• Anders Rüter, Heléne Nilsson, and Tore Vilkström.
• Centre for Teaching and Research in Disaster Medicine, University Hospital, Linköping, Sweden. anders.ruter@lio.se
• Prehosp Disaster Med. 2006 Nov 1;21(6):423-6.

IntroductionAn important issue in disaster medicine is the establishment of standards that can be used as a template for evaluation. With the establishment of standards, the ability to compare results will improve, both within and between different organizations involved in disaster management.ObjectivePerformance indicators were developed for testing in simulations exercises with the purpose of evaluating the skills of hospital management groups. The objective of this study is to demonstrate how these indicators can be used to create numerically expressed results that can be compared.MethodsThree different management groups were tested in standardized simulation exercises. The testing took place according to the organization's own disaster plan and within their own facilities. Trained observers used a pre-designed protocol of performance indicators as a template for the evaluation.ResultsThe management group that scored lowest in management skills also scored lowest in staff skills.ConclusionThe use of performance indicators for evaluating the management skills of hospital groups can provide comparable results in testing situations and could provide a new tool for quality improvement of evaluations of real incidents and disasters.

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