Citation

Kottmann A, Pasquier M, Strapazzon G, Zafren K, Ellerton J, Paal P. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2021; 18(18): e9570.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2021, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph18189570

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Decisions in the management and rescue of avalanche victims are complex and must be made in difficult, sometimes dangerous, environments. Our goal was to identify indicators for quality measurement in the management and rescue of avalanche victims. The International Commission for Mountain Emergency Medicine (ICAR MedCom) convened a group of internal and external experts. We used brainstorming and a five-round modified nominal group technique to identify the most relevant quality indicators (QIs) according to the National Quality Forum Measure Evaluation Criteria. Using a consensus process, we identified a set of 23 QIs to measure the quality of the management and rescue of avalanche victims. These QIs may be a valuable tool for continuous quality improvement. They allow objective feedback to rescuers regarding clinical performance and identify areas that should be the foci of further quality improvement efforts in avalanche rescue.

Language: en

Keywords

resuscitation; avalanche; consensus process; emergency medical services; emergency medicine; quality improvement; quality indicator; rescue