Knowledge, attitude, and readiness towards disaster management: A nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in United Arab Emirates
Health professionals are expected to be knowledgeable on disaster medicine and prepared to deal with medicine disasters. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and readiness to practice disaster medicine among health care workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and determine...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9934416/?tool=EBI |
| _version_ | 1797903339763007488 |
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| author | Sawsan Shanableh Muaed Jamal Alomar Subish Palaian Mohammad Majed Al-Ahmad Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim |
| author_facet | Sawsan Shanableh Muaed Jamal Alomar Subish Palaian Mohammad Majed Al-Ahmad Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim |
| author_sort | Sawsan Shanableh |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Health professionals are expected to be knowledgeable on disaster medicine and prepared to deal with medicine disasters. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and readiness to practice disaster medicine among health care workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and determine the influence of sociodemographic factors on the practice of disaster medicine. A cross-sectional survey conducted among various healthcare professionals in different healthcare facilities in the UAE. An electronic questionnaire was used and randomly distributed throughout the country. Data were collected from March to July 2021. The questionnaire consisted of 53 questions distributed among four sections: demographic information, knowledge, attitude and readiness to practice. The questionnaire distribution involved a 5-item of demographic information, a 21-item of knowledge, a 16-item of attitude and an 11-item of practice. A total of 307 (participation rate ~80.0%, n = 383) health professionals practicing in the UAE responded. Of these, 191 (62.2%) were pharmacists, 52 (15.9%) were physicians, 17 (5.5%) were dentists, 32 (10.4%) were nurses, and 15 (4.9%) were others. The mean experience was 10.9 years [SD ±7.6] (median 10, IQR 4–15). The median (IQR) overall knowledge level was 12 (8–16) and the maximum knowledge level was 21. The overall knowledge level differed significantly between the age groups of the participants (p = 0.002). The median (IQR) of overall attitude was (57, 50–64) for pharmacists, (55, 48–64) for physicians, (64, 44–68) for dentists, (64, 58–67) for nurses, and (60, 48–69) for others. The total attitude score differed significantly between the different professional groups (p = 0.034), gender (p = 0.008) and workplace (p = 0.011). In terms of readiness to practice, respondents’ scores were high and not significantly related to age (p = 0.14), gender (p = 0.064), professional groups (p = 0.0.762), and workplace (p = 0.149). This study showed that health professionals in the UAE have moderate levels of knowledge, positive attitudes, and high readiness to engage in disaster management. Gender and place of work can be considered as influencing factors. Professional training courses and educational curriculums related to disaster medicine can be beneficial to further reduce the knowledge-attitude gap. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:31:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c00bb707a2114922b9d0906437f7d1fc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:31:19Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-c00bb707a2114922b9d0906437f7d1fc2023-02-19T05:31:29ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-01182Knowledge, attitude, and readiness towards disaster management: A nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in United Arab EmiratesSawsan ShanablehMuaed Jamal AlomarSubish PalaianMohammad Majed Al-AhmadMohamed Izham Mohamed IbrahimHealth professionals are expected to be knowledgeable on disaster medicine and prepared to deal with medicine disasters. This study aimed to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and readiness to practice disaster medicine among health care workers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and determine the influence of sociodemographic factors on the practice of disaster medicine. A cross-sectional survey conducted among various healthcare professionals in different healthcare facilities in the UAE. An electronic questionnaire was used and randomly distributed throughout the country. Data were collected from March to July 2021. The questionnaire consisted of 53 questions distributed among four sections: demographic information, knowledge, attitude and readiness to practice. The questionnaire distribution involved a 5-item of demographic information, a 21-item of knowledge, a 16-item of attitude and an 11-item of practice. A total of 307 (participation rate ~80.0%, n = 383) health professionals practicing in the UAE responded. Of these, 191 (62.2%) were pharmacists, 52 (15.9%) were physicians, 17 (5.5%) were dentists, 32 (10.4%) were nurses, and 15 (4.9%) were others. The mean experience was 10.9 years [SD ±7.6] (median 10, IQR 4–15). The median (IQR) overall knowledge level was 12 (8–16) and the maximum knowledge level was 21. The overall knowledge level differed significantly between the age groups of the participants (p = 0.002). The median (IQR) of overall attitude was (57, 50–64) for pharmacists, (55, 48–64) for physicians, (64, 44–68) for dentists, (64, 58–67) for nurses, and (60, 48–69) for others. The total attitude score differed significantly between the different professional groups (p = 0.034), gender (p = 0.008) and workplace (p = 0.011). In terms of readiness to practice, respondents’ scores were high and not significantly related to age (p = 0.14), gender (p = 0.064), professional groups (p = 0.0.762), and workplace (p = 0.149). This study showed that health professionals in the UAE have moderate levels of knowledge, positive attitudes, and high readiness to engage in disaster management. Gender and place of work can be considered as influencing factors. Professional training courses and educational curriculums related to disaster medicine can be beneficial to further reduce the knowledge-attitude gap.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9934416/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Sawsan Shanableh Muaed Jamal Alomar Subish Palaian Mohammad Majed Al-Ahmad Mohamed Izham Mohamed Ibrahim Knowledge, attitude, and readiness towards disaster management: A nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in United Arab Emirates PLoS ONE |
| title | Knowledge, attitude, and readiness towards disaster management: A nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in United Arab Emirates |
| title_full | Knowledge, attitude, and readiness towards disaster management: A nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in United Arab Emirates |
| title_fullStr | Knowledge, attitude, and readiness towards disaster management: A nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in United Arab Emirates |
| title_full_unstemmed | Knowledge, attitude, and readiness towards disaster management: A nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in United Arab Emirates |
| title_short | Knowledge, attitude, and readiness towards disaster management: A nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in United Arab Emirates |
| title_sort | knowledge attitude and readiness towards disaster management a nationwide survey among healthcare practitioners in united arab emirates |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9934416/?tool=EBI |
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