Introduction: Tabletop exercises (TTEs) are low-stress, discussion-based simulations designed to enhance decision-making, coordination, and communication in emergency scenarios. While recent articles have explored their use in medical emergencies, the role of TTEs in prehospital settings, specifically their impact on preparedness activities leading up to hospital admission remains underexplored. Purpose:This scoping review systematically maps existing evidence on how TTEs are used to assess and improve prehospital emergency preparedness. Methods:Conduct the scoping review following the Arksey and O’Malley framework with Levac refinements and PRISMA-ScR guidelines. Include studies published in English within the past 10 years that involve the use of TTEs in EMS or other prehospital emergency training contexts. Search multiple medical, educational, and grey literature databases comprehensively. Extract and synthesize data related to TTE structure, training context, target populations, disaster types, and outcome measures. Map reported outcomes to the Kirkpatrick Model of training evaluation. Incorporate stakeholder consultation throughout the review process.

Introduction: Mass casualty incidents (MCIs), where casualty numbers exceed available emergency resources, are rising globally due to natural disasters, terrorism, and pandemics. Effective response requires well-trained healthcare professionals, yet training programs vary widely in structure and delivery. Previous reviews, such as Baetzner et al., focused on first responders and training effectiveness but offered limited insight into curriculum design across broader healthcare roles. Similarly, Bahattab et al. reviewed humanitarian health education in low- and middle-income countries but excluded high-income settings and did not examine the pedagogical design of MCI training for clinical professionals. This scoping review aims to map global evidence on how disaster and MCI training curricula are designed and implemented across diverse healthcare groups. Methods: This scoping review is conducted as part of the MCI-PHER project (Mass Casualty Incident – Prehospital Emergency Response), a collaborative initiative to advance disaster medicine education and prehospital preparedness. The review will follow the methodological framework by Arksey and O’Malley, with refinements from Levac et al., and will be reported according to the PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A comprehensive search of seven databases (PubMed, Embase, Scopus, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov) will be conducted using a combination of MeSH terms and keywords. Studies published in English over the past ten years will be considered. Two independent reviewers will conduct study selection, data extraction, and quality checks, with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. Data will be charted using a customized extraction tool, refined through piloting five relevant studies. Inclusion criteria will cover all healthcare learners (e.g., paramedics, nurses, physicians, medical students) in prehospital or in-hospital disaster training contexts. Both qualitative and quantitative studies, including grey literature, will be included. Results and Analysis: The review will map and synthesize existing literature on disaster and mass casualty incident (MCI) training curricula across healthcare disciplines. Extracted data will be organized into tables and figures, presenting curriculum structures, learner groups, instructional methods, competency frameworks, assessment strategies, and reported outcomes. Both quantitative findings (e.g., frequencies of approaches and participant characteristics) and qualitative insights (e.g., implementation experiences and contextual factors) will be summarized. This integrated analysis will highlight current practices, innovations, and gaps in disaster training education to inform future curriculum development and policy. Ethics and Dissemination: No ethical approval is required as no human participants are involved. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, policy briefs, and stakeholder engagement.

Effective disaster and mass casualty incident (MCI) response depends on healthcare professionals who can apply clinical, operational, and team-based compet

Introduction Emerging technologies have significantly transformed disaster preparedness and training in healthcare, especially for prehospital responders engaged in mass casualty incidents (MCIs). As scenarios grow more complex, traditional training methods alone are insufficient for developing critical skills such as triage, decision-making, and rapid coordination under pressure. Technology-enhanced solutions such as virtual reality (VR), wearable sensors, serious games, and AI-based systems offer immersive, scalable, and repeatable training experiences. While several studies have explored these tools individually, a comprehensive synthesis is lacking to map how diverse technologies are employed in MCI-focused prehospital training. Methods This scoping review is conducted as part of the MCI-PHER project (Mass Casualty Incident – Prehospital Emergency Response), a collaborative initiative to advance disaster medicine education and prehospital preparedness. The review will follow the Arksey and O’Malley framework, refined by Levac et al., and adhere to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A systematic search will be conducted across databases, including PubMed, Embase, Scopus, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov. Eligible studies must describe, implement, or evaluate technological training interventions targeted at healthcare professionals or students in simulated or actual prehospital MCI settings. Two independent reviewers will conduct study selection, data extraction, and quality checks, with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. Data will be charted using a customized extraction tool, refined through piloting five relevant studies. Results and Analysis Studies will be synthesized using a combination of descriptive and narrative approaches. Key domains will include the type of technology and training modality, learning objectives, target professional groups, instructional design models, evaluation strategies, and reported outcomes. Quantitative findings will be summarized using descriptive statistics, while qualitative results, such as user perceptions and contextual insights, will be narratively organized to reflect patterns and diversity across studies. The synthesis will identify common applications, outcome trends, implementation barriers, and evidence gaps to inform future research and practice in prehospital MCI training. Dissemination and Ethics As no human subjects are involved, ethical approval is not required. Results will be disseminated via peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, stakeholder briefings, and open-access platforms to inform EMS leaders, simulation educators, and health policymakers.

Introduction: Tabletop exercises (TTEs) are low-stress, discussion-based simulations designed to enhance decision-making, coordination, and communication in emergency scenarios. While recent articles have explored their use in medical emergencies, the role of TTXs in prehospital settings, specifically their impact on preparedness activities leading up to hospital admission, remains underexplored. This scoping review aims to map how TTXs have been utilized to assess and improve prehospital preparedness, identify outcome measures aligned with the Kirkpatrick Model, and explore the characteristics and contexts of these exercises. Methods: This scoping review is conducted as part of the MCI-PHER project (Mass Casualty Incident – Prehospital Emergency Response), a collaborative initiative to advance disaster medicine education and prehospital preparedness. The review will follow Arksey and O’Malley’s five-stage framework, enhanced by Levac et al., and report according to PRISMA-ScR guidelines. A comprehensive search of databases, including PubMed, Scopus, Embase, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane, and ClinicalTrials.gov, along with gray literature from Google Scholar, will be conducted. Eligible studies will include TTXs used in prehospital or EMS-related emergency preparedness, across all primary study designs. The outcomes will be mapped to the four levels of the Kirkpatrick Model. Two independent reviewers will conduct study selection, data extraction, and quality checks, with disagreements resolved by a third reviewer. Data will be charted using a customized extraction tool, refined through piloting five relevant studies. Results and Analysis: The scoping review will synthesize and map the evidence on the use of tabletop exercises (TTXs) in prehospital emergency preparedness. Findings will be organized and presented in tables, figures, and other visual formats to provide a structured overview. Studies will be categorized according to their focus and objectives, educational or training context, target populations, TTX characteristics, and reported outcomes. Quantitative data (e.g., frequencies, sample sizes, outcome measures) will be summarized descriptively, while qualitative evidence (e.g., participant experiences, lessons learned) will be analyzed narratively to capture contextual insights. This comprehensive synthesis will highlight current practices, underexplored areas, and evidence gaps to inform future research and guide the development of effective training strategies for prehospital emergency preparedness. Dissemination and Ethics: No ethical approval is required as no human subjects are involved. Findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations, policy briefs, and stakeholder engagement.

Background: Emergency medicine (EM) residents play a frontline role in disaster and mass-casualty incident (MCI) response; however, few studies have examined their perceived self-efficacy and familiarity with key disaster-management protocols. This study evaluated whether a structured four-week course could enhance EM residents' self-efficacy, disaster knowledge, and preparedness. Specifically, we asked: (1) Does a structured disaster-medicine course improve EM residents' perceived self-efficacy in disaster response? and (2) Does it improve their knowledge of core preparedness concepts? We hypothesized that the course would yield a significant increase in self-efficacy and at least a 10% improvement in knowledge. Methods: A single-center pre-test/post-test intervention was conducted among 30 EM residents enrolled in a four-week disaster-management course structured using the ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, Evaluation) framework. The course integrated didactic sessions, online lectures by international faculty, and scenario-based tabletop exercises simulating MCI decision-making under time pressure. A validated questionnaire, adapted from the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire, assessed self-efficacy, knowledge, and familiarity with hospital protocols before and after the course. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t -tests, and correlation analyses in IBM SPSS (Version 21.0) Results: Among the 30 participants (76.7% female), most were in their first or second postgraduate year. Baseline self-efficacy was low (mean = 2.4/5) but improved significantly post-course (mean = 3.6; p < 0.001). Participants demonstrated notable gains in knowledge of the Hospital Incident Command System, surge management, and disaster-plan activation triggers. While triage accuracy remained high (94.9% → 95.2%; p = 0.88), mean cycle time improved from 6.9 to 3.2 min—a nearly 50% reduction that, although not statistically significant ( p = 0.08), represents an operationally meaningful improvement. Conclusions: A focused, simulation-enhanced disaster management course significantly improved EM residents' perceived self-efficacy and familiarity with critical disaster protocols. These findings support integrating structured disaster-medicine curricula into residency programs and justify longitudinal follow-up to evaluate knowledge retention and real-world performance.