Health Care Provider Perception Towards Disaster Preparedness in Goa

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to analyze healthcare providers’ perception of health disaster preparedness in the pre-Covid-19 world in Goa. For this analysis, we have randomly surveyed 518 medical staff consisting of 123 doctors and 395 nurses working in Private Health Centres, Community Health Centres, Sub District Hospitals, District Hospitals, and Private Hospitals across Goa during 2018–2019. The survey collects information about the demographic characteristics of the responding health care professional, the type of hospital they work in, and their perception of preparedness on the five different disaster management parameters. These parameters include the available procedures for receiving clients, a defined disaster management committee, clear definitions of emergency protocols, adequate ambulance availability, and medical staff’s preparedness. Our analysis revealed that the responders’ demographic characteristics did not play much of a role in explaining their perception of various parameters of disaster management. However, the type of hospital they worked in and their field of work significantly defined their perception of disaster preparedness. The results show that healthcare providers working in government-managed hospitals and medical institutes were statistically significantly less likely to be satisfied with the current state of the considered disaster management parameters compared to healthcare providers working in private hospitals.