Evidence and methods to assess preparedness among non-staff units of the Disaster Medicine Service of the Ministry of Defense of Russian Federation deployed in emergencies to eliminate emergency medical and sanitary consequences
Authors: Lemeshkin R. N. , Ovcharenko A. P. , Blinov V. A. 
Published: January 2025

Relevance. In Russia, emergency protection efforts by various ministries are guided by the relevant legal regulation based on the Integral National System for Emergency Prevention and Elimination. Its functionality relies on joint cross-departmental capacities to ensure national protection of the population and land from emergencies. Medical capacities are not an exception in this respect. The Medical Service of the Russian Armed Forces manages substantial resources to fulfill this goal. The Disaster Medicine Service of the Russian Defense Ministry was therefore established both as functional subunit of the Russian Armed Forces for emergency prevention and elimination and a critical link within the Russian National Disaster Medicine Service. To maintain the required level of preparedness, further studies regarding the performance of medical units within the Disaster Medicine Service is critically required.

The study objective is to investigate the professional capacities among the military medical and civilian professionals employed by central and regional military medical organizations of the Defense Ministry, who are also non-staff members of the Disaster Medicine Service; to identify practical challenges in performing duties and assess the overall preparedness.

Methods. This study is based on a survey among military medical and civilian professionals employed by central (n = 81) and regional (n = 146) military medical organizations of the Defense Ministry who are also non-staff members of the Disaster Medicine Service. The survey obtained data regarding the responders’ professional status, duties within non-staff teams, and demographic parameters. Mean and median values, including with upper and lower quartile are reported in the paper.

Results and analysis. The study results show that the average age of among medical professionals among non-staff teams of central military medical organizations of the Russian Defense Ministry is 38.8 [6; 17] years and 38.2 [7; 14] years for those employed by regional medical organizations. In central military medical organizations, most medical teams are represented by therapists (25.9 %), followed by thoracic and abdominal surgery (17.3 %), and general surgery (13.6 %); whereas at the regional level teams comprising doctors and nurses prevail (54.8 %), followed by intensivists and general surgeons (9.6 % each), and therapists (8.2 %). Non-staff units of the Disaster Medicine Service of the Defense Ministry, operating within central military medical organizations include more subspecialty teams; on the contrary, regional non-staff units have broad and general specialties. Notably, military medical and civilian professionals employed by central military medical organizations provided emergency primary health care in 61.7 % of cases, whereas specialized medical care, including high-tech medical care was provided in 34.6 % of cases. Military medical and civilian professionals employed by regional military medical organizations provided emergency primary health care in 37.7 % of cases, and specialized medical care, including high-tech medical care in11.6 % of cases. The survey confirmed that while performing their duties, military medical and civilian professionals who were members of the non-staff teams were challenged by the following most significant factors: the level of specialized training, number and quality of staff in the teams, as well as compliance with the regulatory and legal requirements to medical activities performed within the efforts to eliminate medical and sanitary consequences of emergencies. This data allowed to develop relevant parameters and measurements to assess preparedness among the non-staff teams to perform their duties

Conclusion. Professional capacities among the military medical and civilian professionals employed by central and regional military medical organizations of the Defense Ministry, who are also non-staff members of the Disaster Medicine Service was investigated, with the most significant challenges affecting their performance identified. Preparedness was assessed among the non-staff teams of the Disaster Medicine Service of the Russian Defense Ministry in central and regional military medical organizations.