Health Concerns Among Taipei Search and Rescue Team Members Responding to the 2023 Turkey-Syria Earthquake

Summary: This report demonstrated the health challenges faced by Taipei Search and Rescue Team members who responded to the 2023 Turkey-Syria earthquake. Sixty members joined the Taiwan Search and Rescue Team from February 7 to 14, 2023. Over the mission period, the team completed over 30 search operations, resulting in two successful rescues and one field amputation. During the mission, team members had 24 documented medical consultations for various health concerns. These included five cases of soft tissue injuries, four frostbites, three headaches, three respiratory tract irritations, two skin rashes, two cases of symptomatic hypertension, two upper respiratory infections, and single cases of stress-related symptoms, diarrhea, and toothache. General health symptoms affected the majority of the team, with 89.8% reporting sleep issues, 67.8% experiencing skin problems, 45.8% musculoskeletal pain, 40.7% headaches, 40.0% upper respiratory infections, and 30.5% constipation. One month post-mission, health concerns persisted for some team members: 15 continued to experience respiratory symptoms, five reported ongoing sleep problems, four had elevated blood pressure, and one developed a skin infection. To monitor psychological impact, the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) was administered across four sessions— immediately post-mission, at two weeks, at four weeks, and six months. Average PCL-5 scores were initially 7.30 (SD: 9.84) and peaked at 8.69 (SD: 10.30) at two weeks before declining. Five members initially scored above 30, yet their scores decreased over time, with no provisional PTSD cases remaining by the fourth week. These findings reveal the significant physical and psychological toll faced by responders in disaster scenarios. This report further emphasized the vital role of the medical unit within the search and rescue team, as comprehensive medical support during deployment and post-mission is crucial for improving the well-being of rescue personnel in demanding operations.