Components of hospital personnel preparedness to evacuate patients in disasters: a systematic review

Abstract

Background

During natural catastrophes, hospital staff members’ readiness for crisis management—particularly concerning patient evacuation and improving their safety—becomes paramount. This study aimed to identify the components contributing to hospital staff members’ preparedness to evacuate patients in an emergency.

Method

A systematic review was conducted by searching databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed, ProQuest, and grey literature through May 2023. Studies that offered unique qualitative or quantitative data regarding hospital personnel readiness to evacuate patients in an emergency were included. Thematic analysis and descriptive statistics were used to examine the extracted data points.

Results

In total, there were 274 scientific articles. The total number of unique studies decreased to 181 after removing duplicate articles. 28 papers that were deemed appropriate for additional study were found based on the titles and abstracts of these articles. Eighteen papers that met the inclusion criteria were selected for the systematic review after their entire texts were finally assessed. Hospital staff preparedness for patient evacuation was divided into four primary topics and nineteen sub-themes. The four primary themes that emerged were management, communication, individual issues, and training on the evacuation process.

Conclusion

The implementation of proper disaster evacuation training programs can be achieved by elevating the perceived sensitivity and protective motive of personnel and considering the personnel’s stages of change. Training hospital staff to properly evacuate patients during disasters is also significantly impacted by other factors, such as effective administration, leadership and prompt and efficient communication.