Assessment of Hospital Disaster Preparedness in the City of Birjand, Iran, in ۲۰۱۱

Introduction: In the past ۲۵ years, natural disasters have taken lives of almost ۳ million people and caused about ۲۳ billion of damages worldwide. Iran is one of the ۱۰ most disaster-prone countries in the world, and lack of preparedness of hospitals and healthcare centers burdens the healthcare system with ۲۸۰ million each year. Method: In this study, the research environment consisted of all hospitals of Birjand (Emam Reza, Valiasr, and Social Security Hospitals) and cases were collected via census method from our research environment. Data were collected by means of a standard checklist consisting of ۲۲۰ questions in ۶ sections of equipment, human resources, physical environment, structure, protocols, and performance chart. The tool was validated through content validity and face validity methods. Moreover, reliability which was estimated by the Kappa test was estimated as good (۰.۸). SPSS software was used for the analysis of checklist results. Descriptive analysis of data is presented through frequency, frequency percentage, and mean and standard deviation. Results: In general, the level of preparedness in terms of communication with a value of ۲۸.۵۱% was considered as weak. The admission, transfer and discharge, traffic, security, and management training, respectively, with values of ۵۸.۲۶, ۴۳.۴۵, ۵۲.۷۷, ۴۹.۰۷, ۴۴.۱۷, and ۵۶.۱۱% were measured as medium. However, the emergency, support, and staffing with values of ۶۷.۳۶, ۶۶.۴۱, and ۶۰.۹۲% were rated as good. The lowest and highest values were that of the communication and emergency sections, respectively. Altogether, the hospitals’ preparedness, with a value of ۵۲.۲۷%, is at a moderate level. Discussion and Conclusion: Birjand hospitals are in need of improvement in the areas of communication, admission, transfer and discharge, traffic, safety, training, and management, and appropriate decisions need to be made with regard to this issue.

Keywords:

Readiness , Disaster , Hospital , آمادگی , حوادث غیر مترقبه , بیمارستان