Disaster safety assessment of primary healthcare facilities: a cross-sectional study in Kurdistan province of Iran

Abstract

Background Kurdistan province of Iran is among disaster prone areas of the country. The Primary Health Care facilities in Iran deliver health services at all levels nationwide. Resiliency and flexibility of such facilities is important when a disaster occurs. Thus, evaluating functional, structural, and non-structural aspects of safety of such facilities is essential. Methods In this cross-sectional study, the instrument used to evaluate four sections of functional, structural, non-structural, and total safety of 805 healthcare facilities in Kurdistan Province was the safety evaluation checklist of primary healthcare centers, provided by the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education. Each section scored from 0 to 100 points, and each section of the safety was classified to three safety classes according to their total score: low (≤34.0), average (34.01–66.0) and high (> 66.0). Results The levels of functional, structural, non-structural and total safety were equal to 23.8, 20.2, 42.3 and 28.7, out of 100, respectively. Regarding the functional safety, rapid response team scored the highest, while financial affairs scored the lowest. Nevertheless, in structural and non-structural sections, the scores of different items were almost similar. Conclusions The results of the study revealed that safety score of primary healthcare facilities in general was unsatisfactory. Thus, promoting preparedness, resilience and continuity of service delivery of these facilities are essential to response to disasters and emergencies. The finding of this study could be beneficial for national and provincial decision-makers and policymakers in this regard.

The Application of Hospital Safety Index for Analyzing Primary Healthcare Center (PHC) Disaster and Emergency Preparedness

“…Personnel training is often an issue in implementing emergency and disaster management. This is in line with other research on PHCs in Iran, where the HSI index for the training and training personnel aspect is considerably low [57]. The results of the MCA also show that from all aspects of the assessment using the HSI instrument, the PHCs in all assessment provinces tended to be closer to category "B" and required improvement.…”

Disaster Preparedness and Hospital Safety in State Hospitals in Lima (Peru)

“…Only a few studies have reported on the HSI of hospitals in different countries; a study analyzing primary care centers in a province of Iran, assessing disaster safety with a maximum of 100 points, found that these facilities had an overall average score of 28.7 (low safety in functional, structural, and non-structural aspects). 33 Another study conducted in 15 hospitals in Indonesia found that their HSI had a value of 0.544 (equivalent to Category B). 34 In contrast, in a study of six Australian hospitals, their HSIs were found to have high scores.…”

Hospital preparedness assessment for road traffic accidents with mass casualties: a cross-sectional study in Kurdistan Province, Iran

“…The increase in the burden of hospital patients and the need for timely and effective provision of medical services by hospitals highlight the importance of hospital preparedness during RTAs, especially those resulting in mass casualty incidents (MCIs) [ 6 ]. In addition, to improve preparedness for emergencies and in line with international commitments, countries are encouraged to improve their healthcare systems and strengthen national capacity for emergency health management, crisis response, and flexibility in healthcare systems [ 7 ]. Considering the role of hospitals as vital components of the healthcare system in responding to disasters and emergencies to ensure service continuity and effective delivery [ 8 , 9 ], the World Health Organization emphasizes the importance of hospital preparedness and response capacity [ 9 – 11 ].…”

“…Studies in this country have shown that RTAs impose a significant economic burden on Iran’s gross domestic product per capita and health expenses per capita [ 3 ]. The focus of this research is on Kurdistan province, located in west of Iran, with an area of 28,235 square kilometers [ 7 ] and a population of nearly one and a half million people [ 19 ], which accounts for about 1.7% of the country’s area [ 7 ]. The topography, geographic and ethnic diversity, and border location of this province have made it susceptible to various natural and human disasters [ 7 , 20 ].…”