Validation of a framework for measuring hospital disaster resilience using factor analysis

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2014-06, Vol.11 (6), p.6335-6353
• Main Authors: Zhong, Shuang, Clark, Michele, Hou, Xiang-Yu, Zang, Yuli, FitzGerald, Gerard
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: China; Cross-Sectional Studies; Disaster Planning; Disasters; Discriminant analysis; Emergency preparedness; Factor Analysis, Statistical; Hospitals; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph110606335

Hospital disaster resilience can be defined as "the ability of hospitals to resist, absorb, and respond to the shock of disasters while maintaining and surging essential health services, and then to recover to its original state or adapt to a new one." This article aims to provide a framework which can be used to comprehensively measure hospital disaster resilience. An evaluation framework for assessing hospital resilience was initially proposed through a systematic literature review and Modified-Delphi consultation. Eight key domains were identified: hospital safety, command, communication and cooperation system, disaster plan, resource stockpile, staff capability, disaster training and drills, emergency services and surge capability, and recovery and adaptation. The data for this study were collected from 41 tertiary hospitals in Shandong Province in China, using a specially designed questionnaire. Factor analysis was conducted to determine the underpinning structure of the framework. It identified a four-factor structure of hospital resilience, namely, emergency medical response capability (F1), disaster management mechanisms (F2), hospital infrastructural safety (F3), and disaster resources (F4). These factors displayed good internal consistency. The overall level of hospital disaster resilience (F) was calculated using the scoring model: F = 0.615F1 + 0.202F2 + 0.103F3 + 0.080F4. This validated framework provides a new way to operationalise the concept of hospital resilience, and it is also a foundation for the further development of the measurement instrument in future studies.