The August 24, 2016, Central Italy Earthquake: Validation of the “Modified Utstein Template for Hospital Disaster Response Reporting” As a New Tool for Reporting Hospitals’ Response to Disasters

Abstract

ABSTRACTBackground:After-action reports analyze events and improve knowledge about how to prevent and react to unexpected situations. Anyway, there is no consensus among the templates developed for disaster events reporting, and there is not a specific model for reporting hospital disaster response.Objective:The study was aimed to pilot the use of a new assessment tool for hospital response to natural disasters.Methods:A data collection tool, focused on hospital disaster response to natural disasters, was created modifying the “Utstein-Style Template for Uniform Data Reporting of Acute Medical Response in Disasters” and tested the reaction of the nearest hospitals to the epicenter after the August 24, 2016, Central Italy earthquake.Results:Four hospitals were included. The completion rate of the tool was 97.10%. A total of 613 patients accessed the 4 emergency departments, most of them in Rieti Hospital (178; 29.04%). Three hundred thirty-six (54.81%) patients were classified as earthquake-related, most with trauma injuries (260; 77.38%).Conclusions:This template seemed to be a valid instrument for hospital disaster management reporting and could be used for better comprehension of hospital disaster reaction, debriefing activities, and hospital disaster plan revisions.