Zaki Mamdouh Kamal, Sobh Zahraa Khalifa
Forensic Medicine Center, Jeddah, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia.
Forensic Medicine and Clinical Toxicology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt.
Leg Med (Tokyo). 2021 Sep;52:101903. doi: 10.1016/j.legalmed.2021.101903. Epub 2021 May 5.
COVID-19 pandemic burdens forensic practice worldwide. The experience of crisis management is a lesson learned that guides future preparedness for similar casualties. Thus, the present study takes an in-depth look at the knowledge, attitude, and practice of forensic practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Arab world. A comprehensive questionnaire was adopted in compliance with optimum international standards for the management of deaths during the pandemic. The survey was electronically distributed in 13 Arab countries. The responses were received from 29 forensic practitioners from 11 countries. Total median knowledge, attitude, and practice scores of respondents constituted 37.9%, 74%, and 36.8% of optimum scores respectively. Regarding knowledge, better scores are related to risk assessment and routes of exposure to Coronavirus, whereas, least scores were related to ventilation and negative pressure system. Most of the participants had a positive attitude, 85.2% were concerned about proper management of COVID-19 deaths, and 77.8% trusted the decisions of their teams. Considering practice, better scores are related to forensic staff competence, whereas, least scores were related to the implementation of ideal safety measures. Participants described the management process as useful (52%), reliable (35%), high quality (21%), and cost-effective (17%), however, they expressed challenges as staff infection, limited resources, and infrastructure issues. This survey guides readjusting of procedures and future preparedness for similar disasters in the Arab world. This research adopted a questionnaire that could be used in initial and periodic assessments in any medicolegal institute worldwide. Also, it could support infrastructure projects and disaster management plans.
新冠疫情给全球法医实践带来了负担。危机管理的经验是吸取的教训，可为未来应对类似伤亡事件的准备工作提供指导。因此，本研究深入探讨了阿拉伯世界法医从业者在新冠疫情期间的知识、态度和实践情况。采用了一份符合疫情期间死亡管理最佳国际标准的综合问卷。该调查以电子方式在13个阿拉伯国家分发。收到了来自11个国家的29名法医从业者的回复。受访者的知识、态度和实践得分中位数分别占最佳得分的37.9%、74%和36.8%。在知识方面，较高得分与风险评估和接触冠状病毒的途径有关，而最低得分与通风和负压系统有关。大多数参与者态度积极，85.2%的人关注新冠死亡病例的妥善管理，77.8%的人信任其团队的决策。在实践方面，较高得分与法医工作人员的能力有关，而最低得分与理想安全措施的实施有关。参与者将管理过程描述为有用（52%）、可靠（35%）、高质量（21%）和具有成本效益（17%），然而，他们表示面临工作人员感染、资源有限和基础设施问题等挑战。这项调查为阿拉伯世界调整程序和未来应对类似灾难的准备工作提供了指导。本研究采用的问卷可用于全球任何法医学机构的初始和定期评估。此外，它还可为基础设施项目和灾害管理计划提供支持。
