Preparedness Assessment for Disaster Management Among Dhahran Al Janoub General Hospital Staff During Hazm Storm Support 1436/2015 (original) (raw)

International Journal of Community & Family Medicine

Background: The hospital staff needs to be capable of utilizing the resources and training to cope up with an emergency situation. Objective: The study has aimed to assess the knowledge of hospital staff of Dhahran Al Janoub General Hospital regarding the disaster management during Hazm Storm Support 1436/2015. Design: A quantitative research design has been incorporated to assess the disaster management of hospital staff. An observational study was conducted to examine the aim of the study. Methods: Quantitative research approach has been opted and 84 individuals have been recruited from Dhahran Al Janoub General Hospital, which included physicians, nurses, technicians, officers, and housekeepers. Frequencies and percentages have been evaluated. Chi-square test has been applied to the data for the analysis of results by using SPSS. Setting: Participants were given a questionnaire to fill, through which their knowledge about management of disaster was assessed. Main outcome Measures: The obtained data was analyzed using Statistical Package of Social Sciences SPSS (version 20.0). Results: The staff (including all job categories) was aware that the hospital has an emergency response and awareness plan related to disasters. There was no statistically significant relationship identified between different job categories in the hospital and the level of knowledge about presence or absence of the emergency response plan. Conclusion: The hospital staff with fewer years of experience had lesser knowledge about the disaster as compared to the experienced employees. Limitations: The study measured the level of knowledge about emergency preparedness among the staff members of Dhahran Al Janoub General Hospital only. and causalities, include high population density, oil and reservoir tank explosion, and presence of factories. 202 disasters were reported in 2014; alone in Asia, injuring 10,107 people [4]. The health-care system plays a significant role in assisting and helping different communities from disasters. The previous training and nurses' experiences affect the preparedness and increase their self-confidence, skills, and awareness in disaster response and lessen the susceptibility to impulsive events [5,6]. Different studies have shown that most healthcare professionals are not ready to manage mass casualties; and their skills, education, and preparedness are not sufficient for a suitable response [7,8]. Therefore, it is the foremost duty of the management to fulfill the training requirement of emergency department personnel as the front line responders. Heavy damage and destruction are caused by the infrastructure of health-care and management system, resulting in the higher extent of