Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-11T15:40:48.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

International Consensus on Key Concepts and Data Definitions for Mass-gathering Health: Process and Progress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 February 2016

Sheila A. Turris*
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada School of Nursing, University of Victoria, North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Malinda Steenkamp
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings and High Consequence/High Visibility Events, Torrens Resilience Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Adam Lund
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of British Columbia (UBC), Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Alison Hutton
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings and High Consequence/High Visibility Events, Torrens Resilience Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Jamie Ranse
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health, University of Canberra, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Ron Bowles
Affiliation:
Office of Applied Research & Graduate Studies, Justice Institute of British Columbia, New Westminster, British Columbia, Canada
Katherine Arbuthnott
Affiliation:
Department of Social and Environmental Research, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, England, United Kingdom
Olga Anikeeva
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings and High Consequence/High Visibility Events, Torrens Resilience Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Paul Arbon
Affiliation:
WHO Collaborating Centre on Mass Gatherings and High Consequence/High Visibility Events, Torrens Resilience Institute, Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
*
Correspondence: Sheila A. Turris, RN, PhD Department of Emergency Medicine University of British Columbia (UBC) School of Nursing University of Victoria 6th Floor, 132 West Esplanade North Vancouver, V7M 1A2 Canada E-mail: sheila.turris@ubc.ca

Abstract

Mass gatherings (MGs) occur worldwide on any given day, yet mass-gathering health (MGH) is a relatively new field of scientific inquiry. As the science underpinning the study of MGH continues to develop, there will be increasing opportunities to improve health and safety of those attending events. The emerging body of MG literature demonstrates considerable variation in the collection and reporting of data. This complicates comparison across settings and limits the value and utility of these reported data. Standardization of data points and/or reporting in relation to events would aid in creating a robust evidence base from which governments, researchers, clinicians, and event planners could benefit. Moving towards international consensus on any topic is a complex undertaking. This report describes a collaborative initiative to develop consensus on key concepts and data definitions for a MGH “Minimum Data Set.” This report makes transparent the process undertaken, demonstrates a pragmatic way of managing international collaboration, and proposes a number of steps for progressing international consensus. The process included correspondence through a journal, face-to-face meetings at a conference, then a four-day working meeting; virtual meetings over a two-year period supported by online project management tools; consultation with an international group of MGH researchers via an online Delphi process; and a workshop delivered at the 19thWorld Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine held in Cape Town, South Africa in April 2015. This resulted in an agreement by workshop participants that there is a need for international consensus on key concepts and data definitions.

Turris SA, Steenkamp M, Lund A, Hutton A, Ranse J, Bowles R, Arbuthnott K, Anikeeva O, Arbon P. International Consensus on Key Concepts and Data Definitions for Mass-gathering Health: Process and Progress. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(2):220–223.

Type
Special Reports
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. World Health Organization. Toolbox for the implementation of surveillance at mass gatherings. http://www.rki.de/EN/Content/Prevention/React/Work/wp4/ WP_4_ToolBox.pdf?__blob=publicationFile. Accessed on June 15, 2014.Google Scholar
2. Arbon, P, Cusack, L, Verdonk, N. Mass gathering public health and emergency medicine literature review: levels of evidence. Australasian J of Paramed. 2013;10(1):1-5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
3. Ranse, J, Hutton, A. Minimum data set for mass-gathering health research and evaluation: a discussion paper. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(5):1-8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4. World Health Organization. Guidelines for primary health care in low resource settings. http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/76173/1/9789241548397_eng.pdf. Accessed on June 15, 2014.Google Scholar
5. Arbon, P. The development of conceptual models for mass-gathering health. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2004;19(3):208-212.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Arbon, P. Mass-gathering medicine: a review of the evidence and future directions for research. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2007;22(2):131-135.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7. Abubakar, I, Gautret, P, Brunette, GW, et al. Global perspective for prevention of infectious diseases associated with mass gatherings. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2012;12(3):175:66-74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8. Johansson, A, Batty, M, Hayashi, K, Bar, OA, Marcozzi, D, Memish, ZA. Crowd and environmental management during mass gatherings. Lancet Infectious Dis. 2012;12(2):150-160.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Khan, K, McNabb, SHN, Memish, ZA, et al. Infectious disease surveillance and modeling across geographic frontiers and scientific specialties. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2012;12(3):222-230.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10. Steffen, R, Bouchama, A, Johansson, A, et al. Non-communicable health risks during mass gatherings. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2012;12(3):142-149.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Zaid, AM, Stephens, GM, Stephen, R, Ahmed, QA. Emergence of medicine for mass gatherings: lessons from the Hajj. Lancet Infectious Diseases. 2012;12(1):56-65.Google Scholar
12. Lund, A, Turris, SA, Amiri, N, Lewis, K, Carson, M. Mass gathering medicine: creation of an online event and patient registry. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(6):1-11.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13. Turris, SA, Lund, A. Minimum data set for mass-gatherings health research and evaluation: a response. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(2):191-193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. Lund, A, Turris, SA, Bowles, R, et al. Progressing toward an international consensus on data modeling for mass gathering and mass participation events (Abstract). Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(1):S113-S114.Google Scholar
15. Ranse, J, Hutton, A, Turris, S, Lund, A. Enhancing the minimum data set for mass gathering research and evaluation: an integrative literature review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(3):280-289.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16. Lund, A, Turris, SA, Arbon, P, Hutton, A, Ranse, J, Steenkamp, M. Population modeling for mass gathering research. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(6):1-7.Google ScholarPubMed
17. Turris, SA, Lund, A, Bowles, RR, et al. Event modeling for mass gathering research. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(6):1-9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Turris, SA, Lund, A. Minimum data set for mass-gatherings health research and evaluation: a response. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(2):191-193.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19. Milsten, AM, Maguire, BJ, Bissell, RA, Seaman, KG. Mass-gathering medical care: a review of the literature. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2002;17(3):151-162.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20. Chowell, G, Nishiura, H, Viboud, C. Modeling rapidly disseminating infectious disease during mass gatherings. BMC Med. 2012;10:159-169.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21. Levett, J. A new opportunity for public health development: Athens. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2004;19(2):130-132.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22. Molloy, MS, Sherif, Z, Natin, S, McDonnell, J. “Management of mass gatherings.” In: Koenig KL, Shultz CH. Disaster Medicine. Comprehensive Principles and Practices. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press; 2010:228-252.Google Scholar
23. Tam, JS, Barbeschi, M, Shapoalova, N, Briand, S, Memish, ZA, Kieny, MP. Research agenda for mass gatherings: a call to action. Lancet. 2012;12:231-239.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24. Grant, WD, Nacca, NE, Prince, LA, Scott, JM. Mass-gathering medical care: retrospective analysis of patient presentations over five years at a multi-day mass gathering. Prehosp Disaster Medicine. 2010;25(2):183-187.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
25. Gutman, SJ, Lund, A, Turris, SA. Mass medical support for the 2009 World Police and Fire Games: a descriptive analysis of a large scale participation event and its impact. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2011;26(1):33-39.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
26. Tewari, S, Khan, S, Hopkins, N, Narayanan, S, Reicher, S. Participation in mass gatherings can benefit well-being: longitudinal and control data from a North Indian Hindu pilgrimage event. PLoS One. 2012;7(10):e47291.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27. Hines, K. Mass gathering medicine. Trauma. 2000;2:143-151.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
28. Leonard, RB, Winslow, JE, Bozeman, WP. Planning medical care for high-risk mass gatherings. Internet JRescue Disaster Med. 2007;6(1):1-15.Google Scholar
29. Lund, A, Gutman, SJ, Turris, SA. Mass gathering medicine: a link to disaster preparedness. CJEM. 2011;13(4):231-236.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30. Rubin, AL. Safety, security, and preparing for disaster at sporting events. Cur Sports Med Rep. 2004;3:141-145.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31. Mackway-Jones, K, Carley, S. An international expert Delphi Study to determine research needs in major incident management. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2012;27(4):351-358.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
32. Gupta, UG, Clarke, RE. Theory and applications of the Delphi Technique: a bibliography (1975-1994). Technological Forecasting and Social Change. 1996;53:185-211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33. Hanafin, S. Review of the literature on the Delphi Technique. http://www.childrensdatabase.ie/documents/publications/Delphi_Technique_A_Literature_Review.pdf. Accessed on June 15, 2014.Google Scholar