Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:47:27.819Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Disaster Preparedness in an Australian Urban Trauma Center: Staff Knowledge and Perceptions

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 August 2012

Ellen Corrigan  and
Iromi Samrasinghe
Ellen Corrigan*
Affiliation:
University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Iromi Samrasinghe
Affiliation:
Staff Specialist, Emergency Department, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst, Australia
*
Correspondence: Ellen Corrigan 5th Year Medical Student University of New South Wales Sydney, Australia E-mail [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction

A substantial barrier to improving disaster preparedness in Australia is a lack of prescriptive national guidelines based on individual hospital capabilities. A recent literature review revealed that only one Australian hospital has published data regarding its current preparedness level.

Objectives

To establish baseline levels of disaster knowledge, preparedness, and willingness to respond to a disaster among one hospital's staff, and thus enable the implementation of national disaster preparedness guidelines based on realistic capabilities of individual hospitals.

Methods

An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to individuals and departments that play key roles in the hospital's external disaster response. Questions concerned prior education and experience specific to disasters, general preparedness knowledge, perceived preparedness of themselves and their department, and willingness to respond to a disaster from a conventional and/or chemical, biological, or radiological incident.

Results

Responses were received from 140 individuals representing nine hospital departments. Eighty-three participants (59.3%) had previously received disaster education; 53 (37.9%) had attended a disaster simulation drill, and 18 (12.9%) had responded to an actual disaster. The average disaster preparedness knowledge score was 3.57 out of 10. The majority of respondents rated themselves as “not really” prepared and were “unsure” of their respective departments’ level of preparedness. Most respondents indicated a willingness to participate in both a conventional incident involving burns and/or physical trauma, and an incident involving chemical, biological or radiological (CBR) weapons.

Conclusions

Australian hospital staff are under-prepared to respond to a disaster because of a lack of education, insufficient simulation exercises, and limited disaster experience. The absence of specific national standards and guidelines through which individual hospitals can develop their capabilities further compounds the poverty in preparedness.

CorriganE , SamrasingheI . Disaster Preparedness in an Australian Urban Trauma Center: Staff Knowledge and Perceptions. Prehosp Disaster Med.2012;27(5):1-7.

Keywords

disasterdrillemergencyhospital responsemass-casualty incidentpreparednessstaff knowledgeterrorism
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 27 , Issue 5 , October 2012 , pp. 432 - 438
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2012

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. Emergency Management Australia. NSW Displan. 2009. http://www.emergency.nsw.gov.au/media/1164.pdf. Accessed February 7, 2011.Google Scholar
2. Smith, E. National disaster preparedness in Australia–before and after 9/11. Journal of Emergency Primary Health Care. 2006;4(2):3-15.Google Scholar
3. Caldicott, E, Edwards, N. Medical preparation for terrorism in Australia. Is luck running out for “the lucky country?” Prehosp Disaster Med. 2003;18(2):57-65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Rosenfeld, J, Fitzgerald, M, Kossmann, T, et al. Is the Australian hospital system adequately prepared for terrorism? Med J Aust. 2005;183(11/12):567-570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Edwards, M, Caldicott, D, Eliseo, T, Pearce, A. Truth hurts: hard lessons from Australia's largest mass casualty exercise with contaminated patients. Emerg Med Australas. 2006;18(2):185-195.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6. Edwards, N, Caldicott, D, Aitken, P, et al. Terror Australis 2004: Preparedness of Australian hospitals for disasters and incidents involving chemical, biological and radiological agents. Crit Care Resusc. 2008;10(2):125-136.Google ScholarPubMed
7. Barbera, J, Yeatts, D, MacIntyre, A. Challenge of hospital emergency preparedness: anaylsis and recommendations. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;3(Suppl. 1):S74-S82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Emergency Management Australia. COMDISPAN. http://www.ag.gov.au/www/emaweb/emaweb.nsf/Page/EmergencyManagement_PreparingforEmergencies_PlansandArrangements_AustralianGovernmentEmergency Management Plans. Accessed February 7, 2011.Google Scholar
9. Committee HHEP. AS 4083-2010 Planning for Emergencies—Health Care Facilities: Council of Standards-Australia. http://www.standards.com.au. Accessed February 23, 2011.Google Scholar
10. Bartley, B, Stella, J, Walsh, L. What a disaster?! Assessing utility of simulated disaster exercise and educational process for improving hospital preparedness. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2006;21(4):249-255.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11. Considine, J, Mitchell, B. Chemical, biological and radiological incidents: preparedness and perceptions of emergency nurses. Disasters. 2009;33(3):482-497.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12. Brennan, L, Sage, F, Simpson, A. Major incident planning in South East Thames region: a survey of medical staff awareness and training. J Accid Emerg Med. 1994;11(2):85-89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13. Hsu, E, Jenckes, M, Catlett, C, et al. Effectiveness of hospital staff mass-casualty incident training methods: a systematic literature review. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2004;19(3):191-199.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14. Bartley, B, Fisher, J, Stella, J. Video of a disaster drill is effective in educating registrars on the hospital disaster plan. Emerg Med Australas. 2007;19(1):39-44.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15. Duong, K. Disaster education and training of emergency nurses in South Australia. Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal. 2009;12(3):86-92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16. Lenaghan, P, Smith, P, Gangahar, D. Emergency preparedness and bioterrorism: a survey of the Nebraska Medical Center staff and physicians. J Emerg Nurs. 2006;32(5):394-397.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17. Alexander, G, Wynia, M. Ready and willing? Physicians’ sense of preparedness for bioterrorism. Health Aff (Millwood). 2003;22(5):189-197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Katz, A, Nekorchuk, D, Holck, P, et al. Hawaii physician and nurse bioterrorism preparedness survey. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2006;21(6):404-413.Google ScholarPubMed
19. Chapman, K, Arbon, P. Are nurses ready? Disaster preparedness in the acute setting. Australasian Emergency Nursing Journal. 2008;11(3):135-144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar