Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-t5tsf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-05T08:06:50.598Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Hospital Disaster Preparedness as Measured by Functional Capacity: a Comparison between Iran and Sweden

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 August 2013

Ahmadreza Djalali ,
Maaret Castren ,
Hamidreza Khankeh ,
Dan Gryth ,
Monica Radestad ,
Gunnar Öhlen  and
Lisa Kurland
Ahmadreza Djalali*
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine, Università del Piemonte Orientale, Novara, Italy
Maaret Castren
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences and Education and Section of Emergency Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
Hamidreza Khankeh
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Science and Education, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden Nursing Department, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation, Tehran, Iran
Dan Gryth
Affiliation:
Department of Physiology and Pharmacology and Section of Anaesthesiology and Intensive care, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Monica Radestad
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences and Education and Section of Emergency Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
Gunnar Öhlen
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Science, Intervention and Technology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
Lisa Kurland
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Sciences and Education and Section of Emergency Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Södersjukhuset, Stockholm, Sweden
*
Correspondence: Ahmadreza Djalali, MD, EMDM, PhD CRIMEDIM - Center for Research and Education in Emergency and Disaster Medicine Università degli Studi del Piemonte Orientale Via Lanino 1 28100 Novara, Italy E-mail [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction

Hospitals are expected to continue to provide medical care during disasters. However, they often fail to function under these circumstances. Vulnerability to disasters has been shown to be related to the socioeconomic level of a country. This study compares hospital preparedness, as measured by functional capacity, between Iran and Sweden.

Methods

Hospital affiliation and size, and type of hazards, were compared between Iran and Sweden. The functional capacity was evaluated and calculated using the Hospital Safety Index (HSI) from the World Health Organization. The level and value of each element was determined, in consensus, by a group of evaluators. The sum of the elements for each sub-module led to a total sum, in turn, categorizing the functional capacity into one of three categories: A) functional; B) at risk; or C) inadequate.

Results

The Swedish hospitals (n = 4) were all level A, while the Iranian hospitals (n = 5) were all categorized as level B, with respect to functional capacity. A lack of contingency plans and the availability of resources were weaknesses of hospital preparedness. There was no association between the level of hospital preparedness and hospital affiliation or size for either country.

Conclusion

The results suggest that the level of hospital preparedness, as measured by functional capacity, is related to the socioeconomic level of the country. The challenge is therefore to enhance hospital preparedness in countries with a weaker economy, since all hospitals need to be prepared for a disaster. There is also room for improvement in more affluent countries.

DjalaliA, CastrenM, KhankehH, GrythD, RadestadM, OhlenG, KurlandL. Hospital Disaster Preparedness as Measured by Functional Capacity: a Comparison between Iran and Sweden. Prehosp Disaster Med.2013;28(5):1-8.

Keywords

disasterfunctional capacityhospital preparednesssafety
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 28 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 454 - 461
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2013 

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.Top, M, Gider, Ö, Tas, Y. An investigation of hospital disaster preparedness in Turkey. Journal of Homeland Security and Emergency Management. 2010;7(1): Article 69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
2.Barbera, JA, Yeatts, DJ, Macintyre, AG. Challenge of hospital emergency preparedness: analysis and recommendations. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;3(2 Suppl):S74-S82.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Sauer, LM, McCarthy, ML, Knebel, A, Brewster, P. Major influences on hospital emergency management and disaster preparedness. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;3(2 Suppl):S68-S73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4.Adini, B, Goldberg, A, Laor, D, Cohen, R, Zadok, R, Bar-Dayan, Y. Assessing levels of hospital emergency preparedness. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2006;21(6):451-457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Lazar, EJ, Cagliuso, NV Sr, Gebbie, KM. Are we ready and how do we know? The urgent need for performance metrics in hospital emergency management. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;3(1):57-60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Higgins, W, Wainright, C, Liu, N, Carrico, R. Assessing hospital preparedness using an instrument based on the mass casualty disaster plan checklist: results of a statewide survey. Am J Infect Control. 2004;32(6):327-332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.Kaji, AH, Lewis, RJ. Hospital disaster preparedness in Los Angeles County. Acad Emerg Med. 2006;13(11):1198-1203.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
8.Kaji, AH, Langford, V, Lewis, RJ. Assessing hospital disaster preparedness: a comparison of an on-site survey, directly observed drill performance, and video analysis of teamwork. Ann Emerg Med. 2008;52(3):195-201.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Hospital safety index: guide for evaluators. World Health Organization. 2008. http://www.paho.org/english/dd/ped/SafeHosEvaluatorGuideEng.pdf. Accessed June 2010.Google Scholar
10.Kollek, D, Cwinn, AA. Hospital emergency readiness overview study. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2011;26(3):1-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Crosse, M, Bogart, G, Cohen, J, et al. Hospital preparedness: most urban hospitals have emergency plans but lack certain capabilities for bioterrorism response. 2003. Washington, DC: General Accounting Office. http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03924.pdf. Accessed March 2012.Google Scholar
12.Leiba, A, Ashkenasi, I, Nakash, G, et al. Response of Thai hospitals to the tsunami disaster. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2006;21(1):s32-s37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
13.Djalali, A, Castren, M, Hosseinijenab, V, Khatib, M, Ohlen, G, Kurland, L. Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) performance in Iran: decision making during disasters. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. 2012;6;20(1):14.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14. Health sector response to Bam earthquake: lessons learnt. World Health Organization; 2005. http://www.emro.who.int/publications/Book_Details.asp?ID=195. Accessed November 2010.Google Scholar
15.Cavallo, E, Noy, I. The economics of natural disasters. 2010. http://www.iadb.org/res/publications/pubfiles/pubIDB-WP-124.pdf. Accessed January 2012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Djalali, A, Khankeh, H, Öhlén, G, Castren, M, Kurland, L. Facilitators and obstacles in pre-hospital medical response to earthquakes: a qualitative study. Scand J Trauma Resusc Emerg Med. 2011;16;19:30.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.de Ville de Goyet, C. Health lessons learned from the recent earthquakes and tsunami in Asia. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2007;22(1):15-21.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Milch, K, Gorokhovich, Y, Doocy, S. Effects of seismic intensity and socioeconomic status on injury and displacement after the 2007 Peru earthquake. Disasters. 2010;34(4):1171-1182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Patt, AG, Tadross, M, Nussbaumer, P, et al. Estimating least-developed countries’ vulnerability to climate-related extreme events over the next 50 years. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2010;26;107(4):1333-1337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
20.Brouwer, R, Akter, S, Brander, L, Haque, E. Socioeconomic vulnerability and adaptation to environmental risk: a case study of climate change and flooding in Bangladesh. Risk Anal. 2007;27(2):313-326.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Ransom, MM, Goodman, RA, Moulton, AD. Addressing gaps in health care sector legal preparedness for public health emergencies. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2008;2(1):50-56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22. Country and lending groups by income. The World Bank. http://data.worldbank.org/about/country-classifications/country-and-lending-groups. Accessed November 2011.Google Scholar
23. EM-DAT. The international disaster database. http://www.emdat.be/. Accessed December 2011.Google Scholar
24. Sweden disaster statistics from 1980-2010. Prevention web. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/?cid=166. Accessed January 2012.Google Scholar
25. National report of the Islamic Republic of Iran on disaster reduction. World conference on disaster reduction. January 18-22, 2005. Kobe, Hyogo, Japan 2005. http://www.unisdr.org/eng/mdgs-drr/national-reports/Iran-report.pdf. Accessed November 2010.Google Scholar
26.Djalali, A, Hosseinijenab, V, Hasani, A, et al. A fundamental, national, disaster management plan: an education based model. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2009;24(6):565-569.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
27. Iran disaster statistics from 1980-2010. Prevention web. http://www.preventionweb.net/english/countries/statistics/?cid=81. Accessed January 2012.Google Scholar
28. Matthew E. Kahn. The death toll from natural disasters: the role of income, geography, and institutions. 2003. http://elsa.berkeley.edu/users/webfac/quigley/e231_f03/kahn.pdf. Accessed December 2011.Google Scholar
29.Ginter, PM, Duncan, WJ, Abdolrasulnia, M. Hospital strategic preparedness planning: the new imperative. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2007;22(6):529-536.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
30.Maldin, B, Lam, C, Franco, C, et al. Regional approaches to hospital preparedness. Biosecur Bioterror. 2007;5(1):43-53.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
31.Niska, RW, Shimizu, IM. Hospital preparedness for emergency response: United States, 2008. Natl Health Stat Report. 2011;24(37):1-14.Google Scholar
32.Li, X, Huang, J, Zhang, H. An analysis of hospital preparedness capacity for public health emergency in four regions of China: Beijing, Shandong, Guangxi, and Hainan. BMC Public Health. 2008;20(8):319.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
33. A national assessment of emergency planning in Canada's general hospitals. Office of critical infrastructure protection and emergency preparedness. http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2008/ps-sp/D82-69-2002E.pdf. Accessed July 2011.Google Scholar
34. Izmit, Turkey earthquake 1999. http://www.absconsulting.com/resources/Catastrophe_Reports/izmit-Turkey-1999.pdf. Accessed November 2011.Google Scholar
35.Fridlund, B, Hansson, H. Swedish emergency hospitals’ readiness for disaster; incidence, interest and training. Intensive Care Nurs. 1991, Sep; 7(3):164-170.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
36.Lynn, M, Gurr, D, Memon, A, Kaliff, J. Management of conventional mass casualty incidents: Ten Commandments for hospital planning. J Burn Care Res. 2006;27(5):649-658.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
37.Stander, M, Wallis, LA, Smith, WP. Hospital disaster planning in the Western Cape, South Africa. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2011;26(4):283-288.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
38.Adini, B, Goldberg, A, Laor, D, Cohen, R, Bar-Dayan, Y. Factors that may influence the preparation of standards of procedures for dealing with mass casualty incidents. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2007;22(3):175-180.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Supplementary material: File

Djalali Supplementary Material

Supplementary Material

Download Djalali Supplementary Material(File)
File 94.7 KB