Providing a Standard Operating Process for Health & Care Rapid Response Teams in Iran

Introduction: Regarding the frequency of disasters and effective response to the first hours after occurrence, it is necessity to form rapid response teams in order to reduce casualties and property losses. This paper aims to provide a standard operational process for health & care rapid response teams in Iran. Methods:In this applicable research, which was done by desc riptive-comparative method, various countries were compared ba sed on different factors such as activation process, training, structure, equipment and their functions during crisis. Findings: All studied countries activated their own rapid response teams ba sed on a predetermined standard process in response phase. These teams are working under a unique command reference. They already are selected and have changeable structure ba sed on disasters. Also they received standard trainings continuously and provided an appropriate response to disasters ba sed on their job desc ription and modern equipment. Conclusion: According to the research, some measures should be taken in order to decrease mortality and timely response to disasters as follows: to organize health rapid response teams in different levels of country; to establish a incident command system for guiding teams; to use local facilities with necessary equipment, and to define a clear job desc ription with appropriate training for the selected individuals of these teams.

Keywords:

rapid response team , disasters , health & care services , تیم واکنش سریع , سوانح , خدمات بهداشتی و درمانی.