Risk analysis and safety assessment of hospitals against disasters caused by man or natural hazards
Citation: Moradi SM, Nekoei-Moghadam M, Abbasnejad A, et al. Risk analysis and safety assessment of hospitals against disasters: A systematic review. Journal of Education and Health Promotion. 2021;10:412.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes
Funding sources: The authors reported no external funding.
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for peer-reviewed studies on risk analysis and safety assessment for hospitals. They restricted their searches to articles published in English between January 2000 and June 2019. The authors found 24 peer-reviewed studies.
What was found: In low-income countries, risk analysis methods were generally simple and qualitative; in more developed countries, the methods were often complex and analytic. The majority of studies addressed the effects of disasters caused by natural hazards on hospitals, with earthquakes studied most often. Among the studies that assessed hospital safety, the most commonly used method was the Hospital Safety Index. Structural elements were the main influence on hospital safety and risk analysis.
Implications: The authors of the review stated that hospital safety assessment and risk analysis in combination with geography, political, social, economic, and cultural details can help to reduce the risk to hospitals from disasters caused by man or by natural hazards.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence and socioeconomic status.
This summary was prepared by Grace Meng, checked by Briann Mensour, and finalized by William Summerskill.