Developing and performing hospital preparedness assessment tool for responding to water tank contamination resulting from sabotage: The case of one hospital in the east of Tehran
Journal of Behdasht dar Arseh (i.e., Health in the Field),
Vol. 13 No. 2 (1404),
4 January 2026
,
Page 51-59
https://doi.org/10.22037/jhf.v13i2.47753
Abstract
Background and Aims: Freshwater resources and water infrastructure are vital to community health and are considered potential targets for sabotage. The preparedness of healthcare centers to deal with water contamination plays a significant role in enhancing resilience. This study aimed to design, validate, and apply a tool to assess hospital preparedness in dealing with water tank contamination resulting from sabotage.
Materials and Methods: The present study was conducted in several stages. The first stage involved designing the initial instrument through a comprehensive review of documents and eliciting feedback from an expert panel. In the second stage, the content validity of the instrument was determined by calculating the Content Validity Ratio (CVR). Subsequently, the third stage focused on assessing the reliability of the instrument, with inter-rater agreement assessed using Cohen’s kappa coefficient. Finally, in the fourth stage, the finalized instrument was utilized for operational implementation in a hospital in eastern Tehran. Ethical considerations, including maintaining the hospital’s anonymity, were observed.
Results: The final instrument consisted of 28 items and demonstrated acceptable validity (CVR > 0.49) and reliability (K = 0.636). The assessment results indicated that the hospital readiness score was 77.28, reflecting a high level of readiness.
Conclusion: Continuous monitoring of hospital water tanks, particularly during times of crisis, is essential. The developed tool can serve as a practical instrument for evaluating hospital preparedness and formulating strategies to enhance hospital resilience against water-related threats.
- Preparedness
- Hospital
- Water contamination
- Water reservoirs
- Assessment tool
How to Cite
References
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