The preparedness for disasters of hospital emergency departments in Iran
Citation: Kazemzadeh M, Shafiei E, Jahangiri K, et al. The preparedness of hospital emergency departments for responding to disasters in Iran: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine. 2019;7(1):e58.
Language: Abstract and full text in English.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: The authors reported no external funding for this review.
What is this? In this systematic review and meta-analysis, the authors searched for studies that used the WHO hospital emergency response check-list to assess disaster preparedness in hospital emergency departments in Iran. They searched in July 2019 for articles published in English or Persian. The authors included 4 cross-sectional studies from 51 hospitals.
What was found: The authors found that Iranian hospitals and emergency departments were moderately to highly prepared to respond to man-made disasters or disasters caused by natural hazards. Social and economic factors influenced hospital preparedness, as did educational programmes, hospital resilience initiatives, and exercises. Adequate resources and contingency plans are crucial elements to improve the preparedness of hospitals for disasters.
Implications: The authors of the review concluded that due to Iran’s high prevalence of disasters, it was important to prioritise the preparedness of hospital and emergency departments. They also stated that policymakers should take necessary actions and formulate strategies at all levels of management to do this.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of socioeconomic status and place of residence.
This summary was prepared by Fatima Abbas, checked by Cristián Mansilla and Jawaria Karim, and finalized by William Summerskill.