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Enhancing European Public Health Preparedness, Prehospital, and Disaster Medicine
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Featured Articles from Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
Trends in the Application of Invasive Prehospital Interventions by Paramedics: A Six-Year Descriptive Analysis of the German Emergency Medical Services System
A new original research article published in PDM examines how often paramedics in Germany independently perform medical interventions—that is, without a physician present on scene. Since a legislative reform in 2014, paramedics have been authorized to carry out certain invasive procedures and administer medications independently in specific emergency situations.
Approximately 156,000 emergency missions from three regions in Saxony were analyzed over a six-year period. The findings show that such interventions are performed relatively infrequently overall. Invasive procedures—such as establishing intravenous access—occurred in about 7.6% of missions. Medications or other therapeutic measures were administered in around 11.3% of cases. More complex procedures, such as intubation, were very rare. Read the full-text article…
Blackout in Spain: Urgent Analysis of Impact on Emergency Medical Services
On 28 April 2025, a large-scale blackout affected mainland Spain and Portugal for more than ten hours, severely disrupting Emergency Medical Services (EMS). This article provides the first national-level analysis of how this power outage impacted EMS operations.
On 28 April 2025, a large-scale blackout affected mainland Spain and Portugal for more than ten hours, severely disrupting Emergency Medical Services (EMS). This article provides the first national-level analysis of how this power outage impacted EMS operations.
The blackout exposed critical vulnerabilities: no Spanish EMS had a specific contingency plan for prolonged power failures; emergency call systems (1-1-2) and communication networks partially collapsed; fuel supply and digital tools such as GPS and electronic health records were compromised; and patients dependent on home medical devices faced life-threatening situations, with at least one confirmed death due to ventilator failure. Read the full-text article…
Tokyo Congress Abstracts Supplement is now on Cambridge Core!
The abstracts supplement from the 23rd Congress on Disaster and Emergency Medicine is now available online on Cambridge Core! The supplement includes nearly 700 abstracts presented at the congress from the plenary sessions, reports from the field, oral and lightning presentations, roundtable talks, and posters. The full supplement can also be downloaded here.
Posted Online – 23 March 2026
Listen to the Recent Podcasts
Call for Submissions: AI in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
The Prehospital and Disaster Medicine (PDM) Editorial Team is pleased to announce a forthcoming special collection dedicated to “Evidence-Based Artificial Intelligence in Prehospital and Disaster Medicine.” The journal invites the submission of original, evidence-based research articles that explore the application of artificial intelligence within these critical fields.
All submissions must follow the PDM Instructions for Authors and conform to the formatting and content requirements for either the Original Research or Innovation Report article types. Please note the following exclusions: this collection will not consider expert opinions, frameworks, editorials, review articles, calls for action, or commentaries.
All submissions must follow the PDM Instructions for Authors and conform to the formatting and content requirements for either the Original Research or Innovation Report article types. Please note the following exclusions: this collection will not consider expert opinions, frameworks, editorials, review articles, calls for action, or commentaries.
The primary mission of the journal is to publish innovative, high-impact, evidence-based research in both prehospital and disaster medicine. All manuscripts will undergo our standard peer-review process, as detailed on the journal’s website, and must adhere to the ethical guidelines outlined therein.
An international panel of judges will evaluate selected manuscripts. All selected articles will receive a temporary, free-of-charge open-access publication. The top three selected manuscripts will be featured in exclusive podcast interviews published on the WADEM website and social media channels. Authors of the first-place manuscript will be invited to give a webinar about their project, sponsored by PDM and WADEM.
Submissions are currently open and will be accepted on an ongoing basis. Articles will be published on a rolling basis in accordance with the standard PDM schedule. We eagerly anticipate your high-impact contributions to this rapidly evolving field.
Questions about the special collection can be addressed to the PDM Editorial Team:
- Ellen Johnson (Managing Editor): ejohnson@wadem.org
- Jeffrey Franc (Editor-in-Chief): jeffrey.franc@ualberta.ca
Last Updated – 12 January 2026
Thank you for joining us in Tokyo. The congress was a huge success!
More than 1,250 delegates from over 80 countries gathered at the Keio Plaza Hotel in Tokyo from 2-6 May 2025 for WADEM’s first congress in Asia since 2011 to share research, exchange ideas and experiences, and connect with friends and colleagues. Special thanks to Dr. Osamu Kunii, Prof. Sang Do Shin, Prof. Saini Yang, Dr. Masahiro Morikawa, Dr. Luca Pigozzi, Prof. April Llaneta, and Prof. Elizabeth Newnham for their excellent plenary presentations.
WADEM would also like to acknowledge the special sessions organized by the ARCH Project, WHO Kobe Centre, Kyoto University, Tohoku University, International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), World Society of Disaster Nursing, Prof. Jeffrey Franc, and New Orleans EMS and University Medical Center Trauma Center. These sessions greatly contributed to the scientific program.
WADEM would especially like to thank all the delegates, many of whom traveled long distances, for joining us in Tokyo! The wide variety of professions and nationalities represented truly makes the congress a memorable event.
Colloquium – Enhancing European Public Health Preparedness, Prehospital, and Disaster Medicine
The colloquium aimed to seek consensus from professional associations, international organizations, expert stakeholders, and citizens on adaptive ways forward for the discipline to enhance existing public health curricula in the face of emerging threats. Public and global health are challenged by unprecedented population growth, human migration, urbanization, natural disasters, climate change, war and conflict, and novel disease emergence.
