Non-structural and Functional Vulnerability of Rehabilitation Centers of Tehran Welfare Organization in Disaster

Background: The safety of rehabilitation centers is of great importance to ensure the well-being of patients. The present study aimed to determine non-structural and functional vulnerability of state rehabilitation centers of Tehran City welfare organization in disasters using national standard instruments in 2014. Materials and Methods: This study has a descriptive and cross-sectional design. A total of 17 rehabilitation centers affiliated with Tehran welfare organization are investigated. The vulnerability of centers was measured using 2 checklists of non-structural and functional vulnerability of the World Health Organization. The reliabilities of the non-structural and functional vulnerability instuments were 0.79 and 0.91, respectively, using the Cronbach α. The data were collected through observation and interview with authorities of centers and their staffs. The data analysis was performed through descriptive statistics and 1-sample t-test using SPSS 16. Results: Among 17 rehabilitation centers, the mean functional safety of 11 centers (64.7%) was high and showed low vulnerability and safety of 6 centers (35.3%) was average and showed average vulnerability. With regard to non-structural safety level, 9 centers (53% of centers) had high safety level and showed low vulnerability. Eight centers (47% of centers) had average safety level and showed average vulnerability. The results of 1-sample t test showed that at the significance level of 0.05, there was no significant difference between functional and non-structural safety of centers. Conclusion: The functional and non-structural safety of state rehabilitation centers of Tehran welfare organization was above average and vulnerability of centers to disaster was average, too. We suggest that the required planning be performed to improve non-structural and functional safety quality of centers and reduce their vulnerability.