Pre-hospital preparedness for pediatric mass casualty incidents in Riyadh

Abstract

Background:The percentage of affected children in mass casualty incidents (MCIs) in Saudi Arabia is high (39.1%). Thereby, this study aimed to assess the level of preparedness, preparedness plans, and the knowledge of pre-hospital workers related to pediatric patients in MCI. Also, to identify training methods needed in order to highlight the critical points of improvement regarding emergency medical services (EMS) personnel awareness. Methods: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out among pre-hospital care providers of the Saudi Red Crescent authority stations and Ministry of Health EMS departments in Riyadh City. The questionnaires were distributed to 239 pre-hospital workers, who were selected by convenient sampling. Results: A total of 200 pre-hospital workers completed the questionnaire, with a response rate of 84%, where 97.5% were males. Only 36% participants had pediatric trauma training in the past year and 64% participants had never triaged pediatric trauma patients. Conclusion: There was lack of experience, knowledge, training, and preparedness among the participants about practices in MCI involving children. [SJEMed 2021; 2(2.000): 166-171]

Keywords

• pediatric incidents
• pre-hospital preparedness
• mass casualty incidents