Disaster risk management challenges in military hospitals: A qualitative study

BACKGROUND: Disaster can pose significant challenges to the health infrastructure in the community. Hospitals are the central unit for providing health services in the disaster response plan. With regard to the vital role of military hospitals in health response to disaster, this study was carried out with the aim of investigating the disaster risk management (DRM) challenges in military hospitals in Iran. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The current study was qualitative research performed in 2020 in military hospitals in Iran. Participants consisted of 12 managers and staff of the military hospitals in Tehran and professionals in health in emergencies and disasters who were included in the study by the purposive sampling technique. Semistructured individual interviews based on the interview guide were exploited for the data collection, and a content analysis method was used to analyze them. RESULTS: DRM challenges in military hospitals were explained in the form of six categories: “management and leadership, planning, prevention and mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery” and 22 subcategories. CONCLUSION: Managers' awareness of DRM challenges in hospitals, particularly military hospitals, and the design and implementation of solutions can lead to the promotion of hospital DRM and hospital preparedness to deal with disasters.