Assessment of Disaster Preparedness Levels of Emergency Department Physicians in Kuwait

Abstract

Introduction:Global disasters have increased over the last century, with growing numbers of people affected. In the Middle East and North Africa, natural disasters have tripled since the 1980s. Education and training for disaster preparedness for healthcare providers can help reduce vulnerability to disasters by improving their knowledge and response effectiveness. Physicians working in the emergency department are integral members of the response to those incidents. Currently, no studies describe how much training or experience in disaster preparedness exists for physicians working in the emergency departments in Kuwait. However, comparable studies in different regions have illustrated the importance of researching this field. This paper aims to assess the disaster preparedness levels of emergency department physicians in Kuwait.Method:An online survey will be sent to the physicians working in the emergency departments of the seven general hospitals in Kuwait. This survey consists of four domains:1)Demographics: personal and professional characteristics of participants.2)Education and training: exploring the involvement of participants in prior formal training courses or exercises in disaster preparedness.3)Experience: assessing the involvement of participants in the mitigation or response to previous disasters.4)Knowledge and perception: participant awareness of local hospital plans and systems as well as their attitudes and opinions about disaster preparedness.Results:Data collection and analysis are planned for completion by March 31, 2023.Conclusion:The needs assessment is essential to developing educational curriculums for any discipline. In disaster medicine, tailoring the training curriculum is especially important because learners might not have experience in the field due to the high acuity and low frequency of disasters. The results can be used to develop a roadmap for Emergency Physician training in disaster preparedness in Kuwait. In addition, the approach adopted in this paper can be used to assess further disciplines for disaster preparedness.