Assessment of a Military Hospital’s Disaster Preparedness Using a Health Incident Command System

A hospital emergency incident command system is one of the most reliable and popular organizational methods for disaster and emergency management.

The aim of the present study was to assess the level of disaster preparedness in the emergency department and other selected units of a military hospital in Tehran.

This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2013 and involved 97medical staffmembers from various departments: emergency, management, discharge and transport, camp (security and staff), information and communication technology, training, reception, and human resources. Three instruments were used for data collection: a self-reported questionnaire, unit evaluation checklist, and maneuver evaluation checklist.

The overall mean score for the maneuver checklist was 55.5%. The mean (±standard deviation) score for the questionnaire was 42.02±8.62. The unit evaluation checklist had a score of 165 from a total of 244 possible points and amean percentage of 67.62%. After conducting the maneuver, the hospital staff was reported to have weak performance in evaluating and prioritizing patients for quick release and tracking their conditions.

The present study shows that the selected hospital had a moderate level of preparedness, which is in line with the previous studies. It is recommended that future studies evaluate the effect of education on the disaster preparedness of hospital units