Hospitals safe from disasters: risk reduction demands and technologies

demandas y tecnologías de reducción de riesgos

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the policy of Hospitals safe from disasters developed by the Pan American Health Organization. The study discusses the importance of interdisciplinarity in disaster risk management and brings the Hospital Safety Index (HSI) as a technology that, applied to health establishments, allows the continuous monitoring of its level of safety. The article is structured in three parts: the first addresses the concept of safe hospitals and the typologies of vulnerabilities of health facilities to disasters; the second deals with the ‘safe hospitals against disasters’ policy in the brazilian scenario; and the third presents the HSI as an interdisciplinary technology for disaster risk management. The article emphasizes the importance of the health sector in the social context, recommending that strategies and actions be developed for its full and continuous functioning, particularly when the population needs to seek help in health facilities. Finally, it is concluded that the theme of safe hospitals must be based on the broadest interdisciplinary discussion and on the effective participation of society.