Impediments and Incentives for the Rehabilitation of Critical Facilities:

This three-year study, which began in 1998, focuses on how administrators and other decision makers in hospitals evaluate the seismic vulnerability of their facilities, assess ways of lessening that vulnerability, and decide whether to undertake mitigation measures for their facilities. Data are being collected through focus group discussions with decision makers in twelve hospitals located in high, moderate, and low-risk areas of the country. In addition to conducting focus groups, DRC is also reviewing the literature on the adoption and implementation of safety and loss-reduction measures to better understand barriers, facilitating factors, and strategies for enhancing hospital seismic safety.