RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To clarify correlated factors with activities of health related crisis management (HRCM) by prefectural public health centers (PPHCs) and municipalities. METHODS: A cross-sectional study of 460 PPHCs and 3,173 municipalities was performed with questionnaires mailed directly to the institutions. Activities of HRCM, which included 24 hour shifts according to the magnitude of the crisis, health services for sufferers, sanitary improvement of shelters, information services for the public, and simulation to cope with health related crises, were evaluated. Items other than simulation were assessed with four grade scales and simulation by whether it was carried out. Correlated factors, which included the size of population, whether a health related crisis had happened in the last 5 years and whether there were facilities that could be a cause of such crises. RESULTS: The response rates of PPHCs and municipalities were 72.8% and 61.7% respectively. More than 60% of PPHCs had good activity for 24 hour shifts for crises of great magnitude. However less than 50% of PPHCs and municipalities performed well with health services for sufferers, sanitary improvement of shelters and information services for the public. Moreover less than 20% of PPHCs and municipalities implemented simulations. Population correlated with health services for sufferers in both municipalities and PPHCs and with sanitary improvement in PPHCs, although the coefficients were small. Municipalities in which a health related crisis had occurred in the past and those in which there were facilities that could be a cause of health related crises performed better activities than others. This was not the case for PPHCs. CONCLUSION: The study indicated that neither PPHCs nor municipalities performed activities of HRCM sufficiently. It is suggested that PPHCs need to support municipalities, which have no experience of public health emergencies and which have an environment with no obvious danger.