Disaster prepradeness and education levels at Turkish Academic Emergency Departments

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to determine disaster prepradeness levels at academic emergency departments and hospitals which they are located, and also to analyze disaster medicine education levels in those residency programs.
Methods: This is a cross-sectional and descriptive study. On August 2006, a survey about hospitals disaster prepradeness levels and disaster medicine education was distributed to 30 emergency medicine residency program directors in Turkish university hospitals. Surveys not answered within 60 days were excluded from the study.
Results: Response rate of the questionairres was 93.4% (n: 28). Fifteen (53.5%) hospital had a hospital disaster plan. Nine (32.1%) of the academic emergency departments contributed on constitution process of these plans. Only three departments performed a risk analysis before they created their plans (20.0%). Only two hospitals have subplans for CBRN-E emergencies (13.3%). Four (26.7%) hospitals were disaster drills carried out regularly every year. Nine (30.0%) academic emergency departments had previous experience for a real disaster response. Six (40.0%) of the departments which have a disaster plan, have prepradeness for decontamination of the disaster victims. Ten (40.0%) of the 25 departments in which residency education continues had placed lessons about disaster medicine in their core curriculums.
Conclusions: Disaster prepradeness and education levels of the Turkish academic emergency departments was found to be unsufficient.