Effect of early warning system on the preparedness of hospitals in emergencies and disasters: A quasi-experimental study

The present study aims to determine the effect of the early warning system (EWS) on the preparedness of hospitals in emergencies and disasters. This study was a quasi-experimental study conducted with two groups. One month, and then three months after determining hospital preparedness (HP) through the world health organization standard checklist, a seminar and two-session workshop as intervention, and installing a flowchart for activating the EWS in important hospital sections, HP was reevaluated and analyzed by longitudinal descriptive statistics. A total of ۳۰ nurses were included in the present research. The findings suggested the preparedness score of intervention hospitals before the intervention, one month, and three months after that the biggest change occurred in the communication sector with a ۱۰-point increase; the smallest change occurred in the continuity of essential services and port-disaster recovery; the overall score of HP changed from being poor before the intervention to medium after three months (P<۰.۰۵). In the control hospital, human resources had the biggest change with a ۴-point increase; command and control, communications, continuity of essential services, and post-disaster recovery had the smallest change with a ۱-point increase; the overall HP was poor and remained poor despite the increase in scores (P<۰.۰۵). In sum, the outcomes of this study imply that the intervention hospital has a moderate level of disaster preparedness. The findings of this study highlight the importance of instituting an EWS in all hospitals across the country to enhance readiness for calamities. Hence, implementing EWS in similar conditions in other hospitals in the country can improve the preparedness of these hospitals in emergencies and disasters to a great extent.

Keywords:

hospital preparedness , Early Warning System , Accidents , Disasters