Lecture on Hospital Disaster Prevention for Medical Staff in ASEAN Countries - From an Architectural Perspective

Introduction: Hospital disaster prevention is an important issue for all countries. However, it is difficult for medical personnel with limited architectural knowledge to understand hospital architecture and facilities. In addition, special ideas are needed to help medical personnel understand hospital architecture in ASEAN countries with different legal systems. This study compares hospital disaster prevention lectures in Japan with lectures in the JICA Knowledge Co-Creation Program (Country Focus) “Disaster Health Management in ASEAN Countries (in Japan) (hereinafter referred to as the KCCP) to discuss better lecture content. Methods: List and compare the content of lectures on hospital disaster management in Japan with that one in the KCCP; discuss better lecture content based on questions from the two-year KCCP. Results: The purpose of lectures on hospital disaster prevention in Japan is to learn about disasters, hospitals, and what the staff should do. In the 90-minute lecture, the main focus is on hospital risks, damage cases, and countermeasures. In particular, the “Countermeasures” section explains hospital construction, changes in building codes and disaster medical systems, earthquake resistance rates, design guidelines for new hospitals, strengthening existing hospitals, and hospital BCP. The 90-minute lecture in the KCCP included an explanation of building safety, which is common to all countries. Conclusion: ASEAN participants asked about measures against high winds and flooding. This is because most of the lectures were earthquake case studies. In the future, it would be a good discussion to have ASEAN countries provide hospital damage photos, and hospital architecture will be better understood.