Disaster Preparedness in Long-Term Care Facilities
Summary
Long-term care facilities house some of the most disaster-sensitive segments of the population, including frail older adults, people with chronic conditions and those with mobility limitations. Effective preparedness in these settings requires a comprehensive approach to risk assessment, infrastructure resilience, staff training and inter-agency coordination. Risk assessment frameworks guide facility managers through the identification of hazards, from extreme weather events to infectious outbreaks, and inform the design of emergency plans. Key components include evacuation procedures, shelter-in-place protocols, resource and supply management, and the maintenance of continuity of care. Staff training, drills and multidisciplinary simulations underpin operational readiness, while engagement with local emergency services, public health authorities and community partners ensures access to external support when needed. Technological solutions such as early-warning systems, electronic health record backups and telecommunication redundancy help maintain critical functions under duress. Practical challenges include balancing the need for rapid evacuation with resident frailty, ensuring safe transport and staffing continuity, and managing interruptions to medication and therapy schedules. Globally, policy developments stress the integration of long-term care considerations into national and regional disaster response frameworks, recognising both the ethical imperative to protect vulnerable populations and the cost-effectiveness of prevention over post-disaster recovery. Recent trends emphasise resilience building, drawing on lessons from major incidents to refine guidelines, strengthen facility-level cultures of preparedness and leverage community resilience networks.
Research from Nature Portfolio
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Disaster Preparedness in Long-Term Care Facilities publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in disaster preparedness in long-term care facilities across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Long-term care facility: A residential setting providing 24-hour care for individuals with chronic health needs, often including nursing homes and assisted living communities.
Evacuation plan: A structured procedure detailing how residents and staff will be safely transported out of a facility in response to an imminent threat.
Continuity of care: The maintenance of consistent and uninterrupted health and social services for individuals during and after a disruptive event.
Resilience: The capacity of an organisation or system to adapt to, withstand and recover from adverse conditions with minimal impact on operations and service delivery.
References
- “You Just Forge Ahead”: The Continuing Challenges of Disaster Preparedness and Response in Long-Term Care. Innovation in Aging (2021).
- Effects of the 2018 Japan Floods on long-term care insurance costs in Japan: retrospective cohort study. BMC Public Health (2022).
- Discontinuation of long-term care among persons affected by the 2018 Japan Floods: a longitudinal study using the Long-term Care Insurance Comprehensive Database. BMC Geriatrics (2022).
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