A Practical Guide to Crisis Management: Perspectives from Healthcare Professionals

Abstract

In recent years, healthcare systems worldwide have faced numerous crises, including natural disasters, technical failures, mass casualty incidents, bioterrorism, and infectious diseases. The current Covid-19 pandemic has presented severe challenges to the resilience of health systems, overwhelming many hospitals while leaving some healthcare facilities underutilized. Policy measures such as lockdowns and contact restrictions have a devastating economic impact on many healthcare facilities, particularly outpatient services (Filip et al.2022)(Sundararaman et al.2021)(Sohrabizadeh et al.2021)(Obeagu et al.2023)(Litke et al., 2022). Crises often challenge established systems and routines. Therefore, planning and preparation are paramount, and potential strategies for resilience should be investigated. Healthcare systems worldwide face significant challenges in times of crisis. However, high-quality crisis management can save lives, especially in the health sector during mass casualty incidents or infectious disease outbreaks.