Cluster bombs, improvised explosive devices and landmines create major challenges for relief workers entering areas ravaged by war. Around the world, 84 countries are affected by such explosive remnants, and more than 1,500 people are injured by them each month, mostly civilians.

The UCLA Center for International Emergency Medicine has developed a self-guided, interactive training DVD that is now being used to teach United Nations workers how to protect themselves and others when entering dangerous zones contaminated with such explosives.

The new DVD is based on a U.N. handbook and presents the material in an updated, engaging interactive format with a built-in evaluation system. The U.N. Mine Action Service awarded UCLA the contract to design the DVD.

The DVD will be offered in six languages. U.N. workers receive a certificate after viewing the hour-and-a-half-long training program and successfully completing a final test. The DVD will also be made available to journalists, other relief workers and international business people who may be visiting affected areas.

"Our challenge in developing the DVD was to make it relevant and appropriate for many cultures, while keeping it interesting using video gaming techniques," said Dr. Eric Savitsky, executive director of the UCLA Center for International Emergency Medicine and associate professor of emergency medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. "Some exercises offer just a few seconds to come up with the correct responses, which is intended to encourage rapid, informed decision-making in the field."

Titled "Landmines and Explosive Remnants of War Safety Training," the DVD presents information in the form of pre-mission security briefings. Modules include mock field exercises to help identify warning signs of explosives, driving maneuvers to test what to do when encountering an obstacle in the road that may be rigged to trigger an explosive, and what actions to take when one suspects one may be in a mine field or is faced with someone injured by an explosive.
"We wanted to create a more animated and interactive educational tool for this training to help individuals retain the information and teach desired behavior in crisis situations requiring quick thinking and actions," said John Flanagan, chief of operations for the U.N. Mine Action Service.

The interactive exercises in the video reinforce key points and incorporate real photos of landmines and explosive remnants of war, as well as signs and clues to their locations that have been collected from actual field sites. In addition, the UCLA team produced an original first-aid section.

"It's extremely important to be prepared and take advantage of all educational materials that are available when visiting countries impacted by landmines and explosive remnants of war," said Stuart Hughes, a BBC journalist injured by a landmine while in Iraq in 2003.

The UCLA Center for International Emergency Medicine team that designed the DVD included medical experts, filmmakers, instructional designers, educators, graphic designers, artists and software programmers.

UCLA's Center for International Emergency Medicine is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health and living conditions through education, training and technology. The center specializes in interdisciplinary research and translation of knowledge and technology geared towards improving global living standards. For more information, please visit the center's Web site at www.ciem.ucla.edu.

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