamsi  and
Serge Jennes
Mustafa Al-Shamsi*
Affiliation:
Institute of Health and Society, Université catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium Unit for Research in Emergency and Disaster, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
Serge Jennes
Affiliation:
Burn Wound Centers of Loverval and Brussels (IMTR Loverval, Centre des brûlés), Charleroi, Belgium
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Mustafa Al-Shamsi, School of Public Health, Université catholique de Louvain, Clos Chapelle-aux-Champs, Bte B1.30.15, 1200, Brussels, Belgium (e-mail: mustafatalibb@yahoo.com).
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Abstract

Introduction:

Burn disasters represent a real challenge to burn centers worldwide. Several burn disasters with a considerable number of casualties happened in Belgium in the past. The positioning of burn centers is a significant issue to account for in a burn disaster preparedness and response. The objectives of this study are to identify the geographic coverage and accessibility of the burn centers in Belgium in the realm of a burn disaster scenario.

Method:

Cross-sectional secondary analysis was performed using data from the Belgian Burn Association and Belgian Department of the Statistic. Data were analyzed using ArcGIS, a geographic information system tool to identify the coverage of burn centers within half an hour driving time, and access time of both populations in the districts and the disaster-prone areas to the individual burn centers.

Results:

Around 7.3 million (65%) people are covered by a half an hour driving time window from the burn centers. However, the accessibility to the individual burn centers is varied across different regions and provinces.

Conclusion:

There is a slightly over-supply of burn centers in the mid part of the country, contrasted by an under-supply and poor accessibility for the population living near the borders, particularly in the south part of the country. This study would provide a benchmark for stakeholders in Belgium and other industrial countries to consider the coverage and accessibility of the burn centers as part of preparation and planning for burn disasters in the future.

Keywords

accessibilityBelgiumburn disastercoverageplanning
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 14 , Issue 6 , December 2020 , pp. 694 - 704
Copyright
Copyright © 2019 Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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