A Study of Hospital Disaster Preparedness in South Yemen

Introduction Despite emphasis by disaster experts on the importance of disaster preparedness, disaster management in Yemen has attracted only a little attention. Most of the efforts have focused on post-disaster relief activities rather than the pre-disaster preparedness and risk reduction. Hospitals have a crucial role in emergency response and should be prepared. Thus, the aim of this study was intended to assess the hospital preparedness of Aden Capital, South Yemen against disasters. METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted in June 2016. The sample was all Aden City facilities with a total number of 10 hospitals: five public and five private hospitals. A survey was done by using the World Health Organization (WHO; Geneva, Switzerland) standards checklist 2011. RESULTS: The overall preparedness of Aden City hospitals to disasters fell at the unacceptable level of readiness, with an average mean of 46.6 (SD = 38.31; range 24-82). Of 10 hospitals, two ranked insufficient while eight hospitals were at unacceptable levels of preparedness. CONCLUSION: All hospitals were noted grossly unprepared for potential disasters. Therefore, it is recommended that greater efforts be invested in creating a comprehensive strategy and national or local guidelines to establish an emergency management system based on the anticipated hazard and the needed resources. Naser WN , Ingrassia PL , Aladhrae S , Abdulraheem WA . A study of hospital disaster preparedness in South Yemen. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2018;33(2):133-138.