TY - JOUR PY - 2021// TI - Current perspectives and concerns facing hospital evacuation: the results of a pilot study and literature review JO - Disaster medicine and public health preparedness A1 - Khorram-Manesh, Amir A1 - Phattharapornjaroen, Phatthranit A1 - Mortelmans, Luc J. A1 - Goniewicz, Krzysztof A1 - Verheul, Marlous A1 - Sörensen, Jarle L. A1 - Pereira, Irene A1 - Ricklin, Meret E. A1 - Faccincani, Roberto A1 - Dark, Paul M. A1 - Carlström, Eric A1 - Ahmadi Marzaleh, Milad A1 - Peyravi, Mahmoud Reza A1 - Al Sultan, Mohammed A1 - Santamaria, Emelia A1 - Comandante, John David A1 - Burkle, Frederick SP - ePub EP - ePub VL - ePub IS - ePub N2 - OBJECTIVE: To analyze the evacuation preparedness of hospitals within the European Union (EU).

METHOD: This study consisted of 2 steps. In the first step, a systematic review of the subject matter, according to the PRISMA flow diagram, was performed. Using Scopus (Elsevier, Amsterdam, Netherlands), PubMed (National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, MD), and Gothenburg University´s search engine, 11 questions were extracted from the review and were sent to representatives from 15 European Union (EU)- and non-EU countries.

RESULTS: The findings indicate that there is neither a full preparedness nor a standard guideline for evacuation within the EU or other non-EU countries in this study. A major shortcoming revealed by this study is the lack of awareness of the untoward consequences of medical decision-making during an evacuation. Some countries did not respond to the questions due to the lack of relevant guidelines, instructions, or time.

CONCLUSION: Hospitals are exposed to internal and external incidents and require an adequate evacuation plan. Despite many publications, reports, and conclusions on successful and unsuccessful evacuation, there is still no common guide for evacuation, and many hospitals lack the proper preparedness. There is a need for a multinational collaboration, specifically within the EU, to establish such an evacuation planning or guideline to be used mutually within the union and the international community.

Language: en

LA - en SN - 1935-7893 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2020.391 ID - ref1 ER -