Determination of individual preparation behaviors of emergency health services personnel towards disasters

Abstract

Objective: To determine certain behaviors regarding preparation of Canakkale 112 ambulance service personnel towards emergency situations and disasters. Methods: This study is an epidemiological descriptive study. The population of the study consists of 281 people working for Command Control Center and Emergency Medical Services Station of Canakkale 112 Ambulance Service. About 176 people agreed to participate in the study were interviewed within the scope of the study. Necessary information was obtained by a survey. In the statistical analysis of the study, descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney, Kruskal–Wallis and Chi-square tests were used. Results: The participation rate of the study was 62.6% (176 people). The participants were in the range of 17–64 years of age. The average age of the participants was (31.6 ± 9.1) years. About 54% of the participants (95 people) were under the age of 29 and 54% of them (95 people) were male, 23.3% of them (41 people) held a bachelor degree and 35.7% (63 people) of them were Emergency Medical Technicians, respectively. In the study, a statistical relationship was found between some questions of the survey and some variables such as age, gender, degree, membership status for non-governmental organizations, experience of emergency situations, being trained against disasters and desire to have such a training (P < 0.005). Conclusions: As a result of the study, a significant relationship was found between being trained related to disaster and emergency situations and development of positive attitudes about training for disasters and emergencies. This indicates that people, no matter what educational level they are in, have to be trained for disasters and emergencies.

Keywords

• Disaster preparedness
• Ambulance
• Individual preparation behaviors
• EMS staff