[COMPLETE] Call for Papers – WPSAR Special Edition on Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in the Western Pacific Region

11-07-2022

Article submission deadline: 31 December 2022

The number and scope of Emergency Medical Teams (EMTs) in the Western Pacific Region has expanded significantly over the past 10 years. The Region now counts 11 internationally classified EMTs across six countries, several teams in the verification process, and national EMTs in many countries, including throughout the Pacific. EMTs have responded to multiple disasters and public health events in the Region, including Typhoon Haiyan in 2015, Cyclone Winston in 2016, outbreaks of measles and COVID-19, and most recently to the Hunga-Tonga Hunga-Ha’apai volcanic eruption and tsunami.

To document the development, the scope, and the impact of EMT engagement in health emergency response in the Region, and lessons identified to improve future health emergency response actions, the Western Pacific Surveillance and Response (WPSAR) journal, the official journal of WHO’s Western Pacific Regional Office (WPRO), invites articles on the development, mobilization, work and impact of EMTs in the Western Pacific.

This call for papers is aligned with the call for abstracts for the next Global EMT Meeting, which will take place in October 2022 in Armenia, and provides an opportunity to expand upon abstracts to be submitted for the meeting for consolidation in a peer-reviewed regional journal.

Potential articles may include, but are not limited to: 

  • Reports on EMT development, including documenting processes followed and key decision points and/or policy actions, and how EMT development has been informed by global minimum standards and lessons identified from past emergency responses;
  • Reports on EMT emergency response actions, including documenting the impact that an EMT or group of EMTs may have had on a specific event;
  • Findings and lessons from emergency deployments, including around integration with local health systems/responders;
  • Articles on EMT cache development, including for specific contexts or specific types of events;
  • Case studies related to Emergency Medical Team coordination;
  • Innovative approaches used in EMT development and/or deployment;
  • Reports on EMT team member training, including content development; documenting capabilities/skills acquired and/or readiness for deployment; and approaches used to train, including simulation exercises;
  • Perspectives or lessons on any issue to do with EMT development, deployment or operations.

Articles must relate to EMT development, deployment or coordination within the Western Pacific Region. Should an article relate to an international EMT deployment, research/drafting should be undertaken jointly with health authorities of the country which received the EMT support, and clearance should be received to use any national health/clinical data. Ethical approvals should also be sought, where required.

Submissions may follow any format accepted by WPSAR. Acceptable article types and submission criteria may be found here: https://ojs.wpro.who.int/ojs/index.php/wpsar/about/submissions

If you are unsure of whether your proposed article would fit the scope of WPSAR, please email us an outline, abstract or draft, and the editorial team will provide pre-submission feedback:
wpsar@who.int