A critical review of the design of health center 4s for management of epidemics.

Abstract

This study reviews the design layout of health center 4s and their effectiveness in managing epidemics, taking reference from 2 sample health center 4s in Jinja District, and using guidelines derived from literature review regarding design requirements for health facilities for better management of epidemics. Data was collected using questionnaires, observations, drawing and photography from sample health center 4s, and analyzed to establish the status of these centers regarding their designs and other required parameters in respect to effective management of epidemics in health center 4 facilities. The findings indicate that distancing space is limited in both health center 4s, access points into facilities in the sampled health center 4s are few, material finish in both health center 4s is lacking as most of the surfaces like the floors are rough and contain voids which are difficult to clean and can harbor bacteria which can exacerbate the spread of an epidemic, screening areas in both health center 4s are inadequate to enable distancing and safe management of infected persons, there are no isolation facilities in both health center 4s which makes it difficult to manage an epidemic, and the carrying capacity of designated spaces is limited in both facilities leading to congestion which can complicate the control of epidemics. The study recommends expansion of existing wards and/or building of additional wards, or reduction of beds in wards to create more space, provision of adequate access points into buildings in health center 4s to minimize mixing of infected and noninfected persons to mitigate the spread of an epidemic, renovations of old structures to improve on the material finish like the walls and floors for easy cleaning to mitigate the spread of epidemics, provision of proper biowaste management facilities in all health center 4s like incinerators to facilitate safe disposal of bio waste, provision of adequate and suitable screening spaces in health center 4s to enable safe and effective identification and management of infected persons, and provision of proper and adequate isolation facilities in health center 4s to accommodate infected patients and prevent further spread of an epidemic