Emergency medical services preparedness in mass casualty incidents: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The effective response of emergency medical services in mass casualty incidents (MCIs) calls for sufficient preparation. The components of preparation must be determined first to achieve this goal. This study aimed to describe the elements of preparedness of emergency medical services for MCIs. METHODS: A qualitative study was carried out on emergency medical service systems in Iran (from April 2022 to mid‐March 2023), using in‐depth semistructured interviews with participants who were managers and members of the incident command team, experts, technicians, paramedics, and telecommunicators of emergency medical services. Interviews were carried out face‐to‐face and via telephone. The data were collected using voice recorder and transcript and analyzed by content analysis method. This study was conducted using the consolidated criteria for reporting qualitative research. RESULTS: Thirty‐six participants were included in the study. A total of 834 codes were analyzed. Thirteen components were extracted from the study and classified as five categories including “Strengthening management and organization,” “individual and group empowerment,” “capacity expansion,” “technology and infrastructure development,” and “operational response measures.” CONCLUSION: Emergency medical service preparedness in response to MCIs is a critical issue. For improving preparedness, the main components must be identified. The study results described the elements of emergency medical service preparedness, which could be used as a framework for developing the national model of emergency medical service preparedness in MCIs.