The Impact of Earthquake-Induced Healthcare Disruption on an Established Developmental Hip Dysplasia Screening Program in an Earthquake Zone

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Pandemics and natural disasters may delay the diagnosis and treatment of developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH). In this study, we evaluated the effect of 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake-induced healthcare disruption on the DDH screening program. Methods: Medical records of infants referred for DDH screening between February 2022 and February 2025 were retrospectively reviewed. Three consecutive twelve-month intervals: the pre-earthquake year (February 2022 to February 2023), the earthquake year (February 2023 to February 2024), and the post-earthquake year (February 2024 to February 2025) were evaluated to detect early and late effects of the earthquake on the DDH screening. Results: A thousand infants in the pre-earthquake year, 404 in the earthquake year, and 824 in the post-earthquake year were evaluated. A 60% reduction in referrals was detected during the earthquake year. DDH incidence in late presentations during pre-earthquake, earthquake, and post-earthquake years was 18.6%, 45.8%, and 22.2%, respectively. Pairwise analysis revealed a statistically significant increase in the post-earthquake year compared with the pre-earthquake period (Yates-corrected chi-square = 4.119, p = 0.042). No significant difference was found between the pre-earthquake year and the earthquake year (Yates chi-square = 1.362, p = 0.243), nor between the post-earthquake years (Yates chi-square = 0.084, p = 0.772). Conclusions: The earthquake caused significant disruption in healthcare and DDH screening. Health authorities planning post-disaster service recovery should proactively augment DDH screening capacity for infants who missed screening during the acute phase.