Willingness of staff to report to their hospital duties following an unconventional missile attack: a state-wide survey

Adequate staffing of hospitals during a prolonged, potentially unconventional war is a key component in the disaster plan of institutions. In an attempt to determine policy regarding hospital staffing, a state-wide survey was conducted in Israel among hospital personnel during the recent Persian Gul...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inIsrael journal of medical sciences Vol. 27; no. 11-12; p. 704
Main Authors Shapira, Y, Marganitt, B, Roziner, I, Shochet, T, Bar, Y, Shemer, J
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Israel 01.11.1991
Subjects
Absenteeism
Age Factors
Attitude of Health Personnel
Disaster Planning
Family Characteristics
Female
Hospital Administrators
Hospitals, General
Humans
Israel
Male
Occupations
Parents
Personnel, Hospital - psychology
Role
Safety
Sex Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Transportation - standards
Warfare
Israel
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Summary:Adequate staffing of hospitals during a prolonged, potentially unconventional war is a key component in the disaster plan of institutions. In an attempt to determine policy regarding hospital staffing, a state-wide survey was conducted in Israel among hospital personnel during the recent Persian Gulf war. This survey aimed to explore the willingness of staff to report to their duties (WTR) following an unconventional missile attack described in a hypothetical scenario. Of the 2,650 questionnaires distributed among all categories of staff in 10 hospitals (42%) across the country, 51% were returned. Overall, 42% of the responding staff were WTR under the presented scenario. However, WTR would increase to 86% if safety measures were provided. Males, personnel with headquarter duty of hospital site managers, and parents of children older than 14 years of age, were the most WTR. The finding of extensive interhospital variation in WTR indicates the need for evaluating WTR on an institutional basis when establishing both the hospital and the regional disaster plan. Data are presented on the extent of WTR, the factors inhibiting WTR, and possible measures to improve WTR.
ISSN:0021-2180