Hospital Disaster Preparedness in Mazandaran Province, Iran 2017

Background and purpose: Iran is one of the top ten countries in the world with disaster. Hospitals have a major role in dealing with disaster-related injuries. The purpose of this study was to assess the level of preparedness in Mazandaran province hospitals in dealing with disasters in order to identify the deficiencies and comparing current conditions with national standards. Materials and methods: In this cross-sectional study, all hospitals affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and Mazandaran Social Security Organization (n=28) were evaluated in 2017. Data were collected using the National Standard Toolkit for Hospital Preparedness. The overall score and the scores for every component were recorded and the level of preparedness were presented according to four levels. Results: The relative preparedness level of hospitals in dealing with disasters was moderate (65.5%). The overall levels of disaster preparedness in the hospitals affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences and the social-security hospitals were moderate (63%) and favorable (75%), respectively. The hospitals affiliated with Mazandaran University of Medical Sciences, were found to have good (n=4), moderate (n=14), and poor (n= 5) levels of preparedness. The hospitals of the Social Security Organization were ranked as good (n=2) and moderate (n=3) in disaster preparedness. Conclusion: Most of the hospitals in Mazandaran province, like other regions in Iran, have poor level of disaster preparedness. Therefore, more planning is needed to enhance the hospital’s level of readiness in all dimensions.