Disaster preparedness
Public Health and Policy
Definition. Disaster preparedness is the capacity of health organisations and communities to plan for, respond to and recover from disasters such as earthquakes and floods.
Explanation
Hospital preparedness can be measured by functional capacity; a comparison between Iran and Sweden highlighted gaps in planning and training (Djalali et al., 2013). Tools such as the Hospital Safety Index assess structural, non-structural and functional safety.
Related concepts
Pandemic preparedness Health system resilience Climate change and health
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References
Djalali, A., Castren, M., Khankeh, H., Gryth, D., Radestad, M., Ohlen, G., & Kurland, L. (2013). Hospital disaster preparedness as measured by functional capacity: A comparison between Iran and Sweden. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, 28(5), 454–461. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1049023X13008807
Cite this entry: Kurutkan, M. N. (2026). Disaster preparedness. In The Health Topics glossary. https://healthtopic.org/glossary/disaster-preparedness/