Factors that influence the preparedness of hospitals to respond to disasters
Citation: Samei B, Babaie J, Tabrizi, et al. Factors affecting the functional preparedness of hospitals in response to disasters: a systematic review. Bulletin of Emergency and Trauma. 2023;11(3):109–118.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Tabriz University of Medical Sciences (Iran).
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for studies about the preparedness of hospitals to respond to any type of disaster. They restricted their searches to articles published in Persian or English before 2023. The authors included 105 studies mostly conducted in Iran, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, and the USA.
What was found? The authors identified 82 influential factors, which they classified into seven categories: governance, guidelines, regulation, resources, training, information management, and context. The most important factor was the appropriate provision and sharing of resources and facilities. To enable efficient coordination, many studies recommended a single headquarters for preparedness.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that hospitals must consider all factors that influence an efficient response to disasters. The 82 factors identified in this study can help decision-makers establish appropriate goals and strategies, and implement relevant measures for hospitals to respond to disasters.
Other considerations: The authors of the review did not discuss their findings in the context of issues relating to health equity.
This summary was written by Eszter Szocs, checked by Grace Meng and finalized by William Summerskill.