Mitigation strategies of healthcare centers for dust hazard: A systematic review

Exposure to dust can disrupt healthcare services and severely affect all activity domains of the health system. This study aimed to present an overview of mitigation strategies taken in healthcare centers during dust storms. A systematic review was conducted in November 2022 according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The keywords "Desert Dust," "Sand Storm," "Yellow Dust," "Yellow Sand," "Dust Storm," "Haboob," "Saharan Dust," "Risk," "Risk Management," "Risk Assessment," "Risk Reduction," "Risk Governance," "Risk Evaluation," "Mitigate," "Mitigated," "Mitigates," "Mitigating," "Mitigation*," "Mitigative," "Mitigator*," and "Mitigation strategy" were used in combination with Boolean operators OR and AND. ISI Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, Scientific Information Database, Islamic World Science Citation Center, Magiran, Cochrane, and Google Scholar search engine were searched. The study was performed based on the PRISMA guidelines. The quality of the articles was assessed using the Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) checklist. A total of 601 documents were extracted and 10 articles including one case-control study, one cross sectional study, and eight retrospective studies that investigated the mitigation strategies taken in healthcare centers when exposed to dust storms were selected for the final analysis. A review of the selected articles showed that the most important mitigation measures by healthcare centers include risk assessment, establishment and improvement of the early warning system, and inter sectoral coordination between private and public sectors. The findings showed that adopting effective strategies and measures to reduce vulnerability to dust storms can help health policymakers and planners contribute to promoting the resilience of healthcare centers so that they can continue providing their services and reduce the economic, social, health, and functional consequences in the affected community.