Introduction: In the past 12 years, 7,348 disasters have occurred globally, causing numerous casualties. Ensuring hospital staff availability during disasters is essential for maintaining functions and providing care to affected individuals. This study aims to identify factors associated with the willingness of hospital staff to report for duty during disasters. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted by the Department of Disaster Medicine at a 600-bed public hospital in Japan (Hospital A) from November to December 2023. Of 1,549 staff, data from 590 respondents were analyzed. The survey collected information on personal characteristics (e.g., job category, age) and assessed willingness to report during a disaster on a 7-point scale. Participants were classified into high and low willingness groups. The disaster awareness scale was also used to assess participants’ awareness. This scale measures preparedness knowledge, response confidence, and risk perception, with higher scores indicating greater awareness. Results: The high willingness group (n = 225) had more staff with over 20 years of experience (44.0%, n = 99) compared to the low group (32.3%, n = 118, p = 0.017). Full-time employment was more common in the high group (74.7%, n = 168) than in the low group (66.6%, n = 243, p = 0.045). Additionally, staff with a commute time under 30 minutes were significantly more prevalent in the high group (70.2%, n = 158) than in the low group (53.7%, n = 196, p < 0.001). The high group also had a higher disaster awareness score (77.6) compared to the low group (76.1, p = 0.028). Conclusion: Reducing commute times and enhancing disaster awareness could improve staff participation during emergencies, which is essential for maintaining hospital operations.
Yasuda et al. (Sun,) studied this question.