جستجوی مقالات مرتبط با کلیدواژه « emergency preparedness » در نشریات گروه « پزشکی »

Accidents and disasters have affected human lives and various aspects, including casualties, financial, psychological, and environmental damage, directly and indirectly. Prehospital emergency, one of the vital organs and agencies that respond right away to the scene and aid the injured, plays a crucial part in such incidents and is a vital link in the chain of public safety that protects the lives and health of its users.

Each of the two stages in this mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) study serves as an introduction to the application of the subsequent phase. The first phase was a qualitative phase (Item generation) that have 3 steps, a scoping review, qualitative study, and incorporation of steps 1 and 2 (synthesis research). The second phases, the quantitative phase (item reduction), have 4 steps: Face validity, Content Validity, Construct Validity, and Tool Reliability.

Prehospital emergency preparedness requires the development of response plans, training of these plans, and the quantitative and qualitative enhancement of current capabilities and capacities. As a result, the establishment and promotion of specific preparedness functions outlined in the emergency response operational plan hospital at various headquarters and operational levels need to conduct various maneuvers in this battle.

During disasters and emergencies, healthcare systems, particularly hospitals, as the leading providers of care, play an important role; accordingly, this study examines the preparedness of hospitals affiliated with Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences for biological incidents.

This descriptive cross-sectional study assessed the preparedness level of 14 teaching hospitals in response to biological incidents in 2022. The preparedness of the hospitals in facing biological incidents was evaluated by the secretaries of the hospitals’ risk and disaster management committees using a standard questionnaire (hospital preparedness questionnaire in response to biological incidents) to assess different dimensions of hospital preparedness, including the development of managerial structures, capacity building, training and practice, information and communication management, healthcare system and laboratory, safety and security, patient management, and hospital resilience.

The assessment of different hospital preparedness dimensions in facing biological incidents showed that the mean scores of the managerial structure development, capacity building, training and practice, information and communication management, safety and security, healthcare system and laboratory, patient management, and hospital resilience were 20.12, 44.71, 14.14, 19.21, 46.64, 20.42, 27.42, 15.92, respectively. The highest score was related to safety and security and information and communication management, with average scores of 50.78 and 22, respectively. Also, the dimension of training and practice, with an average score of 16.28 and an average percentage of 64.29%, attained the lowest score among the eight dimensions of hospital preparedness. The net score of hospital preparedness in response to biological incidents was obtained at 230.28. According to the final score of hospital preparedness, 9(64.3%) hospitals had a good preparedness status, while 5(35.7%) hospitals acquired an average level of preparedness.

The preparedness of the investigated hospitals in response to biological events was favorable. However, coping with biological incidents mandates the highest level of preparedness; therefore, it is necessary to maintain good preparedness and try to improve the condition to an optimal level by focusing on all dimensions, especially those acquiring lower scores.

Building fires are the most common threatening and distressing hazard in hospitals. Fire is one of the top 10 hazards that threaten Iranian hospitals. Nevertheless, no study has been done on the features of fires in Iran hospitals. So, this study aimed to investigate the characteristics of fires taking place in Iranian hospitals.

In this cross-sectional study, news related to fire broke out in Iranian hospitals was retrieved from the archive of 5 reputable Persian news agencies using the Persian search terms: “Fire”, “hospital”, and “clinic”. Quantitative content analysis was used to assess retrieved news text. Data gathered by the Emergency Operation Center of the Iranian Ministry of Health and Medical Education were also studied. 

In total, 86 incident reports were assessed for the period spanning from 2005 to 2020, with more than half accessed just through reputable news agencies. The electrical short circuit was the most reported incident cause, and the medical care environment was the most reported place of incident. Twenty-five incident reports indicated that partial or complete emergency evacuation was executed. 

It is imperative to raise awareness about the lack of an integrated mechanism for registering such incidents. Future research can be conducted designing a critical registry system that collects, analyzes, and disseminates hospital incident data.

Triage becomes necessary when resources and time are not sufficient to provide the best possible services to all patients. This condition is more common in situations with a large number of casualties, like infectious epidemics. What is apparent is that, in the case of a widespread outbreak of infectious disease, hospitals are on the front lines of infected patient admission and treatment. Since the training of health‑care workers is one of the most important pillars of preventive measures in controlling this pandemic, this study was conducted with the aim of expressing the principles of triage of infectious disease epidemic with a COVID‑19 approach.

Hospitals are the first-line care providers in natural disasters. Nurses, as one of the critical health professional groups, require adequate peroration for responding to natural disasters. Due attention has to be paid to various teaching methods to improve the level of nurses’ preparedness. 

This study compared the effect of lecturing and lecturing-tabletop exercise methods on the level of nurses’ preparedness against natural disasters. 

In this quasi-experimental study, 74 nurses were randomly selected from different wards at a hospital in Yazd City, Iran, in 2017. Nurses’ preparedness level was measured with the 72-item Scale for Nurses’ Preparedness against Natural Disasters, including three areas of knowledge, attitude, and performance. The study participants were assigned into group A (lecturing method, n=37) and group B (lecturing-tabletop exercise method, n=37) using a simple random sampling technique. Nurses’ level of preparedness was measured three times (pre- and post-intervention, and follow-up) using the Preparedness for Disasters questionnaire. The obtained data were analyzed applying repeated measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Paired Samples t-test. 

The mean scores of nurses’ knowledge, attitude, and performance were increased by 4.94, 7.38, and 5.59 in group A as well as 6.56, 11.43, and 6.08 in group B. Additionally, the total score of nurses’ preparedness in group B was significantly higher at Pre-test, post-test, and one-month follow-up (107.89±7.50) (P=0.0001). 

Education ( lecturing and lecturing-tabletop exercise methods) positively affected nurses’ preparedness. However, it was more effective through lecturing-tabletop exercise methods due to having a scenario and the better participation of nurses in the learning process. This finding emphasizes the positive effect of participants’ interactions in the tabletop exercise method on the quality of education, critical skill, and increased level of nurses’ preparedness against natural disasters.

Nurses, as the largest group in providing relief during disasters with their specialized skills, should be sufficiently prepared to provide the highest level of health care. By compiling predisaster preparedness programs, the provided healthcare would be promoted and number of casualties and incoordination in allocated tasks be reduced. This study was conducted to evaluate nurses’ preparedness in response to disasters in South Khorasan Province, Iran.
In this correlational descriptive study, working nurses in provincial hospitals were chosen by systematic random sampling. The study data were collected with a 3-part questionnaire: demographic information, items assessing the capabilities in disaster (clinical competency, survival skills, operational competency), and items regarding their viewpoints (personal and psychological readiness, team integration, and administrative support). The questionnaire was rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale. Total score in each field is divided by the number of questions, in which 5 is the highest, and 1 the lowest. All data were analyzed by SPSS16. The significant level was set at P≤0.05.
Out of 304 hospital nurses working in 10 health centers throughout the province, 71.1% were female, 27.21% had 3-5 years of job experience, 96.4% had BS in nursing, and 57.9% were the staff of educational hospitals. The mean (SD) score for nurses’ preparedness (competency and attitude) was 3.4(0.64). The mean (SD) score for nurses’ competency was 3.25 (0.72), and average score for nurses’ attitude was 3.53(0.5). There was a significant correlation between nurses’ competency score and their gender and work experience (P≤0.05).
Regarding the nurses’ preparedness score, it is recommended that they be provided with training courses on disaster preparedness through workshops and or training exercises.

Natural and man-made disasters affect people, communities, and health systems. Nurses play a key role in the health system and must be prepared for appropriate response in disasters.

This study was done to assess the current knowledge of nurses in emergency departments for disaster preparedness.

This cross-sectional study was conducted on 110 emergency nurses working in teaching hospitals affiliated to the Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. A questionnaire was used to collect data and the data were then analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSS software version 16.0.

Based on the findings, most of the participants (64.5%) were aged 30 - 39 years old. 84% of the cases were female and 97.3% had a bachelor’s degree. The average perceived knowledge of nurses was 2.43 ± 1.01. The nurses had the highest familiarity with triage and lowest knowledge in epidemiology and decision-making.

Lack knowledge of nurses regarding response to disaster situations indicates inefficiencies in the current system. Therefore, it is recommended to organize more workshops, annual training courses, and maneuvers based on staff needs and formulate continuous education courses for nurses.