Assessment of hospital preparedness and mangers’ awareness against disaster in southeast Iran in 2017

Background and Aim: Preparedness of hospitals against disasters is one of the key components of governmental planning to counter, control or minimize the consequences. The aim of this study was to assess the hospital preparedness and managers’ awareness against disasters in Southeast Iran. Methods: This applied, descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in 2017. The study population consisted of all State hospitals affiliated to Sistan and Baluchestan and Kerman Universities of Medical Sciences (hospitals=33, managers=264). The data were collected using a standard disaster preparedness checklist and managers' awareness questionnaire via in-person referral and distribution among statistical population. Data were analyzed through SPSS 17 and related statistical tests. Results: Managers' awareness (66.43%) and preparedness of hospitals (61.66%) against disasters were moderate. The highest and lowest levels of awareness were related to nursing managers (69.92%) and medical records (63.16%), respectively. The highest and lowest levels of preparedness were associated with management of disaster planning (77%) and planning of reduced construction risks (37.74%). There was a significant relationship between managers’ awareness and hospital preparedness against disaster (p<0.001). Conclusion: The preparedness of the studied hospitals was moderate, which improved preparedness against disaster and crisis through observing standards of hospital infrastructure, holding training classes for all hospital groups, securing hospital equipment and so on.