Emergency Medical Services, College of Applied Medical Sciences, King Saud Bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2024 Oct 30;18:e233. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2024.276.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) workers are critical to effective disaster response. Therefore, it is important to understand their knowledge, skills, and preparedness for disasters. This study investigated factors influencing EMS workers' disaster knowledge, skills, and preparedness in the Saudi Arabian context. The study also sought to identify challenges to disaster preparedness among Saudi Arabian EMS workers.
A descriptive cross-sectional survey using was distributed to EMS workers in military and government hospitals across 3 Saudi Arabian cities. Responses were recorded on a 6-point Likert scale where higher scores indicated higher knowledge, skills, or preparedness. The results were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistical analysis.
272EMS workers participated in this study. EMS workers reported a moderate level of knowledge (3.56), skills (3.44), and preparedness (3.73) for disasters. Despite this, EMS workers reported a high level of involvement in regular disaster drills ( = 4.24, = 1.274) and a strong interest in further disaster education opportunities ( = 5.43, = 1.121). Participants also reported a high skill level with the triage principles used in their workplace during a disaster ( = 4.06, = 1.218). The study findings revealed a significant positive correlation between disaster preparedness levels and age, years of experience, education level, and the facility worked in.
EMS workers have moderate disaster knowledge, skills, and preparedness levels. Knowledge, skill, and preparedness have a significant relationship on the EMS workers' demographics. These findings demonstrate the need to invest in preparing Saudi Arabian EMS workers to effectively respond to bioterrorism disasters.
紧急医疗服务（EMS）人员对于有效的灾害应对至关重要。因此，了解他们在灾害方面的知识、技能和准备情况非常重要。本研究调查了影响沙特阿拉伯 EMS 人员灾害知识、技能和准备情况的因素。该研究还旨在确定沙特阿拉伯 EMS 人员在灾害准备方面面临的挑战。
使用描述性横断面调查，向沙特阿拉伯 3 个城市的军事和政府医院的 EMS 工作人员分发了问卷。通过 6 点李克特量表记录回答，得分越高表示知识、技能或准备程度越高。使用描述性和推断性统计分析来分析结果。
272 名 EMS 工作人员参加了这项研究。EMS 工作人员报告称，他们对灾害的知识（3.56）、技能（3.44）和准备情况（3.73）处于中等水平。尽管如此，EMS 工作人员报告称，他们经常参与定期灾害演习（ = 4.24， = 1.274），并对进一步的灾害教育机会表现出浓厚的兴趣（ = 5.43， = 1.121）。参与者还报告称，在工作场所发生灾难时，他们具有较高的分诊原则技能水平（ = 4.06， = 1.218）。研究结果表明，灾害准备水平与年龄、工作经验年限、教育水平和工作场所之间存在显著正相关关系。
EMS 工作人员在灾害方面具有中等的知识、技能和准备程度。知识、技能和准备程度与 EMS 工作人员的人口统计学特征有显著关系。这些发现表明，需要投资于培训沙特阿拉伯 EMS 工作人员，以有效应对生物恐怖主义灾害。
