Preparation for hospital surge capacity in disasters and emergencies
Citation: Hasan M.K, Nasrullah S.M, Quattrocchi A, et al. Hospital surge capacity preparedness in disasters and emergencies: a systematic review. Public Health. 2023;225:12-21.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Erasmus Mundus Grant from the European Commission. Open access funding provided by Karolinska Institute, Sweden.
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for peer-reviewed studies of surge capacity preparedness in hospitals for disasters and emergencies. They restricted their searches to articles published in English between January 2016 and July 2022. The authors included 13 studies from Australia (1), Iran (3), Pakistan (1), Sweden (1), Taiwan (1), Tanzania (1), USA (5). This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42022360332.
What was found? The absence of a universal definition and standardised measurement for surge capacity made evaluation difficult. Four areas that increased capacity preparedness were staff, stuff, space, and system. The Hospital Surge Capacity Preparedness Index and Surge Simulation Tool can help measure and improve the surge capacity. There was insufficient evidence to analyse differences between urban and rural hospitals.
Implications: Hospitals should plan for surge capacity before the event. The authors stated that their findings could help hospital administrators, healthcare providers, and policymakers to develop appropriate plans, programmes, and policies. Training and education can increase surge capacity preparedness. Effective collaborative strategies are necessary to share staff and resources among healthcare facilities.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of socioeconomic status.
This summary was written by Eszter Szocs, checked by Jawaria Karim and finalized by William Summerskill.