DVI in the Changing Twenty-first Century

In this chapter, the authors employ strategic foresight methods to analyze Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) within a future Dynamic Disaster Management System and consider the role Medical Examiner (MEs)/Cs offer society, particularly when everyone is experiencing a devastating disaster event. According to Ralston and Wilson, performing future trend analysis, which entails horizon scanning, provides the best means of identifying early signals of change. Following a review of megatrends, futuring involves a Forcefield Analysis to determine drivers and constrainers of change. Unlike traditional analysis, the benefit of futuring is ME/Cs can “stresstest” DVI strategies to figure out if they will work in the twenty‐first century. The advantage of grouping the findings into strength, weakness, opportunity, or threat categories is that it simplifies the content and helps leaders recognize issues of greatest concern. Specific to disasters, ME/Cs will need to regularly consider new DVI strategies versus thinking past strategies will work.