Pediatrics Emergency Department, King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Emergency Medical Services Department, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
BMC Emerg Med. 2023 Aug 17;23(1):91. doi: 10.1186/s12873-023-00866-y.
A 2017 nationwide disability survey conducted by the General Authority of Statistics in Saudi Arabia, a sample representing the whole population living in Saudi Arabia, reported that approximately 5% and 2% of the Saudi population suffers from visual or hearing impairments, respectively. Patients with these disabilities find it difficult to convey their medical history and chief complaints to paramedics, causing communication breakdowns that can lead to misinterpretation of patient history, leave medical problems unaddressed, and reduce patient engagement and autonomy. We aimed to assess paramedics' knowledge, attitude, and level of confidence when managing patients with visual or hearing problems.
Descriptive cross-sectional design was used to report the knowledge and experience of paramedics towards patients with hearing/vision disabilities in Saudi Arabia. A validated questionnaire was distributed to our study sample of paramedics in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia between 01, July 2020 and 31, December 2020. Ethical approval was obtained from King Abdullah International Medical Research Center.
Ninety-seven participants completed the survey. Male paramedics accounted for 77% of the study participants; 24% were Saudi Red Crescent employees, and 57% were 20-25 years old. Most participants encountered 1-5 cases of patients with hearing disability (55%) as well as patients with visual disability (48%) during their career. Taking medical history was a challenge indicated by 42% of the participants, and 30% reported difficulties in explaining procedures. Of the participants, 44% were confident in handling patients with hearing or visual impairment. There was a strong association between participants who indicated higher confidence levels and those who had obtained specific training for patients with hearing or visual impairments.
Assisting patients with hearing or visual impairments is challenging, especially during an emergency. We recommend programs that provide specific training in handling hearing or visually impaired patients to close the communication gap in emergent medical situations handled by paramedics or other emergency medicine doctors and nurses.
2017 年，沙特阿拉伯统计局在全国范围内开展了一项残疾调查，该调查采用代表沙特阿拉伯全国所有居民的样本，报告称，沙特阿拉伯约有 5%和 2%的人口分别患有视力或听力障碍。这些残疾患者难以向护理人员传达他们的病史和主要诉求，导致沟通中断，可能导致对患者病史的误解，留下医疗问题未得到解决，并降低患者的参与度和自主性。我们旨在评估护理人员在管理视力或听力有问题的患者时的知识、态度和信心水平。
本研究采用描述性横断面设计，报告沙特阿拉伯护理人员对听力/视力障碍患者的知识和经验。我们在 2020 年 7 月 1 日至 2020 年 12 月 31 日期间，向沙特阿拉伯利雅得的护理人员分发了一份经过验证的问卷。该研究已获得阿卜杜拉国王国际医学研究中心的伦理批准。
97 名参与者完成了调查。男性护理人员占研究参与者的 77%；24%是沙特红新月会的员工，57%的参与者年龄在 20-25 岁之间。大多数参与者在职业生涯中遇到过 1-5 例听力障碍（55%）和视力障碍（48%）的患者。42%的参与者表示，获取病史具有挑战性，30%的参与者报告说在解释程序方面存在困难。44%的参与者有信心处理听力或视力受损的患者。在那些表示信心水平较高的参与者中，与那些接受过处理听力或视力障碍患者特定培训的参与者之间存在很强的关联。
帮助听力或视力受损的患者具有挑战性，特别是在紧急情况下。我们建议提供针对听力或视力受损患者进行特定培训的方案，以缩小护理人员或其他急诊医生和护士在处理紧急医疗情况时的沟通差距。
