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Attitudes to Living and Working in Pandemic Conditions among Emergency Prehospital Medical Care Personnel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 June 2012

Kerrianne Watt ,
Vivienne C. Tippett ,
Steven G. Raven ,
Konrad Jamrozik ,
Michael Coory ,
Frank Archer  and
Heath A. Kelly
Kerrianne Watt*
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Prehospital Research, Queensland Ambulance Service, Brisbane, Australia School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, Brisbane, Australia
Vivienne C. Tippett
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Prehospital Research, Queensland Ambulance Service, Brisbane, Australia School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, Brisbane, Australia
Steven G. Raven
Affiliation:
Australian Centre for Prehospital Research, Queensland Ambulance Service, Brisbane, Australia
Konrad Jamrozik
Affiliation:
School of Population Health and Clinical Practice, University of Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Michael Coory
Affiliation:
School of Population Health, University of Queensland, Herston, Brisbane, Australia Queensland Health, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Frank Archer
Affiliation:
Monash UniversityDepartment of Community Emergency Health and Paramedic Practice, Victoria, Australia
Heath A. Kelly
Affiliation:
Victorian Infectious Diseases Reference Laboratory, Victoria, Australia
*
School of Population HealthUniversity of QueenslandHerston RoadBrisbane, Australia4006 E-mail: kwatt@emergency.qld.gov.au
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Abstract

Introduction:

Little is known about the risk perceptions and attitudes of healthcare personnel, especially of emergency prehospital medical care personnel, regarding the possibility of an outbreak or epidemic event.

Problem:

This study was designed to investigate pre-event knowledge and attitudes of a national sample of the emergency prehospital medical care providers in relation to a potential human influenza pandemic, and to determine predictors of these attitudes.

Methods:

Surveys were distributed to a random, cross-sectional sample of 20% of the Australian emergency prehospital medical care workforce (n = 2,929), stratified by the nine services operating in Australia, as well as by gender and location. The surveys included: (1) demographic information; (2) knowledge of influenza; and (3) attitudes and perceptions related to working during influenza pandemic conditions. Multiple logistic regression models were constructed to identify predictors of pandemic-related risk perceptions.

Results:

Among the 725 Australian emergency prehospital medical care personnel who responded, 89% were very anxious about working during pandemic conditions, and 85% perceived a high personal risk associated with working in such conditions. In general, respondents demonstrated poor knowledge in relation to avian influenza, influenza generally, and infection transmission methods. Less than 5% of respondents perceived that they had adequate education/training about avian influenza. Logistic regression analyses indicate that, in managing the attitudes and risk perceptions of emergency prehospital medical care staff, particular attention should be directed toward the paid, male workforce (as opposed to volunteers), and on personnel whose relationship partners do not work in the health industry.

Conclusions:

These results highlight the potentially crucial role of education and training in pandemic preparedness. Organizations that provide emergency prehospital medical care must address this apparent lack of knowledge regarding infection transmission, and procedures for protection and decontamination. Careful management of the perceptions of emergency prehospital medical care personnel during a pandemic is likely to be critical in achieving an effective response to a widespread outbreak of infectious disease.

Keywords

attitudesemergency medical servicesinfection controlinfluenzapandemicprehospitalrisk perceptions
Type
Original Research
Information
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine , Volume 25 , Issue 1 , February 2010 , pp. 13 - 19
Copyright
Copyright © World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2010

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