Post-earthquake hospital functionality evaluation: The case of Kumamoto Earthquake 2016

The Japanese Prefecture of Kumamoto experienced a series of strong earthquakes in April 2016 causing widespread damage and had a serious impact on local communities. The events caused over 3000 casualties and affected the continuity of healthcare services. Many hospitals had to be evacuated but the reasons for this evacuation are not clear. This research aims to investigate the impact of damage on the performance of the healthcare service through a survey of 118 healthcare facilities. The study connects earthquake metrics and the loss of healthcare service functionality and reveals the reasons for which facilities were totally or partially evacuated. Findings suggest that the reasons are mainly damage to buildings, critical systems, and medical equipment. It concludes by estimating that the stricken areas lost approximately 15% of their healthcare functionality. The study also concludes that the current building standards increased the performance of hospital buildings by approximately 10%; however, more attention is needed to protect architectural and critical systems

Estimation of Malfunction of a Healthcare Facility in Case of Earthquake

金沢大学大学院自然科学研究科博士論文, 224p取得学位:博士（工学）,授与番号:博　第　号,授与年月日:2007年3月22日,授与大学:金沢大学,論文主査:宮島 昌

Editorial: Disaster resilience: Building the Jigsaw

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Resilience strategies of healthcare facilities: present and future

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore UK healthcare resilience strategies, define gaps and provide suggestions based on international best practice. Design/methodology/approach – The study adopted a pluralistic qualitative research approach to achieve its purpose including: research papers, governmental and non-governmental reports, code and guidance documents and databases. In addition, two case studies were visited in May 2009: the first was one of the major hospitals in the UK; and the second is a major health facility located at the south of Taiwan. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with the hospitals responsible and/or emergency officers to clarify the strategies setup to respond to emergencies. Findings – The results show that despite the “robust” emergency planning in the UK, many issues could have been avoided if international experience was reviewed carefully. This is due to the failure of not working closer with multi-disciplinary experts, who provide technical and tactical help and lessons learned from international best practices, in addition to limiting accessibility of experts to information. The study also suggests that climate change must be addressed comprehensively through fusing resilience and sustainability strategies into a more comprehensive strategy of adaptation. Originality/value – The paper provides a significant contribution in terms of reducing the fragmentation of healthcare resilience-related work done previously; constructive criticism of UK healthcare resilience strategies and evidence of better practice from local and international facilities which will help in enhancing the resilience of healthcare facilities in the UK and elsewhere in the world

Resilience strategies of healthcare facilities: present and future

Recent statistics suggest an increased number of natural disasters around the world with climate change and global warming believed to be the main cause, thus resulting in more floods, gales, droughts and infectious diseases. Although the number of fatalities has reduced since the start of the twentieth century, the number of affected people requiring an immediate and efficient healthcare service, which was not always available, has remarkably increased. The frequent discontinuity of medical services during major disasters encouraged the World Health Organisation (WHO) to appeal not to let hospitals be victims of emergencies and it launched a global campaign, Hospitals Safe from Disasters. Literature reveals that the resilience of healthcare facilities depends on many internal and external factors. The problem does not only relate to developing countries and the events of recent years have demonstrated the fragility of the United Kingdom (UK) healthcare infrastructure. For example: the 2005 Carlisle floods affected all emergency authorities (i.e. fire, police and health establishments); the 2007 Summer Flooding resulted in hospitals being isolated and even evacuated; and the long periods of snow at the start of 2010 added another type of problem that needs more effective emergency planning. This paper aims to: explore UK healthcare resilience strategies, define gaps and provide suggestions based on international best practice. The results show that despite the emergency planning in the UK, many issues could be avoided if international experience was reviewed carefully

Healthcare resilience to extreme events: A hospital staff perspective

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic demonstrated how vulnerable and unprepared most healthcare sectors are to major disasters. Several studies have been published reporting factors that affect staff attendance during extreme events. However, these factors are limited and do not provide a full picture of why staff do or do not attend workplaces during major emergencies nor the impact of staff absences on healthcare service delivery. This study presents the factors influencing staff attendance during an extreme event and the impact staff attendance has on the continuity of healthcare services in one of the several independent British Isles hospitals. This study highlights that staff attendance depends on many contributors such as workload, stress, motivation, proximity of work to home, transportation networks, and dependents. The absence of any staff member, despite their role, level, or background, will have an impact on the functionality of a hospital. The study concludes that staff absence severely impedes the continuity of healthcare service, impacting services that provide ventilators and other essential services required during extreme events such as the COVID-19 pandemic and extreme weather events

Integration of resilience and sustainability: from theory to application

Purpose – This study aims to explore the challenges associated with the integration of resilience and sustainability, and propose a workable solution that ensures resilient and sustainable buildings. Recent research outcomes suggest that the number of natural hazards, both environmental and geophysical, will increase due to the effect of global warming. Various approaches have been investigated to reduce environmental degradation and to improve the physical resilience to natural hazards. However, most of these approaches are fragmented and when combined with cultural barriers, they often result into less-efficient assessment tools. Design/methodology/approach – The primary source of information used to develop this paper has been research publications, policy papers, reports and tool guidelines. A set of questions were developed to guide the review which was complemented with information distilled from the HFA 2005-2015 to develop an integration process to evaluate 10 international sustainability appraisal tools. Findings – The major finding of this research is that, from a technical point of view, resilience and sustainability could be integrated. However, it requires a long and thorough process with a multidisciplinary stakeholder team including technical, strategic, social and political parties. A combination of incentives and policies would support this process and help people work towards the integration. The Japanese model demonstrates a successful case in engaging stakeholders in the process which led to the development of a comprehensive appraisal tool, CASBEE®, where resilience and sustainability are integrated. Practical implications – Although data have been sought through literature review (i.e. secondary data), the research is expected to have significant impact, as it provides a clear theoretical foundation and methods for those wishing to integrate resilience within current sustainability appraisal tools or develop new tools. Social implications – This paper provides original concepts that are required to reduce fragmentation in the way resilience and sustainability are addressed. It sets up a new research agenda which has the potential to have a strong impact due the fact that sustainability and resilience are getting higher on the political priority scale. Originality/value – This paper provides findings of an original idea to reduce fragmentation in the way resilience and sustainability are addressed. It sets up a new research agenda which has the potential to have a strong impact due the fact that sustainability and resilience are getting higher on the political priority scale

Healthcare emergency planning and management to major hazards in the UK

In response to the financial climate, the UK healthcare system is undergoing major restructuration in which many organisations are ‘disappearing’ or re-integrating to create new organisations. These will play a role in the delivery of healthcare in major emergencies. This study aims to examine the challenges and opportunities that the UK healthcare emergency planners and responders have in coping with major hazards. The study followed a qualitative research methodology where data was collected from a comprehensive literature review, an international workshop and interviews. The findings established that the UK healthcare emergency planning process needs to: consider the integration of soft and hard resources (e.g. processes, staff and infrastructure) in planning; involve independent experts (e.g. academics) for further support; and use IT systems innovatively to develop a comprehensive emergency model, predict vulnerabilities and optimise effectiveness and efficiency. The major recommendations are to: identify and evaluate risks more accurately; enhance opportunities and reduce risks associated with multi-agency approaches; ensure that soft and hard resources are well integrated in planning; involve and integrate more with independent parties such as academia for extra support; and innovatively use IT systems to develop a comprehensive emergency model, predict vulnerabilities and optimise effectiveness and efficiency

Prediction of malfunction in healthcare facilities in case of earthquakes

[研究概要

Earthquake induced structural and non-structural damage in hospitals

The Sichuan (China) and L’Aquila (Italy) earthquakes have again highlighted the question of our preparedness for natural hazards. Within a few seconds, an earthquake can demolish many buildings, destroy infrastructure, and kill and injure thousands of people. In order to reduce the impact of earthquakes on human life and to prepare hospitals to cope with future disasters, this paper discusses earthquake-related damage to healthcare facilities. It investigates the damage to 34 healthcare facilities in seven countries caused by nine earthquakes between 1994 and 2004, in order to determine common and specific issues. The investigation shows that structural and architectural damage tended to be different and specific to the situation, while utility supplies and equipment damage were similar in most cases and some common trends emerged