Author/Authors :
Delshad، Vahid نويسنده Department of Health in Emergency and Disaster Research Center, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Delshad, Vahid , Borhani، Fariba نويسنده PhD, Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Razi Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran , , Khankeh، Hamaidreza نويسنده Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran Khankeh, Hamaidreza , Abbaszadeh، Abbas نويسنده 1Ph.D, Associate Professor, Physiology Research Center, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran , , Sabzalizadeh، Samaneh نويسنده Health Technology Office, Vice Chancellor for Research & Technology, Univereity of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Sabzalizadeh, Samaneh , Moradian، Mohammad Javad نويسنده Department of Disaster Public Health, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Moradian, Mohammad Javad , Rahimzadeh Behzadi، Mohammad Javad نويسنده Department of Nursing, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran. Rahimzadeh Behzadi, Mohammad Javad , Ghazanfar Abadi ، Mohammad نويسنده Department of Nursing, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran Ghazanfar Abadi , Mohammad , Farzin nia ، Babak نويسنده Department of Health in Emergencies and Disasters, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran. Farzin nia , Babak
Abstract :
Background: One of the important aspects of hospital preparedness in disasters is its rapid early warning system. In this study, the activation of early warning system was evaluated under the monitoring of disasters workgroup of the Ministry of Health based on the national program of “hospitals preparedness in disasters” in Shahid Motahari Hospital.
Materials and Methods: This is an interventional study, with a quasi-experimental pretest and posttest design. This hospital was chosen nonrandomly as it was the pilot hospital of the Ministry of Health to conduct studies in the field of health during disasters. The data collecting instrument was the hospital disaster preparedness checklist which evaluates 9 indexes of “command and control,” “communications,” “safety and security,” “triage,” “increasing capacity,” “continuity of critical services,” “human resources,” “logistics and supply management,” and “recovery after disasters.” Data of pretest and posttest were analyzed through nonparametric Wilcoxon test, using SPSS software, version 16.
Results: The preparedness score before the intervention was 134, which represents the moderate level of hospital preparedness. The evaluation before and after the intervention indicated that “recovery after disaster” and “triage” had the least change with an increase of one score and the index of “logistics and supply management” had the maximum increase by 5 scores. The overall score of preparedness significantly increased from 134 to 159(P<0.05) after the intervention, which represents a change from moderate to high hospital preparedness.
Conclusion: The preparedness of Shahid Motahari Hospital, which is the only specialized hospital of Tehran in burns, has significantly increased and reached a level of high preparedness to deal with disasters. This study indicates the importance of developing the activation of early warning system in hospitals for rapid and appropriate response to the disasters.
