Disaster Vulnerability of Hospitals: A Nationwide Surveillance in Japan.
OBJECTIVE
Hospital preparedness against disasters is key to achieving disaster mitigation for health. To gain a holistic view of hospitals in Japan, one of the most disaster-prone countries, a nationwide surveillance of hospital preparedness was conducted.


METHODS
A cross-sectional, paper-based interview was conducted that targeted all of the 8701 registered hospitals in Japan. Preparedness was assessed with regard to local hazards, compliance to building code, and preparation of resources such as electricity, water, communication tools, and transportation tools.


RESULTS
Answers were obtained from 6122 hospitals (response rate: 70.3%), among which 20.5% were public (national or city-run) hospitals and others were private. Eight percent were the hospitals assigned as disaster-base hospitals and the others were non-disaster-base hospitals. Overall compliance to building code, power generators, water tanks, emergency communication tools, and helicopter platforms was 90%, 84%, 95%, 43%, and 22%, respectively.


CONCLUSIONS
Major vulnerabilities in logistics in mega-cities and stockpiles required for chronic care emerged from the results of this nationwide surveillance of hospitals in Japan. To conduct further intensive surveillance to meet community health needs, appropriate sampling methods should be established on the basis of this preliminary study. Holistic vulnerability analysis of community hospitals will lead to more robust disaster mitigation at the local level.
1Department of Crisis Management,National Institute of Public Health,Saitama,Japan.
Sae
S
Ochi
3Department of Radiation Protection,Soma Central Hospital,Fukushima,Japan.
Shigeaki
S
Kato
4Department of Environmental Health National Institute of Public Health,Saitama,Japan.
Kenichi
K
Kobayashi
1Department of Crisis Management,National Institute of Public Health,Saitama,Japan.
Yasuhiro
Y
Kanatani
D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004190:Disasters; D006761:Hospitals / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D062486:Public Health Surveillance
disaster preparedness; hospital; nationwide surveillance; vulnerability analysis