Strategic preparedness planning is an important new imperative for many hospitals. Strategic preparedness planning goes beyond traditional product/market strategic planning by focusing on disaster prevention, containment, and response roles. Hospitals, because of their unique mission, size, complexity, the types of materials they handle, and the types of patients they encounter, are especially ...

OBJECTIVE To assess the preparedness status of a hospital in Beijing, China for implementation of an e-Health system in the context of a pandemic response. DESIGN This research project used qualitative methods and involved two phases: (1) group interviews were conducted with key stakeholders to examine how the surveillance system worked with information and communication technology (ICT) supp...

Earthquake An earthquake is the shaking or trembling of the earth, which may be natural or man-made (e.g., due to atomic explosion) in origin. An earthquake is a sudden, strong movement or slipping of the earth’s crust that result in a sudden release of energy. Earthquakes occur at certain locations where the tectonic plates which form the earth’s crust, coincide. Populations that live near the...

Hospital plans often vary when it comes to the specific functional roles that are included in emergency and incident management positions. Bioterrorism coordinators and emergency managers for 31 hospitals in a seven-county region outside of a major metropolitan area, with urban, suburban, and rural demographics were surveyed to determine which specific functional roles were considered "essentia...

Background: The preparedness and safety of hospitals in disasters are essential to maintain the health and survival of the community. Numerous studies have shown that the level of preparedness of Iranian hospitals is moderate and low. Lack of comprehensive hospital standards for disaster preparedness is one of the reasons. This study aimed to develop hospital accreditation standards for hospita...

Professional training development, whether for a classroom, work environment, or other setting, typically follows a validated instructional design model that includes an assessment of learner needs before the development of a training. This foundational principle is integrated into federal guidance documents for emergency preparedness training. That said, local preparedness resources are someti...

BACKGROUND eHealth is a tool that may be used to facilitate responses to influenza pandemics. Prior to implementation of eHealth in the hospital setting, assessment of the organizational preparedness is an important step in the planning process. Including this step may increase the chance of implementation success. OBJECTIVE To identify the preparedness issues in relation to implementation of...