<p>This study highlights the critical importance of comprehensive risk assessment in hospital disaster management, emphasizing that multi-hazard events are often overlooked. It expands the focus by identifying various single and combined hazards specific to hospitals. Two Delphi studies were conducted: a ranking-type Delphi method to prioritize single hazards and a fuzzy Delphi technique to identify multi-hazard events. Two expert panels, comprising 22 and 10 participants, were selected for the respective stages. First, eight critical single-hazards were identified, including three natural hazards (floods, earthquakes, and epidemics/pandemics/emerging diseases) and five technological hazards (internal fires, blackouts, internal explosions, security threats to hospital buildings and staff, and cyber threats). Next, 28 significant multi-hazards were recognized out of 84 possible combinations, considering two key categories: independence and triggering. For example, triggering combinations such as earthquakes leading to fires, blackouts, or explosions and independent combinations such as floods coinciding with pandemics were identified as critical hospital-specific multi-hazards. Three primary types of paired hazards emerged: combinations of natural hazards, combinations of natural and technological hazards, and combinations of technological hazards. While research on multi-hazards is scattered, most existing studies concentrate on the first two categories, leaving the third underexplored. Greater scholarly attention and empirical research are needed to address the unique multi-hazard risks hospitals face.</p>

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Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment in Hospitals: A Comprehensive Approach

  • Fahimeh Shojaei,
  • Sanaz Sohrabizadeh,
  • Mostafa Pouyakian,
  • Reza Gholamnia

摘要

This study highlights the critical importance of comprehensive risk assessment in hospital disaster management, emphasizing that multi-hazard events are often overlooked. It expands the focus by identifying various single and combined hazards specific to hospitals. Two Delphi studies were conducted: a ranking-type Delphi method to prioritize single hazards and a fuzzy Delphi technique to identify multi-hazard events. Two expert panels, comprising 22 and 10 participants, were selected for the respective stages. First, eight critical single-hazards were identified, including three natural hazards (floods, earthquakes, and epidemics/pandemics/emerging diseases) and five technological hazards (internal fires, blackouts, internal explosions, security threats to hospital buildings and staff, and cyber threats). Next, 28 significant multi-hazards were recognized out of 84 possible combinations, considering two key categories: independence and triggering. For example, triggering combinations such as earthquakes leading to fires, blackouts, or explosions and independent combinations such as floods coinciding with pandemics were identified as critical hospital-specific multi-hazards. Three primary types of paired hazards emerged: combinations of natural hazards, combinations of natural and technological hazards, and combinations of technological hazards. While research on multi-hazards is scattered, most existing studies concentrate on the first two categories, leaving the third underexplored. Greater scholarly attention and empirical research are needed to address the unique multi-hazard risks hospitals face.