The importance of disaster management and impact of natural disasters on hospitals

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to study and explore the importance of hospitals in natural disaster events and to identify the impacts on the hospitals in natural disaster events. A disaster is an unforeseen event, which can overwhelm the capacity of the affected people to manage its impact. Many people are periodically exposed to natural disasters in their life, and most disasters, or more correctly hazards that lead to disasters, cannot be prevented. However, their effects can be mitigated. Disaster management efforts aim to reduce or avoid the potential losses from hazards, assure prompt and appropriate assistance to the victims of a disaster, and achieve a rapid and effective recovery. It is crucial that hospitals remain safe and functional during and after disasters. Health facilities at all levels deserve special attention in the case of natural disasters as they must continue the work of current patient treatment within their facilities and provide additional care for persons injured by the disaster event. Disaster management becomes even more important for hospitals as the health sector has been particularly vulnerable to the damage caused. For this study, secondary information was retrieved from the Internet on sudden-onset natural disasters in different parts of the world was collected. This study found some barriers and deliverables for disaster managers that could mitigate the risk of a natural disaster’s impact on a hospital. Accordingly, this paper evaluates the importance of disaster management for hospitals and the challenges that need to be considered during the disaster response.