Advances in Medical Education and Practice (Mar 2023)
Knowledge, Perceptions, and Practices on Risks and Disasters Among Medical Students. A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study in 9 Latin American and Caribbean Countries
Abstract
Juan S Izquierdo-Condoy,1 Miguel Angel Montiel-Alfonso,2 Humberto Alejandro Nati-Castillo,3 Ruth Saucedo,4 Damary S Jaramillo-Aguilar,5 Camila Nanjari-Barrientos,6 Carolina García-Arévalo,7 Daniel Rivera-Flores,8 Maria Ibanesi Díaz Batista,9 Valentina Loaiza-Guevara,10 Esteban Ortiz-Prado1 1OneHealth Global Research Group, Universidad de las Américas, Quito, Ecuador; 2Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Católica Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, Asunción, Paraguay; 3Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad del Quindío, Armenia, Colombia; 4Scientific Committee, Bolivian Association of Scientific Societies of Medical Students (ABOLSCEM), Santa Cruz, Bolivia; 5Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Cuenca, Cuenca, Ecuador; 6Faculty of Medicine, University of Valparaiso, Valparaiso, Chile; 7Faculty of Medicine, University of Panama, Panama City, Panama; 8Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras; 9Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Autonoma de Santo Domingo, Santo Domingo, República Dominicana; 10Faculty of Medicine, Institución Universitaria Visión de las Américas, Pereira, ColombiaCorrespondence: Esteban Ortiz-Prado, OneHealth Global Research Group, Universidad de las Américas, Calle de los Colimes y Avenida De los Granados, Quito, 170137, Ecuador, Tel +593995760693, Email [email protected]: The objective of this study was to describe the level of knowledge, perceptions, and practices in relation to risks and disasters in medical schools in Latin America and the Caribbean.Participants and Methods: Multicenter, observational, analytical, non-probabilistic convenience sample study with 2546 medical students in 9 countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. An online survey was conducted between October 2020 and November 2020, using an instrument validated in each country to assess knowledge, perceptions, and practices regarding risk and disaster prevention measures. Frequencies, percentages, mean and standard deviation (SD) were used for descriptive analysis. Differences resulting from the relationship between the variables studied and the level of knowledge were obtained using the Chi-square test. P-value < 0.05 was accepted as statistically significant for all analyses.Results: The highest proportion of responses came from women, third-semester students, and those studying in public universities. Students from Colombia and Honduras had the highest percentage of high levels of knowledge about disasters, while Peruvian students had the highest percentage of low levels of knowledge. Women and students from public universities showed a higher proportion of high levels of knowledge. 52.7% considered that they live in a country with a medium risk of natural disasters, while 91.2% said that Latin American and Caribbean countries are not prepared to face natural disasters. Only 43.6% believe they are prepared to help in the event of a natural disaster.Conclusion: Most of medical students from Latin America and Latin America and the Caribbean have high and medium level of knowledge in risks and disasters. However, the implementation of disaster training programs for medical students has the potential to improve the preparedness, knowledge, and skills that are important for medical personnel to improve their self-confidence, and their ability to respond, resulting in more effective systems.Keywords: disaster medicine, knowledge, perceptions, practices, students, medical, Latin America, Caribbean
