[Border hospital readiness in handling border relater crises in Kermanshah Province, Iran, 2007]

ABSTRACT

Helping the injured at the time of crisis is one of the duties of hospitals; therefore, they should plan and be prepared prior to any crisis. The present research was designed to measure the readiness of Kermanshah Province hospitals located near the western boarder of Iran to handle border related crises. The readiness of the three border hospitals in Kermanshah Province, e.g. Az-zahra [in Gilanegharb], Shohada [in Sare-Pole - Zahab], and Hazrat Abolfazl Abbas [in ghasre-Shirin] was evaluated using a checklist on the following six aspects 1] crisis management information systems, 2] commandership terminal, 3] crisis-related training, 4] organizing hospital manpower, 5] having adequate facilities and equipment, 6] maneuvering and practicing. The data were gathered through interview, observation and using available statistics. According to the findings, hospitals scored [average] on crisis management information systems, commandership terminal, crisis-related training, and organizing hospital manpower, [good] on having adequate facilities and equipment, and [weak] on maneuvering and practicing. The findings also revealed that readiness was fairly good in Shohada hospital, average in Hazrat Abolfazl Abbas hospital and weak in Az-zahra Gilanegharb [hospital in general, readiness to deal with crisis in all three hospitals was evaluated as average]. Despite adequate facilities available for the investigated hospitals, they are not well prepared to handle border related crises in Kermanshah Province and it is essential to take necessary steps in this respect