• Anas Khan, Jalal Alowais, Abdullah Nofal, and Tareef Alama.
• From the Department of Emergency Medicine (Khan), College of Medicine, King Saud University; from the Department of Surgery (Alowais), College of Medicine, Imam Muhammad ibn Saud Islamic University; from the Disaster Management Unit (Nofal), King Saud University Medical City; and from the Ministry of Health (Alama), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
• Saudi Med J. 2021 May 1; 42 (5): 537-542.

ObjectivesTo evaluate the Ministry of Health (MoH) hospitals preparedness for potential disasters and crisis events using the World Health Organization (WHO) hospital emergency response checklist.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted at MoH hospitals in Al-Madina, Saudi Arabia using the WHO hospital emergency response checklist. The overall level of hospital preparedness was categorized as unacceptable if the rating is between 0-64, insufficient if it is between 65-129 and effective preparedness if the score is between 130-184. The study conducted in 3 phases. First phase, the preintervention assessment was conducted from August 23 to 27, 2017. Second phase, intervention strategies were implemented between 2018 and 2019 to enhance the hospitals preparedness for any potential disaster situation. Third phase, the postintervention assessment was conducted from September 5 to 7, 2019, using with the same checklist.ResultsThe preparedness score of key components at the participating hospitals showed an "insufficient" level of preparedness. The mean preparedness score of the participating hospitals was 81.5±11.39 (range: 65-91), which is lower than the recommended WHO cut-off level of effective preparedness. The preparedness score of the post-recovery component was very low 01±1.15 compared to the WHO range (0-18).ConclusionA total of 4 hospitals participated in the study. The participated hospitals showed insufficient levels of preparedness for potential disasters and crisis events.Copyright: © Saudi Medical Journal.

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