Contribution of the administrative database and the geographical information system to disaster preparedness and regionalization

Authors

  • Kazuaki Kuwabara, MD, DPH
  • Shinya Matsuda, MD, PhD
  • Kiyohide Fushimi, MD, PhD
  • Koichi B. Ishikawa, PhD
  • Hiromasa Horiguchi, PhD
  • Kenji Fujimori, MD, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2012.0085

Keywords:

administrative database, disaster preparedness, evidence-based regionalization

Abstract

Objective: Public health emergencies like earthquakes and tsunamis underscore the need for an evidence- based approach to disaster preparedness. Using the Japanese administrative database and the geographical information system (GIS), the interruption of hospital-based mechanical ventilation administration by a hypothetical disaster in three areas of the southeastern mainland (Tokai,Tonankai, and Nankai) was simulated and the repercussions on ventilator care in the prefectures adjacent to the damaged prefectures was estimated.
Design, setting, and patients: Using the database of 2010 including 3,181,847 hospitalized patients among 952 hospitals, the maximum daily ventilator capacity in each hospital was calculated and the number of patients who were administered ventilation on October xx was counted.
Interventions: Using GIS and patient zip code, the straight-line distances among the damaged hospitals, the hospitals in prefectures nearest to damaged prefectures, and ventilated patients’ zip codes were measured. The authors simulated that ventilated patients were transferred to the closest hospitals outside damaged prefectures.
Outcomes: The increase in the ventilator operating rates in three areas was aggregated.
Results: One hundred twenty-four and 236 patients were administered ventilation in the damaged hospitals and in the closest hospitals outside the damaged prefectures of Tokai, 92 and 561 of Tonankai, and 35 and 85 of Nankai, respectively. The increases in the ventilator operating rates among prefectures ranged from 1.04 to 26.33-fold in Tokai; 1.03 to 1.74-fold in Tonankai, and 1.00 to 2.67-fold in Nankai.
Conclusion: Administrative databases and GIS can contribute to evidenced-based disaster preparedness and the determination of appropriate receiving hospitals with available medical resources.

Author Biographies

Kazuaki Kuwabara, MD, DPH

Associate professor, Department of Health Care Administration and Management, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, Japan.

Shinya Matsuda, MD, PhD

Professor, Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Yahatanishi-ku, Kitakyushu, Fukuoka, Japan.

Kiyohide Fushimi, MD, PhD

Professor, Department of Health Policy and Informatics, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Koichi B. Ishikawa, PhD

Economics Section, Surveillance Division, Center for Cancer Control and Information Services, National Cancer Center, Chuouku Tokyo, Japan.

Hiromasa Horiguchi, PhD

Department of Health Policy and Informatics, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Graduate School of Medicine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Kenji Fujimori, MD, PhD

Associate professor, Center for Regional Healthcare and Certified Educator Support, Hokkaido University, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan.

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Published

04/01/2012

How to Cite

Kuwabara, MD, DPH, K., S. Matsuda, MD, PhD, K. Fushimi, MD, PhD, K. B. Ishikawa, PhD, H. Horiguchi, PhD, and K. Fujimori, MD, PhD. “Contribution of the Administrative Database and the Geographical Information System to Disaster Preparedness and Regionalization”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 7, no. 2, Apr. 2012, pp. 95-103, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2012.0085.