Disaster Management Planning for Health Organizations in a Developing Country

Disasters are rare occurrences, fortunately. However, careful planning and training are vital to prepare individual health organizations for such events. This manuscript investigates disaster management planning and rehearsal within health organizations in Iran. A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted, and 230 questionnaires were distributed among health managers in these organizations. Analysis of the data was performed by SPSS software using different tests. The study found that, although comprehensive plans exist within the organizations, contingency plans, business continuity plans, and action cards have not been considered. The current system of operating disaster management committees in health organizations in Iran is not conducive to improvement in their ability to respond to disaster. Recommendations are presented in this paper for improving the national disaster management system, including system reengineering and designing an appropriate disaster management system, improvement of disaster response and recovery using appropriate plans and preparedness activities, creation of protocols and standards, training of staff, and regular rehearsals. DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)UP.19435444.0000045. (C) 2011 American Society of Civil Engineers.