A new framework for assessing hospital crisis management based on resilience engineering approach.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, an increasing number of natural and man-made disasters have exposed many people and properties to various disasters. This has resulted in approximately 75,000 deaths worldwide every year due to disasters. Crisis management is becoming increasingly important to cope effectively with the magnitude and potential damage resulting from disasters. Hospitals, as the final point in the rescue chain, have a key role in the crisis management and need to be resilient against disasters.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this paper is to present a new framework for assessing the crisis management based on resilience principles in hospital infrastructure of a developing country.

METHOD: A questionnaire was developed and completed by 310 staff (nurses and managers) of eight hospitals in Iran.

RESULTS: The findings indicate that the eight hospitals included in the study have moderate conditions in general, while hospitals X3, X4, and X7 have poor conditions in the crisis management. Consequently, it seems that the crisis management system was not resilient in all these hospitals in general.

CONCLUSION: Using resilience engineering in assessing crisis management can improve and develop the ability of the hospitals' management to cope with any type of disaster.