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Purpose: An increasing number of international and domestic armed conflicts, including terror attacks on civilians, along with constrained healthcare finance and resource limitation, has made a civilian–military collaboration (CMC) crucial. The purpose of this study was to identify facilitators and constrainers in CMC in a national perspective with a specific focus on medical aspects. Method: A literature review of recently published papers about civilian–military collaboration, along with a short survey, was conducted. For the review, major search engines were used. Results: The results indicated many facilitators, but few important constrainers with a high impact on the outcome. The conducted survey indicated discrepancies between the needs and resources. Conclusion: The current global and domestic security threats and challenges, make CMC critical and inevitable. However, there is a need for careful analysis of its consequences, impact, possibilities, and limitations to differentiate between our expectations and the current reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Disasters and major incidents demand a multidisciplinary management. Recent experiences from terrorist attacks worldwide have resulted in a search for better assessment of the needs, resources, and knowledge in the medical and non-medical management of these incidents and also actualized the need for collaboration between civilian and military healthcare. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the civilian-military collaboration in a Swedish context with the main focus on its non-medical management. Method: An exercise, simulating a foreign military attack centrally on Swedish soil, was designed, initiated, and conducted by a team consisting of civilian and military staff. Data were collected prospectively and evaluated by an expert team. Results: Specific practical and technical issues were presented in collaboration between civilian and military staffs. In addition, shortcomings in decision-making, follow-up, communication, and collaboration due to prominent lack of training and exercising the tasks and positions in all managerial levels of the hospital were identified. Conclusion: Current social and political unrests and terror attacks worldwide necessitate civilian-military collaboration. Such collaboration, however, needs to be synchronized and adjusted to avoid preventable medical and non-medical consequences. Simulation exercises might be one important source to improve such collaboration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]