ABSTRACT
This study aimed to analyze the policy of ‘Hospitals Safe from Disasters’ developed by the Pan American Health Organization. The study discusses the importance of interdisciplinarity and interprofessionality in disaster risk management and brings the Hospital Safety Index (HSI) as a technology that, once applied to health establishments, allows the continuous monitoring of its level of safety. The article is structured in three parts: the first addresses the concept of safe hospitals and the typologies of vulnerabilities of health facilities to disasters; the second deals with the ‘Hospitals Safe from Disasters’ policy in the Brazilian scenario; and the third presents the HSI as a technology for disaster risk management. The article emphasizes the importance of the health sector in the social context, recommending that strategies and actions be developed for its full and continuous functioning, particularly when the population needs to seek assistance in health facilities. It is concluded that the theme ‘Hospitals Safe from Disasters’ needs to be grounded in the broadest interdisciplinary discussion, collaborative interprofessional practices, and the effective participation of society, with a view to consolidating the safety culture in health facilities in Brazil.
KEYWORDS
Hospitals; Safety; Risk; Emergencies; Disasters