Hospital safety index: evaluation of the readiness and safety of hospitals in Isfahan province, Iran

Farhad Heydari; Azita Azimi Meibody; Mehdi Ebrahimi; Rezvan Zakeri; Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh; Razieh Bagheri

doi:10.18502/fem.v8i2.15459

Farhad Heydari Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Azita Azimi Meibody Department of Health in Disaster and Emergencies, Faculty of Management and Medical Information, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Mehdi Ebrahimi Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Rezvan Zakeri Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
Milad Ahmadi Marzaleh Department of Health in Disasters and Emergencies, Health Human Resources Research Center, School of Management and Medical Informatics, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Razieh Bagheri Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/fem.v8i2.15459

Keywords: Disasters; Hospitals; Hospital Safety Index; Safety

Abstract

Objective: Hospitals play a vital role in disaster management and their function must be maintained during crises. Isfahan province is susceptible to major crises and disasters at any time of the year. The study aimed to investigate the hospital safety index (HSI) in hospitals in Isfahan province.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using the HSI questionnaire of the world health organization. The safety of all 55 hospitals in Isfahan province was evaluated with the Persian version of the questionnaire from 2017 to 2022. In this study, all hospitals were evaluated by a group of experts from the emergency operations center (EOC) of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, and the checklists were completed with the cooperation of the hospital disaster committee, visiting the hospitals, and interviewing the personnel.

Results: The safety level of hospitals has improved from 2017 to 2022 so in 2022, 38 hospitals (69.09%) had a high safety level, and 17 hospitals (30.91%) had a medium safety level. This increase in safety has happened in all three components of safety (functional, non-structural, and structural safety). There was no significant difference in the overall hospital safety score between academic-educational, non-academic governmental, social security and military, and private and charity hospitals (P<0.05).

Conclusion: Although the safety in the hospitals of Isfahan province has improved due to the continuous disaster prevention and preparedness activities, hospitals still need to improve to achieve higher levels of safety. The HSI shows how well a hospital can maintain its organization and performance during disasters. This index will be useful for decision-making and policy-making to prioritize administrative and civil interventions.