[Evaluation of emergency wards readiness for responding to disasters and emergencies at hospitals of Qazvin university of medical sciences according to world health organization model 2012]

ABSTRACT

Hospital Emergency preparedness in dealing with crises and disasters is essential for success in providing quality services. The aim of this study was to evaluate emergency preparedness in hospitals of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences in responding to crisis. In this cross - sectional research, six hospital emergencies of Qazvin University of medical sciences were studied in 2013. Data was collected by hospital emergency response checklists with 90 questions in different areas [such as command and control, communication, safety and security, triage, surge capacity, continuity of essential services, human resources, management of materials and inventory area, post-disaster recovery] which has been developed by WHO through observation and interview. Data analysis was performed using central indexes; also, tables and graphs were used to describe the results. According to the findings, the maximum and minimum level of preparedness against disasters were in command and control area [80/83%] and management of materials and inventory area [57%] respectively. Generally, the level of emergency preparedness of hospitals to deal with disasters evaluated about 70/72%. Regarding the history of disasters in the studied province and appropriate preparedness of the hospitals, it will be effective to estimate essential sources and medicines, equipment maintenance, rapid preparation of materials and strengthening the hospital buildings in order to enhance the preparation of the hospitals