2023 Volume 37 Issue 3 Pages 213-223
Patients with allergic diseases are "people requiring special care" during disasters, and appropriate care must be provided in shelters. We conducted a questionnaire survey of disaster medical workers to evaluate existing tools such as pamphlets and consultation services for dealing with allergic patients in disasters, and to investigate unmet needs. A total of 266 participants responded to the survey and were analyzed. Participants requested electronic media and lectures by specialists as a means of obtaining information on allergic diseases in normal times, while smartphone applications and paper media were requested during disasters. Awareness of existing tools such as websites related to allergies was not high, ranging from about 10-30%; about 66% of participants indicated that COVID-19 would have a negative impact on the management of allergic diseases during a disaster. Of the 73% disaster medical workers, a centralized consultation office for allergic diseases in the event of a disaster was requested. Many respondents requested tools to educate the patients about self-help and to provide information of the affected patients. In conclusion, there is a need to actively improve the allergic disease manual, including providing information for disaster medical workers.
