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Health Check: Is There a Doctor on Board?

Flight attendant takes temperature of passenger during exercise

12/06/2013

Is There a Doctor on Board?

BBC World Service - Health Check, Is There a Doctor on Board?

A new study sheds light on how to deal with medical emergencies on planes

A new study sheds light on dealing with medical emergencies on planes and the Austrian method of embalming bodies that's spreading across Europe.

Medical Emergencies on Planes
A new study examining 12,000 medical emergencies on five US airlines has just been published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Dr Chris Martin-Gill, who conducted the research, is Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. The university also runs a medical communications centre on the ground, which provides live advice to pilots about what to do when a medical emergency occurs.

Thiel Method of Embalming
An Austrian preservation technique called the Thiel method, which allows the tissue to retain its living colour and feel, is beginning to attract interest in the UK and US. For Health Check, the BBC’s Phil Cain has been to the Austrian city of Graz to find out more.

DRC Group Therapy
The psychological impact of experiencing sexual violence during war is well documented, as is the extent of rape during conflict in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo. But there is less evidence about what works to help such victims, some of whom have persistent symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. Now a new study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, has shown that an adapted form of group therapy called Cognitive Processing Therapy can make a dramatic difference. Katie Robinette co-ordinated the research for the International Rescue Committee and Johns Hopkins University.

Image: Flight attendant takes temperature during an exercise..
Picture credit: AFP/Getty Images

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