Impact of Emergency Preparedness on Emergency Response of Healthcare Workers in a Public Hospital in Rivers State, Nigeria

Abstract

This research was conducted to examine the impact of emergency preparedness on the emergency response of a public hospital in Rivers State. Emergency preparedness was defined by factors such as emergency training, planning, logistics, the triage system, and surge capacity, while emergency response was assessed through promptness and responsiveness. The study employed cross-sectional and inferential research designs. The inferential statistics is found useful in comparative analysis using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for indication of level of significance between the contribution of the various constructs and impact on emergency response. Purposive sampling was used to select government-owned hospitals in the State, specifically the University of Port-Harcourt Teaching Hospital, Rivers State. Data collection involved questionnaires and checklists. Analyses included descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, and Multiple linear regression. Descriptive results showed a moderate level of emergency preparedness in the sampled hospital across emergency training, planning, logistics availability, triage system, and surge capacity, with mean scores of 3.29, 3.85, 3.30, 3.20, and 3.44, respectively. Conversely, emergency response was high among healthcare workers regarding promptness and responsiveness, with mean scores of 3.91 and 4.10. Regression analysis revealed that emergency planning (β = 0.866, p < 0.0001) and the emergency triage system (β = 0.625, p = 0.015) significantly and positively influenced promptness. However, emergency training (β = -0.461, p < 0.0001) had a significant negative effect on promptness, while logistics (β = 0.217, p = 0.346) and surge capacity (β = -0.146, p = 0.447) did not significantly affect promptness. Additionally, emergency training (β = 0.373, p < 0.0001), planning (β = 0.403, p = 0.001), logistics (β = -0.835, p < 0.0001), triage system (β = 0.413, p = 0.043), and surge capacity (β = 0.315, p = 0.042) significantly impacted responsiveness. In conclusion, the hospital demonstrated a good level of emergency preparedness and response, although logistics and surge capacity did not significantly influence promptness. It is recommended that hospital management focus on enhancing surge capacity and logistics, as these are the only emergency preparedness factors that did not significantly impact promptness.