title: Disaster preparedness in an Australian urban trauma center: staff knowledge and perceptions.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A substantial barrier to improving disaster preparedness in Australia is a lack of prescriptive national guidelines based on individual hospital capabilities. A recent literature review revealed that only one Australian hospital has published data regarding its current preparedness level.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To establish baseline levels of disaster knowledge, preparedness, and willingness to respond to a disaster among one hospital's staff, and thus enable the implementation of national disaster preparedness guidelines based on realistic capabilities of individual hospitals.
  
  
  METHODS
  An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to individuals and departments that play key roles in the hospital's external disaster response. Questions concerned prior education and experience specific to disasters, general preparedness knowledge, perceived preparedness of themselves and their department, and willingness to respond to a disaster from a conventional and/or chemical, biological, or radiological incident.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Responses were received from 140 individuals representing nine hospital departments. Eighty-three participants (59.3%) had previously received disaster education; 53 (37.9%) had attended a disaster simulation drill, and 18 (12.9%) had responded to an actual disaster. The average disaster preparedness knowledge score was 3.57 out of 10. The majority of respondents rated themselves as "not really" prepared and were "unsure" of their respective departments' level of preparedness. Most respondents indicated a willingness to participate in both a conventional incident involving burns and/or physical trauma, and an incident involving chemical, biological or radiological (CBR) weapons.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Australian hospital staff are under-prepared to respond to a disaster because of a lack of education, insufficient simulation exercises, and limited disaster experience. The absence of specific national standards and guidelines through which individual hospitals can develop their capabilities further compounds the poverty in preparedness.
authors.affiliation: University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. z3241943@zmail.unsw.edu.au
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Corrigan
authors.forename: Iromi
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Samrasinghe
mesh_terms: D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D001315:Australia; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D009517:New South Wales; D010564:Personnel, Hospital / Q000523:psychology* / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014193:Trauma Centers / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000078329:Workforce