A pilot assessment of hospital preparedness for bioterrorism events.
OBJECTIVE
Lessons on question content and refinement of a 2003 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-Health Resources Services Administration (AHRQ-HRSA) pilot hospital preparedness assessment tool designed to capture activities in more detail than previous studies are reported in this study.


METHODS
Responses from fixed-choice questions, including organizational and geographical differences, were analyzed using the chi-square test. Open-ended questions were evaluated qualitatively.


RESULTS
Of the respondents, 91% had developed plans and 97% designated a bio-event coordinator, but only 47% had allocated funds. Urban hospitals were more likely to participate in regional infectious disease monitoring. Hospitals that participated in a network were more likely to fund preparedness, share bio-event coordinators and medical directors, and provide advanced training.


CONCLUSIONS
Several issues deserve further study: (1) hospital networks may provide the structure to promote preparedness; (2) specific procedures (e.g., expanding outpatient treatment capacity) have not been tested; and (3) special attention should be directed towards integrating non-urban hospitals into regional surveillance systems to ensure early identification of infectious disease outbreaks.
Thorne
Craig D
CD
University of Maryland School of Medicine, Occupational Health Program, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. cthorne@umm.edu
Levitin
Howard
H
Oliver
Marc
M
Losch-Skidmore
Sue
S
Neiley
Beth A
BA
Socher
Myra M
MM
Gucer
Patricia W
PW
D023482:Bioterrorism; D004189:Disaster Planning; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006739:Hospital Administration; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States