John Hirdes of the School of Public Health and Health Systems played an unexpected role in getting help to vulnerable people after the disastrous earthquake that struck Christchurch, New Zealand in 2011.
He was able to help because of his role in interRAI, a network of researchers in some 30 countries that develops computerized “assessment programs” to improve health care for persons who are elderly, frail, or disabled.
“I am the lead Canadian researcher and a co-author of the home care instrument for assessing and monitoring the health needs of frail seniors living at home,” explains Hirdes. “We use these instruments to assess older person’s needs, develop care plans, track outcomes, and monitor quality of care.”
Upon hearing of the quake, members of interRAI realized their databases held valuable information that could lead rescuers to the homes of New Zealand’s most vulnerable citizens. “It occurred to me at that point that we would actually be able to help out by using our system in a novel way.”
Within 24 hours interRAI researchers had developed a type of emergency triage system to help the health care staff identify the elderly people at greatest risk of harm after the earthquake — because, for example, they were alone and unable to take care of themselves, they were too disabled, they might have problems taking their medications, or they (or their caregivers) were overwhelmed.
“We were able to use interRAI assessment data to identify vulnerable seniors and prioritize them for immediate follow-up in the 72 hours following the earthquake; identify a medium risk group that would need closer monitoring in the next month based on their likely difficulty with coping with the stress of the earthquake aftermath; and provide person-specific clinical records and care-planning information to support continuity of care to seniors who had been evacuated.”
Back in Canada, Hirdes says the availability of the same home care system in most parts of the country means that, “should we have a Canadian disaster of that scale (or less, hopefully), we could also employ the same emergency response strategies here.”