Principles and Requirements of Prevention and Management of Chemical Poisoning Incidents in Educational Institutions: A Narrative Review

Chemical poisoning incidents are an important health problem with a long history all over the world and its occurrence in Iran's educational institutions in 2022 and the necessity of preventive, caused the authorities to pay special attention to the Issue. This study aimed to review the principles and requirements for the prevention and management of poisoning incidents in educational centers. The study was conducted by searching for keywords in national and international databases from 1994 to 2022. Due to the unavailability of related articles, several related books, guidelines, and authoritative websites were also reviewed. In intentional incidents, people are often exposed to poisoning by inhalation, eye contact, and skin contact. Children and Students are more sensitive and are the first to be at risk and show symptoms. The optimal management of the incidents requires the existence of preventive strategic plans to eliminate or reduce the risk severity. All the people present in the educational centers should be trained and gain sufficient knowledge about the preventive health tips for exposure to chemicals. In the event of an accident, timely preparation and response, especially the identification and recording of the initial clinical symptoms of the injured and the characteristics of the chemical agent, are essential to quickly identify the agent and speed up action in decision-making for the optimal management of the incident and preventing mass hysteria and disturbances in the psychological security of society. The results of this study show that creating motivation and teaching preventive strategies to perform health-promoting, safe behaviors, and reducing wrong behaviors have an effective role in reducing the occurrence of dangerous conditions and preventing poisonings, and helping in the event of an incident to provide the necessary services asap. It is expected that by informing and correctly implementing the requirements recommended in this article, an effective contribution will help to improve national stability against similar threats in the future, and by reducing the incidence and severity of poisoning, it will create the conditions for maintaining and improving the health of people and minimize the vulnerability of society, and prevent such incidents from reoccurring in the future.