ESTIMATING RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF RESILIENCE INDICATORS FOR LARGE-SCALE HOSPITAL BUILDINGS TO WITHSTAND HYDROLOGICAL DISASTERS

Abstract
Purpose of the study: Uninterrupted hospital services and medical functions are the keys to functional resilience to cope with mass casualties. This paper presents the important level of resilience indicators for hospital functions to withstand natural disasters. Methodology: For the survey, 21 indicators are grouped into three domains focusing on i) general concerns of healthcare infrastructure planning ii) design and planning of hospital buildings iii) emergency service and management. The corresponding indicators were ranked on a Likert scale of 1 to 5. The authors collected 389 responses through an online survey of the healthcare professionals including disaster management professionals, medical officers, hospital architects, planners, project managers, and engineers. Main Findings: The data were analysed for determining the Relative Importance Index (RII) of each indicator. The top 7 indicators as an outcome of this research are: ‘access to the emergency services (0.861), ‘planning of refugee settlements’ (0.814), ‘uninterrupted supply of MEP services to critical units’ (0.871), ‘signages for internal circulation’ (0.845), ‘adaptive control, command, and communication system’ (0.848), ‘flexible spatial planning in case of a surge of patients’(0.813), ‘ensuring availability of healthcare workers with the provision of support infrastructure’ (0.758). Applications of this study: Assessment of the top indicators highlight the importance of ‘flexible design’ and ‘access to medical functions of a hospital building’. Based on these outcomes, it is proposed to develop a numerical framework for a comprehensive design appraisal of resilient hospital buildings.