Nonstructural Safety of Hospitals for Disasters: A Comparison Between Two Capital CitiesShow others and affiliations
2014 (English)In: Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, ISSN 1935-7893, E-ISSN 1938-744X, Vol. 8, no 2, p. 179-184Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
OBJECTIVE: Hospitals are expected to function as a safe environment during disasters, but many become unusable because of nonstructural damage. This study compares the nonstructural safety of hospitals to disasters in Tehran and Stockholm.
METHODS: Hospital safety in Tehran and Stockholm was assessed between September 24, 2012, and April 5, 2013, with use of the nonstructural module of the hospital safety index from the World Health Organization. Hospital safety was categorized as safe, at risk, or inadequate.
RESULTS: All 4 hospitals in Stockholm were classified as safe, while 2 hospitals in Tehran were at risk and 3 were safe. The mean nonstructural safety index was 90% ± 2.4 SD for the hospitals in Stockholm and 64% ± 17.4 SD for those in Tehran (P = .014).
CONCLUSIONS: The level of hospital safety, with respect to disasters, was not related to local vulnerability. Future studies on hospital safety should assess other factors such as legal and financial issues. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2014;0:1-6).
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cambridge University Press, 2014. Vol. 8, no 2, p. 179-184
Keywords [en]
hospital; disaster; nonstructural; safety
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:oru:diva-59268DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2014.21ISI: 000339064900013PubMedID: 24703490Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-84899920857OAI: oai:DiVA.org:oru-59268DiVA, id: diva2:1135531
2017-08-232017-08-232024-01-16Bibliographically approved