Taybeh Esra' O, Naser Abdallah Y, Taybeh Adnan, Alsairafi Zahra K, Alwafi Hassan, Qadus Sami, Itani Rania, Alsharif Alaa A, Al Rajeh Ahmed M, Alqahtani Jaber S, Aldhahir Abdulelah M, Jarab Anan S, Alqahtani Saeed, Jaradat Abdolelah, Saloumi Louai, Alhartani Yosra J, El-Qasem Asaleh, Abukhalaf Amer Hamad Issa, Alzayani Salman, Aldala'een Roua Awni Attallah, Aburizeq Ahmad H, Hijazi Ahmad Khaleel, Alkrad Jamal Alyoussef, Bahlol Mohamed
Department of Applied Pharmaceutical Sciences and Clinical Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Isra University, Amman, Jordan.
Al Bashir Hospital, Ministry of Health, Amman, Jordan.
Medicine (Baltimore). 2025 Jul 11;104(28):e43217. doi: 10.1097/MD.0000000000043217.
Low health literacy is associated with poor health outcomes, inefficient use of healthcare resources, higher mortality risk, and increased costs. The aim of this research is to explore public awareness and preparedness regarding various treatment options for acute medical events and to assess the competence in assessing the urgency of such medical situations in 6 Middle Eastern countries namely, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Bahrain. This research involved a cross-sectional survey study design to assess public knowledge and preparedness about emergency medicine using an online questionnaire distributed through accessible online channels between March 1, 2024 until September 11, 2024. A total of 4909 participants were involved in this research. The questionnaire was developed based on a thorough review of existing literature related to public knowledge and public preparedness of emergency medicine. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to identify significant predictors of insufficient and problematic emergency health literacy (EHL) levels. Overall, the most commonly known emergency care service was identifying emergency practice nearby (81.4%). The least commonly known emergency care service was identifying the rescue service (48.1%). The highest degree of difficulty reported by the study participants was the difficulties they face to evaluate when to use emergency medical services (39.6%). The mean public EHL score for the study sample was 2.77 (standard deviation [SD]: 0.44) out of 3. The mean public EHL score ranged between 2.69 (SD: 0.50) for Kuwait and 2.89 (SD: 0.56) for Bahrain. The majority of the study participants (75.1%) demonstrated problematic EHL. Males, young participants aged 24 to 30 years and elderly participants aged 61 years and older, highly educated individuals, high income level individuals, and those who work in the healthcare sector were less likely to have inadequate and problematic EHL levels (P < .05). The findings of the present study indicate limited emergency public EHL among 6 of the Middle Eastern countries, highlighting the need for interventions to promote public knowledge and capabilities. Educational campaigns that promote EHL should target females, those with low education and socioeconomic status, those in age range of 30 to 60 years, and those who do not work in health sector.
健康素养低与健康状况不佳、医疗资源利用效率低下、更高的死亡风险以及成本增加有关。本研究的目的是探讨中东6个国家（即约旦、沙特阿拉伯、埃及、黎巴嫩、科威特和巴林）公众对急性医疗事件各种治疗选择的认识和准备情况，并评估他们评估此类医疗情况紧迫性的能力。本研究采用横断面调查研究设计，通过2024年3月1日至2024年9月11日期间通过可访问的在线渠道分发的在线问卷，评估公众对急诊医学的知识和准备情况。共有4909名参与者参与了本研究。该问卷是在对现有与急诊医学公众知识和公众准备情况相关的文献进行全面审查的基础上制定的。采用二元逻辑回归分析来确定急诊健康素养（EHL）水平不足和存在问题的显著预测因素。总体而言，最常被知晓的急救服务是识别附近的急救实践（81.4%）。最不常被知晓的急救服务是识别救援服务（48.1%）。研究参与者报告的最高难度程度是他们在评估何时使用急救医疗服务时面临的困难（39.6%）。研究样本的公众EHL平均得分为2.77（标准差[SD]：0.44）（满分3分）。公众EHL平均得分在科威特的2.69（SD：0.50）和巴林的2.89（SD：0.56）之间。大多数研究参与者（75.1%）表现出有问题的EHL。男性、24至30岁的年轻参与者以及61岁及以上的老年参与者、受过高等教育的个人、高收入水平的个人以及在医疗保健部门工作的人不太可能有不足和有问题的EHL水平（P < .05）。本研究的结果表明中东6个国家的急诊公众EHL有限，突出了进行干预以促进公众知识和能力的必要性。促进EHL的教育活动应针对女性、教育程度和社会经济地位较低的人、30至60岁年龄段的人以及不在卫生部门工作的人。
