Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-20T07:19:34.909Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Is There an Association Between Risk Perception and Disaster Preparedness in Rural US Hospitals?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Barbara J. Cliff ,
Laura Morlock  and
Amy B. Curtis
Barbara J. Cliff*
Affiliation:
Windber Medical Center, Windber, Pennsylvania USA
Laura Morlock
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland USA
Amy B. Curtis
Affiliation:
Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan USA
*
President/CEOWindber Medical Center600 Somerset Avenue Windber, Pennsylvania 15963-1331 USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction:

This study examined disaster preparedness, risk perception, and their association in rural hospitals in the United States. The focus of disaster preparedness largely has been centered on urban areas, in part because of the perception that more concentrated areas have an increased risk of a disastrous event. Therefore, it was hypothesized that risk perception may be a contributing factor for adequate preparedness in rural areas. This research was a component of a larger study of rural hospital preparedness. The objective of this study was to describe the perceived risk of disaster events and the status of disaster preparedness in rural hospitals. It was hypothesized that there is a positive association between risk perception and preparedness.

Methods:

Secondary data analysis was conducted using the National Study of Rural Hospitals (2006–2007) from Johns Hopkins University. The study, based on a regionally stratified, random sample of rural hospitals, consisted of a mailed questionnaire and a follow-up telephone interview with each hospital's Chief Executive Officer (n = 134). A model of disaster preparedness was utilized to examine seven elements of preparedness. Risk perception was examined through seven perceived risk threats.

Results:

The results indicated that rural hospitals were moderately prepared, overall,(78% prepared on average), with higher preparedness in education/training (89%) and isolation/decontamination (91%); moderate preparedness in administration/planning (80%), communication/notification (83%), staffing/support (66%), and supplies/pharmaceuticals/laboratory support (70%); and lower preparedness in surge capacity (64%).

The respondents reported greater perceived risk from disasters due to natural hazards (79% reported moderate to high risk) and vehicular accidents (77%) than from humanmade disasters (23%). Results obtained from logistic regression models indicated that there was no statistically significant difference in the odds of a hospital being prepared overall when comparing high versus low risk perception (OR = 0.61; 95% CI = 0.26–1.44). Positive associations were identified only between higher perceived risk overall and the subcategory of education/training preparedness (OR = 1.24; 95% CI = 1.05–1.27).

Conclusions:

Rural hospitals reported being moderately prepared in the event of a disaster with a low perception of risk for human-made disasters. Further research should be conducted to identify predictors of preparedness in rural hospitals in order to optimize readiness for potential disaster events.

Keywords

disaster preparednesshazardsrisk perceptionrural hospitals
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 24 , Issue 6 , December 2009 , pp. 512 - 517
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Gursky, E: Hometown hospitals: The weakest link? Bioterrorism readiness in America's rural hospitals. Available at http:\\www.ndu.edu/ctnsp/rural%20hospitals.htm. Accessed 10 September 2006.Google Scholar
2. Office of Rural Health Policy: Rural communities and emergency preparedness. Available at ftp://ftp.hrsa.gov/ruralhealth/RuralPreparedness.pdf. Accessed 16 October 2006.Google Scholar
3. Campbell, P, Frances, J, Meit, M: Preparing for public health emergencies: Meeting the challenges in rural America. Available at http://www.upb.pitt.edu/crhp/conf_proceed_4.pdf. Accessed 10 September 2006.Google Scholar
4. Institute of Medicine: Hospital-based Emergency Care at the Breaking Point. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2006.Google Scholar
5. Institute of Medicine: Making the Nation Safer. Washington, DC: National Academies Press, 2002.Google Scholar
6. Coburn, A, MacKinney, C, McBride, T, et al. : Choosing rural definitions: Implications for health policy, Issue brief #2. Available at http://www.rupri.org/ruralHealth/publicationsissuebrief2.pdf. Accessed 09 April 2007.Google Scholar
7. Office of Management and Budget: Update of statistical area definitions and guidance on their uses. Available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/bulletins/fy2007/b07-01.pdf. Accessed 02 June 2007.Google Scholar
8. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Bioterrorism emergency planning and preparedness questionnaire for healthcare facilities, 2001. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/about/cpcr/bioterrtxt.htm. Accessed 02 June 2007.Google Scholar
9. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Bioterrorism emergency planning and preparedness questionnaire for healthcare facilities, 2002. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/about/cpcr/bioterr.pdf. Accessed 02 June 2007.Google Scholar
10. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Preparedness questionnaire for healthcare facilities, 2005. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/cbrne. Accessed 02 June 2007.Google Scholar
11. Polit, D, Hungler, B: Nursing Research: Principles and Methods. 4th ed. Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1991.Google Scholar
12. Bourque, L, Fielder, E: The Survey Kit: How to Conduct Telephone Surveys. 2d ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2003.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality: Surge capacity: Education and training for a qualified workforce, AHRQ Pub. No. 04-P028. Available at http://www.ahrq.gov/news/ulp/btbriefs/btbrief7.htm. Accessed 10 September 2006.Google Scholar