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Challenges of Hospital Response to the Twin Earthquakes of August 21, 2012, in East Azerbaijan, Iran

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 January 2017

Mahboub Pouraghaei ,
Ali Jannati ,
Peyman Moharamzadeh ,
Amir Ghaffarzad ,
Moharram Heshmati Far  and
Javad Babaie
Mahboub Pouraghaei
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Ali Jannati
Affiliation:
Iranian Center of Excellence in Health Management and Department of Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Peyman Moharamzadeh
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Amir Ghaffarzad
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Moharram Heshmati Far
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
Javad Babaie*
Affiliation:
Iranian Center of Excellence in Health Management and Department of Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran Road Traffic Injury Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Javad Babaie, PhD, Daneshgah Ave, Department of Health Services Management, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran (e-mail: [email protected]).
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Abstract

Objective

As the cornerstone of any health system, hospitals have a crucial role in response to disasters. Because hospital experiences in disaster response can be instructive, this study examined the challenges of hospital response to the twin earthquakes of 2012 in East Azerbaijan, Iran.

Methods

In this qualitative study, the challenges of hospital response in the East Azerbaijan earthquakes were examined through focus group discussions. Participants were selected purposefully, and focus group discussions continued until data saturation. The data were manually analyzed by using Strauss and Corbin’s recommended method.

Results

Hospitals were faced with 6 major challenges: lack of preparedness, lack of coordination, logistic deficiencies, patient/injured management, communication management, and other smaller challenges that were categorized in the “other challenges” category. The main theme was the lack of preparedness for disasters.

Conclusion

Although hospital preparedness is emphasized in credible references, this study showed that lack of preparedness is a major challenge for hospitals during disasters. Thus, it seems that hospital officials’ disaster risk perception and hospital preparedness should be improved. In addition, hospital preparedness assessment indexes should be included in the hospital accreditation process. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:422–430)

Keywords

disasterhospital responseearthquake
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 11 , Issue 4 , August 2017 , pp. 422 - 430
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2017 

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