Publication: Assessment of knowledge, attitude and confidence level on disaster management among healthcare professional in Malaysian military
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Date
2022
Authors
Abdullah, Mohd Afiq
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Abstract
Background Disaster is an event which can lead to huge amounts of losses and may cause a lot of live during the event. It can be caused by natural events such as floods, extreme heat, wildfires, or man-made disasters such as stampedes, fires, transport accidents, industrial accidents, oil spills, terrorist attacks, nuclear explosions/nuclear radiation, and war. Therefore, disaster preparedness is an important in disaster risk reduction and management. Objectives The study aims to assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and confidence in disaster management among healthcare professional staff of Malaysian Armed Forces Health Service (MAFHS) and to look for the associated factors that contribute to the level of knowledge, attitudes and confidence in disaster management. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2021 to March 2022 in 3 tertiary hospitals under MAFHS. The validated questionnaire consisted of 31 questions based on demography, knowledge, attitude, and confidence regarding disaster management. The data was keyed in and analysed using software SPSS version 26. Results A total of 210 healthcare professionals participated in the study. Majority were diploma holder (n (%) = 171 (81.4)) and working as assistant medical officers and nurses. Minority of them had experience in disaster management (n (%) = 48 (22.9)) and had history of participating in disaster course or any training related to disaster management (n (%) = 34 (16.2)). The mean score for knowledge was 20.41 from total score of 28 with SD = 2.29 which was under category average. The mean attitude score was 9.67 from a total score of 10 with SD = 0.73, showing a positive attitude. The mean score for confidence was only 1.19 from total score of 7 with SD = 1.96 which was under category of low confidence and there was only 31(14.8%) of the participant scored high confidence. The associated factors for knowledge were participation in disaster course or drill (p-value-0.009) and age >40 years (p-value=0.033). The associated factors for attitude were experienced in disaster management (p-value=0.020) and gender (p-value=0.024). Eighty-five percent (n=179) of healthcare professionals had no confident in disaster management. The associated factors for confidence were experience in disaster management (p-value-0.001) and level of education (p-value=0.006). Conclusions The findings revealed that healthcare professionals in MAFHS had average knowledge and low confidence level, potentially increasing the risk of uncoordinated and poor disaster management. Participation in disaster courses and drills, and age more than 40 years old were the factors contributing to knowledge level among healthcare professionals whereas experience in disaster management, and education level among healthcare professionals influence their confidence. Thus, adequately planned, and regular training on disaster management is mandatory to improve knowledge and confidence level. Otherwise, most of the participants show excellent attitudes in disaster management.
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Keywords
Disaster Management , Healthcare Professional