TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2024//
TI  - The impact of exposure to previous disasters on hospital disaster surge capacity preparedness in Finland: hospital disaster surge capacity preparedness
JO  - Disaster medicine and public health preparedness
A1  - Kerola, Anna
A1  - Hirvensalo, Eero
A1  - Franc, Jeffrey M.
SP  - e15
EP  - e15
VL  - 18
IS  - 
N2  - OBJECTIVE: As disasters are rare and high-impact events, it is important that the learnings from disasters are maximized. The aim of this study was to explore the effect of exposure to a past disaster or mass casualty incident (MCI) on local hospital surge capacity planning. <br><br>METHODS: The current hospital preparedness plans of hospitals receiving surgical emergency patients in Finland were collected (n = 28) and analyzed using the World Health Organization (WHO) hospital emergency checklist tool. The surge capacity score was compared between the hospitals that had been exposed to a disaster or MCI with those who had not. <br><br>RESULTS: The overall median score of all key components on the WHO checklist was 76% (range 24%). The median surge capacity score was 65% (range 39%). There was no statistical difference between the surge capacity score of the hospitals with history of a disaster or MCI compared to those without (65% for both, P = 0.735). <br><br>CONCLUSION: Exposure to a past disaster or MCI did not appear to be associated with an increased local hospital disaster surge capacity score. The study suggests that disaster planning should include structured post-action processes for enabling meaningful improvement after an experienced disaster or MCI.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1935-7893
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2024.1
ID  - ref1
ER  -