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The Role of Space Medicine in Management of Risk in SpaceflightThe purpose of Space Medicine is to ensure mission success by providing quality and comprehensive health care throughout all mission phases to optimize crew health and performance and to prevent negative long-term health consequences. Space flight presents additional hazards and associated risks to crew health, performance, and safety. With an extended human presence in space it is expected that illness and injury will occur on orbit, which may present a significant threat to crew health and performance and to mission success. Maintaining crew health, safety and performance and preventing illness and injury are high priorities necessary for mission success and agency goals. Space flight health care should meet the standards of practice of evidence based clinical medicine. The function of Space Medicine is expected to meet the agency goals as stated in the 1998 NASA Strategic Plan and the priorities established by the Critical Path Roadmap Project. The Critical Path Roadmap Project is an integrated NASA cross-disciplinary strategy to assess, understand, mitigate, and manage the risks associated with long-term exposure to the space flight environment. The evidence based approach to space medicine should be standardized, objective process yielding expected results and establishing clinical practice standards while balancing individual risk with mission (programmatic) risk. The ability to methodically apply available knowledge and expertise to individual and mission health issues will ensure appropriate priorities are assigned and resources are allocated. NASA Space Medicine risk management process is a combined clinical and engineering approach. Competition for weight, power, volume, cost, and crew time must be balanced in making decisions about the care of individual crew with competing agency resources.
Document ID
20010085806
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Clark, Jonathan B.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
May 31, 2001
Publication Information
Publication: Proceedings from the 2001 NASA Occupational Health Conference: Risk Assessment and Management in 2001
Subject Category
Aerospace Medicine
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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