An Assessment of Saudi Hospitals’ Disaster Preparedness

Abstract

Objective: The study aims to assess the level of Saudi Hospital Disaster Preparedness (HDP). Methods: This study has utilized exploratory quantitative design with a structured self-administered questionnaire. It has adopted a convenient sampling technique, which has included nine hospitals within three Saudi Cities (Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam). The questionnaire contains 48 indicators in six HDP domains: planning, structural, non-structural, management, functional, and human resource competency capacities. Results: The level of Saudi HDP was 69.8%. The domain of management capacity had the highest level of preparedness, at 83.6%, while human resources competency capacity was the least prepared, at 63%. The Spearman correlation revealed a positive significant relationship between preparing to respond to a disaster when occur and all HDP capacity indicators, r (46) = 0.424, p = < .001. A one-way ANOVA test showed a significant difference in HDP between the three cities; Riyadh hospitals were the most prepared, F (2, 313) = 4.343, p < .05. It also showed that there were significant differences in preparedness between the MOH, other governmental, and university hospitals; university hospitals were the most prepared, F (2, 313) = 5.087, p < .05. Conclusion: Overall, Saudi hospitals have a high level of HDP, which indicates that they are likely to function well in the eventuality of disasters. There is a great opportunity to strengthen HDP capacities to improve hospital readiness in the medium-long term. The implemented HDP assessment tool should be built into hospitals’ systems and coordinated among involved governmental sectors.