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Surge Capacity of Hospitals in Emergencies and Disasters With a Preparedness Approach: A Systematic Review

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2017

Hojjat Sheikhbardsiri ,
Ahmad Reza Raeisi ,
Mahmood Nekoei-moghadam  and
Fatemeh Rezaei
Hojjat Sheikhbardsiri
Affiliation:
Health Management and Economic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Ahmad Reza Raeisi*
Affiliation:
Health Management and Economic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Mahmood Nekoei-moghadam
Affiliation:
Research Center for Health Services Management, Institute for Futures Studies in Health, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran
Fatemeh Rezaei
Affiliation:
Health Management and Economic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Ahmad Reza Raeisi, PhD, Health Management and Economic Research Center, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran (e-mail raeisi_a@yahoo.com).
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Abstract

Objective

Surge capacity is one of the most important components of hospital preparedness for responding to emergencies and disasters. The ability to provide health and medical care during a sudden increase in the number of patients or victims of disasters is a main concern of hospitals. We aimed to perform a systematic review of hospital surge capacity in emergencies and disasters with a preparedness approach.

Methods

A systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The key words “surge,” “surge capacity,” “preparedness,” “hospital emergency department,” “hospital,” “surge capability,” “emergency,” “hazard,” “disaster,” “catastrophe,” “crisis,” and “tragedy” were used in combination with the Boolean operators OR and AND. The Google Scholar, ISI Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, Pro Quest, and Wiley databases were searched.

Results

A total of 1008 articles were extracted and 17 articles were selected for final review of surge capacity based on the objective of the study. Seventeen studies (1 randomized controlled trial, 2 qualitative studies, and 14 cross-sectional studies) investigated the surge capacity of hospitals in emergencies and disasters to evaluate the best evidence to date. The results of selected articles indicated that there are various ways to increase the capacity of hospitals in 4 domains: staff, stuff, structure, and system.

Conclusion

Surge capacity is a basic element of disaster preparedness programs. Results of the current study could help health field managers in hospitals to prepare for capacity-building based on surge capacity components to improve and promote hospital preparedness programs. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:612–620)

Keywords

preparednesssurge capacityhospitalemergencydisaster
Type
Systematic Review
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 11 , Issue 5 , October 2017 , pp. 612 - 620
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2017 

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