Are our hospitals prepared for disasters? Evaluation of health-care staff vis-à-vis disaster management at a public hospital in India

Background: Hospitals are the last line of defense against losses due to disasters. However, the prerequisite for hospitals to be able to measure up to the challenge is a sensitive, well-informed, and trained hospital staff. This study attempted to evaluate the knowledge, attitude, and practices of staff at a public hospital toward disaster management. Methods: This is a questionnaire-based cross-sectional study conducted at the Government Medical College and Hospital-32, a tertiary care public hospital in India. Questionnaire used for this study was prepared by the study team to evaluate the knowledge and attitude of hospital staff by modification of a questionnaire used for a similar study in South Africa. Results: Hospital staff, in general, was found to be sensitive toward disaster management, but their level of awareness regarding the same was low. Nurses were found to be significantly more informed than other staff whereas doctors were found to have the most positive attitude toward disaster management. Conclusion: Low knowledge regarding disaster management among hospital staff, as shown in this study, can have catastrophic consequences. Policy-makers and hospital management need to spend time and resources on training hospital staff in disaster management.