The Challenge of Allocating Scarce Medical Resources During a Disaster in a Low Income Country: A Case Study from the 2010 Haitian Earthquake

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Authors

  • Annekathryn Goodman Associate Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Gynecologic On- cology, Reproductive Biology Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Bos- ton, Massachusetts, USA
  • Lynn Black Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, Chief Medical Officer, International Medical Surgical Response team, USA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17140/PMHCOJ-1-105

Keywords:

Haitiearthquake, Disaster, Resources, Crisis, Palliative care

Abstract

Scarce medical resources during a natural disaster challenge the existing protocols for medical intervention. Triage decisions about which patient to care for can be extremely stress-ful for a medical team. This case analysis describes the experience of one mobile field hospital in Haiti in the aftermath of the January 12, 2010 earthquake. The medical team was confronted with the need to choose which of three critically ill patients should receive the remaining, dwindling oxygen supply. The ethical framework around these decisions is discussed. The development of an onsite ethics committee from team members is suggested to help lighten the burden of decision making off of the individual care provider.

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Published

2015-02-19

How to Cite

Annekathryn Goodman, & Lynn Black. (2015). The Challenge of Allocating Scarce Medical Resources During a Disaster in a Low Income Country: A Case Study from the 2010 Haitian Earthquake. Palliative Medicine and Hospice Care, 1(1), 24–29. https://doi.org/10.17140/PMHCOJ-1-105

Issue

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2015): Volume 1 Issue 1 2015

Section

Articles

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All content published in Palliative Medicine and Hospice Care (PMHC) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work — including for commercial purposes — provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.