A survey on the factors affecting horizontal assisted evacuation in hospitals

This paper presents the results of a survey on assisted evacuation conducted with 120 hospital staff members in Sweden. Staff members included people with different roles in the hospital (e.g. doctors, nurses, department heads, etc.). The survey consisted of a questionnaire aiming at investigating the factors which affect assisted evacuation in hospitals and the current status of assisted evacuation training in Sweden. The survey included a list of questions concerning factors which were previously identified through a literature review and that they may affect the effectiveness of horizontal assisted evacuation in hospitals. Hospital staff had to evaluate the importance of these factors through a Likert-scale questionnaire. Three factors were identified in the survey by hospital staff as the most important in horizontal assisted evacuation, namely 1) coordination/collaboration between staff, 2) the patient need for assistance and 3) Training on evacuation routines. According to the questionnaire results, occupants who are in need for life-sustaining equipment can be the most difficult to evacuate. Results also show that only 52% of respondents had ever taken part into an evacuation drill and 50% had practiced how to handle evacuation aid tools needed for assisted evacuation, with rescue mattresses being the most used evacuation aid. 78% of respondents were aware of the person responsible for arranging tasks in case of an emergency situation.