TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2023//
TI  - Hospital disasters preparedness for mass-casualty incidents at emergency units in northwest of Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study
JO  - Prehospital and disaster medicine
A1  - Getu, Samuel Befekadu
A1  - Walle Tsegaw, Fisseha
A1  - Arcos González, Pedro
A1  - Castro Delgado, Rafael
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: Ethiopian policy and strategy aim to make health care systems capable of dealing with emergencies. However, Ethiopian health care still lacks a comprehensive "all-hazard" approach and a disaster preparedness program. Thus, this study aimed to assess the level of disaster preparedness in selected public hospitals for mass-casualty incidents (MCIs) in Amhara Regional State, Northwest Ethiopia. <br><br>METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at general and comprehensive specialized hospitals (CSHs) in Amhara Regional State, Ethiopia using a World Health Organization (WHO) hospital emergency response checklist that included a domain on mass-casualty management (MCM) adapted from a literature review. <br><br>RESULTS: Seventeen (17) hospitals were evaluated (response rate: 81%). Five (29.4%) were teaching hospitals (tertiary health care) and 12 (70.5%) were non-teaching (secondary health care) hospitals. With an average mean of 97.3 (SD = 33.68; range 31-160), most hospitals under WHO required an Acceptable level of preparedness. Two were at an Unacceptable (0-67) level of preparedness, 12 (70.5%) hospitals were at an Insufficient (68-134) state, while the other three had an Acceptable (135-192) level of preparedness. <br><br>CONCLUSION: The preparedness level of hospitals is Insufficient for potential MCIs in this region and needs prior attention in implementing existing strategic guidelines to develop and activate hospital disaster plans if and when needed.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1049-023X
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X23000365
ID  - ref1
ER  -