28 May, 2013

Biomedical data collection for mass gathering research and evaluation: A review of the literature


ABSTRACT
Internationally, planned events such as mass gatherings occur frequently. Known factors influencing the usage of health services, or patient presentations, at mass-gatherings are acknowledged within the environmental, psychosocial and biomedical domains. Health-related research and evaluation from mass gatherings commonly include biomedical information pertaining to patient presentations. The aim of this research was to review the various categorisations reported by authors to describe the patient populations at mass-gatherings, with a focus only on the biomedical domain.

This research utilised an integrative literature review methodology to identify papers from within the last ten years that included research or evaluation from a mass-gathering event in which the authors included published biomedical information.

Numerous papers were identified that included information pertaining to biomedical information from mass gathering events. It was noted that the coding and categorisation of patient-level biomedical information seems inconsistent, varied, haphazard and author dependent.

Recently, there has been literary discussion about the need for consistency and consensus in reporting on biomedical information. This literature review supports this notion. In particular, this presentation builds on a previously published minimum data set proposed by Ranse and Hutton and enhances it by including additional categorisations of biomedical information. As such, a revised minimum data set with a data dictionary is proposed in an effort to generate conversation about a possible agreed minimum amount and the type of information that should be collected consistently for research and evaluation at mass gatherings.


Ranse J, Hutton A. (2013). Biomedical data collection for mass gathering research and evaluation: A review of the literature; paper presented at the 18th World Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine, Manchester, UK, May.

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