Introduction: Over the past decades, a steady upward trend in the number of occurring disasters has been recorded. This leads to multiplying challenges towards the healthcare system. Another challenge for the system is the decreasing number of doctors and nurses linked to the opportunities for free movement of people in the contemporary world. Many countries respond to these challenges by including paramedics as a first unit for medical assistance provision in case of incidents, crises and disasters.
Aim: The aim of this study is to analyze the role of paramedics` disaster medicine education and training in the disaster medicine management and support capacity enhancement.
Materials and Methods: Descriptive and comparative methods were applied to analyze the specific medical knowledge and skills required for medical support of disaster-affected populations. The Disaster Medicine curriculum of paramedics in Bulgaria is compared to these requirements and to the curriculum in countries that rely mainly on paramedics for emergency assistance /USA, UK/.
Results and Discussion: Results of the performed analyses highlight the need of increase in both theoretical education and practical training of paramedics in the Republic of Bulgaria on issues related to medical support for the people affected by disaster-related damages.
Conclusion: In order to increase the disaster resilience of the healthcare system and society in general, as a conclusion, an indicative plan-program for Disaster Medicine training of paramedics is proposed.
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