Abstract
Background Snakebite is a serious and important medical emergency encountered in many parts of the world. The estimated number of victims of venomous snakebites in Palestine is about 100 to 150 annually, with death occurring in 2 to 3 of them. This study was designed to assess the level of knowledge on the diagnosis and management of snakebites among nursing students in Palestine, as well as their attitude towards snakebites. Methods This was a cross-sectional survey that took place at An-Najah National University. Two hundred nursing students were asked to fill a questionnaire that was developed to assess the participants' knowledge and attitude regarding snakebite's diagnosis and management. Different knowledge scores were calculated, and the relationships between students' knowledge and their characteristics were calculated by implementing the Mann–Whitney U test and the Kruskal–Wallis test. The statistical significance limit of p values was set at 0.05. Results The majority of the participants (57%) were fourth-year students with an average age of 20.7 ± 1. Areas of knowledge and the participants' mean scores on them were as follows: Vipera palaestinae snake, 5.1/13; signs and symptoms, 9.6/16; laboratory investigations, 6.1/10; anti-venom, 4.2/11; and first aid, 6.6/15. The only statistically significant differences in knowledge were between male and female students on Vipera palaestinae (male students scored higher, p value = 0.004) and between different types of residence (village dwellers scored the highest, p value = 0.041). Conclusions We found knowledge gaps in many aspects of snakebite's diagnosis and management among nursing students in Palestine. Based on the results of this study, we suggest integrating more materials on this topic in the curriculum of Palestinian nursing schools, as well as more practical training, which will positively reflect on the care for snakebite victims.
Highlights
Snakebite is a serious and important medical emergency encountered in many parts of the world. e estimated number of victims of venomous snakebites in Palestine is about 100 to 150 annually, with death occurring in 2 to 3 of them. is study was designed to assess the level of knowledge on the diagnosis and management of snakebites among nursing students in Palestine, as well as their attitude towards snakebites
Study Setting. e survey took place at An-Najah National University (NNU), a nongovernmental public university in Nablus, which is a city in the north of the West Bank, Palestine [15]. e nursing program at An-Najah National University Institutional Review Board (IRB) (NNU) is one of the largest in the country, and the choice to include students from this program was made to increase the generalizability of results from the selected students to the rest of the Palestinian nursing students
Having a family member who was affected by a snakebite was not uncommon among the participants (20%), and 16% of the respondents themselves were bitten by snakes in the past
Summary
Snakebite is a serious and important medical emergency encountered in many parts of the world. e estimated number of victims of venomous snakebites in Palestine is about 100 to 150 annually, with death occurring in 2 to 3 of them. is study was designed to assess the level of knowledge on the diagnosis and management of snakebites among nursing students in Palestine, as well as their attitude towards snakebites. Is study was designed to assess the level of knowledge on the diagnosis and management of snakebites among nursing students in Palestine, as well as their attitude towards snakebites. Two hundred nursing students were asked to fill a questionnaire that was developed to assess the participants’ knowledge and attitude regarding snakebite’s diagnosis and management. Snakebite remains a significant source of morbidity and mortality in regions where agriculture is the main occupation for a large number of people which increases the likelihood of encountering snakes [2, 3]. Emergency Medicine International to 2.7 million of which become envenomated, and the mortality is somewhere between 81,000 and 138,000 per year [4] Despite having this high burden, snakebites are still largely neglected in the global health agenda [5]. Some countries have a more than 70% rate of under-reporting, in poorly equipped rural regions [6, 7]
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