Evaluation and Analysis of Physical Resilience of Comprehensive Health Service Centers against Earthquakes: A Case Study of Comprehensive Health Service Centers in Babol City in 2021

The present study aimed to investigate the level of structural safety and resistance of comprehensive health service centers, which provide critical services during earthquakes. For this purpose, a total of 30 comprehensive rural health centers and 14 comprehensive urban health centers in Babol city were examined.

To assess the cultural safety and resilience of comprehensive health service centers in Babol city against earthquakes, we integrated two questionnaires, one from the research of Pourahmad et al. (2018) and the other from the Ministry of Health and Medicine, both of which have been confirmed for validity and reliability. Using these questionnaires, we obtained 9 structural safety indicators and applied this questionnaire to all 44 health units in the city. The data were analyzed using SPSS. 20 software. Additionally, we used the Vicor software to evaluate, score, and rank the physical resilience of comprehensive health service centers against earthquakes.

The total area of the evaluated structures in this research was 18, 340 m2, with construction dates ranging from 1968 to 2019. The physical resilience of all comprehensive health service centers in Babol city in 2021 was the following results 18.2% were categorized as favorable, 18.2% as relatively favorable, 15.9% as average, 20.5% as relatively unfavorable, and 27.3% as unfavorable.

In the face of disasters and earthquakes, the health and safety of society depend on the infrastructure and resilience of critical service centers, such as comprehensive health service centers. Upgrading the infrastructure of these centers is crucial to ensure their resilience and protect the health and safety of society. The investigation of comprehensive health service centers in Babol city reveals that more than half of the structures are over 30 years old and lack sufficient resilience against natural disasters. Therefore, investments are needed to improve the physical resilience of these centers. Strategies such as structural reinforcement, regular maintenance, and the implementation of safety standards can enhance their resilience and help them better cope with earthquakes.