Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire Research Articles

Common domains of nurses’ competencies in public health emergencies: a scoping review

BackgroundA public health emergency can cause large numbers of deaths in a short period, with devastating social, economic and health consequences. Nurses are the main healthcare providers during such emergencies, and their competencies affect the control and outcomes of the situation. Studies on nurses’ competencies in public health emergencies vary between countries and healthcare systems. Therefore, we conducted a scoping review to identify the common domains of nurses’ competencies in public health emergencies worldwide.MethodsWe searched the PubMed, CINHAL, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct, Embase, Cochrane Library, WanFang and ECRI databases from their inception to 2023. All published articles on nurses’ competencies in public health emergencies that were published in English and Chinese were included. We mainly analyzed and synthesized nurses’ competencies, assessment instruments and the training described in the included studies.ResultsA total of 27 competency domains were identified following an analysis and summary. The most frequently cited domains were communication skills, self-protection skills, basic knowledge of a public health emergency, laws and ethics and the capacity for organizational collaboration. The Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tool and the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire were the most commonly used tools for assessing competencies. Most training was conducted online and the content that was covered varied by country.ConclusionsGiven the significant roles and responsibilities of nurses in public health emergencies, knowing the domains of their competencies is essential to evaluating, developing, and conducting clinical training.

PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS INFORMATION QUESTIONNAIRE AMONG NURSES IN MALAYSIA.

Background: Nurses' knowledge, skills and competencies are paramount for their preparedness to respond to emergency situations. This paper aims to test the psychometric properties and to determine the factor structure of the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) among nurses in Malaysia. Methods: There were 418 nurses in Sabah, Malaysia participated in this study. Besides, EPIQ, The Nurse Assessment of Readiness scale and the self-regulation scale were used to the validity of EPIQ. Results: The study revealed that the nine dimensions of EPIQ demonstrated very good reliability and construct validity. All the items showed good intercorrelation. The result of Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed a 3-factor solution model of EPIQ. The first factor was recategorized into four sub-factor due to the large number of the items loaded in this factor. Conclusions: The findings revealed that the EPIQ has strong psychometric properties. This scale can be used to measure nurses' preparedness in managing the emergency event in Malaysia.

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness Amongst Emergency Medicine Residents in Singapore

Introduction:Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians are crucial members of the disaster medical response. In Singapore, the EM residency program spans five years, with junior residents (JRs) progressing to senior residents (SRs) in three years after passing the MRCEM exam or its local equivalent. This study aims to assess the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions toward disaster medicine among EM residents in Singapore.Method:A cross-sectional study was performed for 90 EM residents for the academic year 2020/2021. A self-administered, 44-item online questionnaire based on the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) was delivered via GoogleForms™. This assessed familiarity through 10 dimensions, with a minimal score of one and a maximal score of five. The survey also included questions on attitudes towards emergency preparedness and preferred learning methods. Data was collected from May 2020 to November 2020, and analyzed with SPSS.Results:The response rate was 41%. Of these, 75% were JRs and 25% SRs. The overall mean familiarity with disaster preparedness was 2.43 ± 0.90. There was no statistically significant difference of overall mean familiarity between JRs and SRs. Overall, they fared best in the dimension on isolation & quarantine with a mean score of 2.91 ±1.05 and worst in the dimension on psychological issues with a mean score of 2.34 ±0.95.Residents felt that disaster medicine was relevant to their practice with a mean score of 4.22 ± 0.98. They also felt that it was necessary to learn more about it, with a mean score of 4.16 ±0.90. The highest ranked preferred learning method was workshop/simulation training (45.5%), followed by lectures (23.4%).Conclusion:EM Residents have a poor overall familiarity with emergency preparedness, however, they recognized its importance and relevance. The preferred formats of learning were simulation/workshop training. More must be done to improve the overall competency of EM residents in disaster medical response.

Assessing Knowledge, Attitudes, and Perceptions of Medical Students Toward Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Medicine in Singapore.

Despite rising incidences of global disasters, basic principles of disaster medicine training are barely taught in Singapore's 3 medical schools. The aim of this study was to evaluate the current levels of emergency preparedness, attitudes, and perceptions of disaster medicine education among medical students in Singapore. The Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) was provided to enrolled medical students in Singapore by means of an online form, from March 6, 2020, to February 20, 2021. A total of 635 (25.7%) responses were collated and analyzed. Mean score for overall familiarity was low, at 1.50 ± 0.74, on a Likert scale of 1 for not familiar to 5 for very familiar. A total of 90.6% of students think that disaster medicine is an important facet of the curriculum, and 93.1% agree that training should be provided for medical students. Although 77.3% of respondents believe that they are unable to contribute to a disaster scenario currently, 92.8% believe that they will be able to contribute with formal training. Despite low levels of emergency preparedness knowledge, the majority of medical students in Singapore are keen for adaptation of disaster medicine into the current curriculum to be able to contribute more effectively. This can arm future health-care professionals with the confidence to respond to any potential emergency.

Collaborative Interprofessional Health Science Student Led Realistic Mass Casualty Incident Simulation.

In collaboration, a health science university and a fire department offered a mass casualty incident (MCI) simulation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate a cross-section of student health care providers to determine their working knowledge of an MCI. Students were given a pretest using the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) and the Simple Triage and Rapid Transport (START) Quiz. The EPIQ instrument related to knowledge of triage, first aid, bio-agent detection, critical reporting, incident command, isolation/quarantine/decontamination, psychological issues, epidemiology, and communications. The START Quiz gave 10 scenarios. Didactic online content was given followed by the simulation a few weeks later. A posttest with the same instruments was given after the simulation. Participants were majority female (81.7%), aged between 25-34 (41.7%), and 61.7% (n = 74) had undergraduate or post-graduate degrees. The overall pretest mean was 2.92 and posttest mean was 3.64. The START Quiz found participants struggled to correctly assign triage levels. Students also experienced challenges correctly assigning patients to specific triage categories. Findings will assist educators to understand knowledge gaps, so revisions can be made to enhance learning in disaster management. Concentration in proper field triage is also a needed focus.

Emergency Preparedness Information among Emergency Nurses and Its Relationship with Disaster Preparedness

Nurses are health workers who play an essential role in disaster management, so the right strategy is needed in disaster preparedness. Management of disaster is an intervention in the Emergency Department (ED) that has an essential role in preparedness, emergency responses, and recovery to reduce the effects during and after the disaster. Emergency preparedness information in the ED has a scope like triage and first aid, biological agent detection, accessing critical resources and reporting, the incident command system (ICS), isolation, quarantine and decontamination, psychological issues, epidemiology and clinical decision making, communication and connectivity. This study aims to determine the emergency preparedness information and disaster preparedness. This study used a cross-sectional study design, conducted in three emergency department of a disaster referral hospital in Padang City. Respondents participated in this study were selected using a purposive sampling technique with inclusion criteria, as many as 61 respondents were selected. A few instruments were used in this study. Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ), which aims to measure the preparedness of emergency nurses in dealing with disasters, and the Disaster Preparedness Evaluation Tools (DPET) ® determine the preparedness of nurses in dealing with disasters. The variables in this study were tested using the Pearson statistical test, which tested the relationship between emergency room nurses' preparedness to deal with disasters and disaster preparedness. The results shows the relationship between the emergency preparedness information and the disaster preparedness among nurses with a p-value of 0.003, with low correlation r-value of 0.373. The emergency department is a health service that provides emergency response when disaster occurs. So that the emergency preparedness information must be improved in dealing with disaster situations becomes optimal.

Emergency preparedness information among nurses in response to disasters

Disaster preparedness is useful to mitigate disaster impacts by well organizing before a disaster occurred. Disaster preparedness information could be carried out by government, organization, community, and individual to recognize the readiness to respond to emergency or disaster situations. Information on emergency preparedness in disasters includes triage and basic first aid, detection of biological agents, epidemiology and clinical decision making, communication and connectivity. This study aims to identify understanding of emergency preparedness information among emergency and intensive care nurses in response to the disasters in the provincial hospital of Aceh, Indonesia. A descriptive exploratory using a cross-sectional conducted in this study. The population of the study was all the nurses who worked in the emergency department and intensive care units. The quota sampling technique was conducted on 60 nurses in both units. The instrument in the study was used the standardized Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistic tests including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation related to the sub-scales of the measurement. The results showed that 55% respondents have a well understanding of the information (mean = 3.36). For triage and basic first aid, the detection of biological agents, communication and connectivity sub-scales were found in well understood with values of 63.3%, 56.7%, and 53.3% respectively. Meanwhile, low understandings were found on epidemiology and clinical decision making with the value 48.3%. The study concludes that emergency preparedness information, namely triage and basic first aid, the detection of biological agents, communication and connectivity have higher score and well understood among nurses in both units in response to the disasters in hospital than epidemiology and clinical decision making sub-scales.

Disaster preparedness knowledge and its relationship with triage decision-making among hospital and pre-hospital emergency nurses - Ardabil, Iran

BackgroundHospital and pre-hospital emergency nurses are at the forefront of disaster response. Disaster incidents continue to pose a threat to healthcare systems by exposing them to an overwhelming surge of patients.MethodsThis descriptive cross-sectional study was performed on 472 hospital and pre-hospital emergency nurses in Ardabil province, in the northwest Iran, from March to April 2021, were recruited by convenience sampling method. Data were collected using valid and reliable self-reported questionnaires, including the Emergency Preparedness Information questionnaire (EPIQ) and Triage Decision-making Inventory (TDMI). Data were analyzed using SPSS (Version 22) software using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient test, t-test, ANOVA test, and multiple linear regression analysis.ResultsEmergency nurses’ disaster preparedness knowledge was low according to the mean score of total disaster preparedness knowledge. Furthermore, multiple linear regression analysis showed triage decision-making, age, residence, disaster preparedness training, working on duty during a disaster, and training organization variables were predictors of disaster preparedness knowledge in hospital and pre-hospital emergency nurses (p < 0.05).ConclusionEmergency nurses who have higher disaster preparedness knowledge have higher triage decision-making skills. It is suggested that the managers of educational and medical centres and professional organizations provide favourable conditions for training and increasing disaster preparedness of emergency nurses according to their age and residence.

Do Contextual and Demographic Factors Help Malaysian Nurses Prepare in Dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic?

As of 11 October 2020, Sabah comprised a quarter of all COVID19 cases reported in Malaysia since the start of the pandemic last January 2020. In this pandemic, nurses serve in vital roles to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. This study aims to explore the nurses’ preparedness in managing the COVID-19 outbreak situation in Sabah, Malaysia, examining the contextual (e.g., participated in an actual major disaster event) and demographic factors (e.g., age and working experience that may influence nurses’ preparedness for managing the COVID-19 pandemic). A total of 317 nurses in Sabah, Malaysia were involved in this study. The Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) contained 41 items and was used to assess civilian nurses’ perceived familiarity with 9 competency dimensions of preparedness. The mean scores of nurses’ preparedness indicated a moderate level of nurses’ preparedness in managing the COVID-19 pandemic (mean ranging from 2.89 to 3.79). The results indicated that there was a significant difference between the nurses who actively participate in an actual major disaster event and who were not active in a total of preparedness and all dimensions (t = 2.79, df = 285, p = 0.006) (except in familiarity with decontamination and familiarity with special populations), across working experience (F(2,291) = 5.09, p = 0.007) (except familiarity with Incident Command System and role), and age among nurses ((F(3,290) = 2.68, p = 0.047)) (total of preparedness, familiarity with ethical issues in triage, epidemiology, and surveillance, and psychological issues). Overall, this study has made a significant theoretical contribution, as well as in clinical implications in the field of nursing practice, by addressing the impact of contextual and demographic factors on nurses’ preparedness in managing the COVID-19 outbreak situation. This study will help nurses to understand the skills, abilities, knowledge, and actions needed to respond, mitigate, and prepare for emergencies during pandemics and disasters.

The Effect of Immersive Training on Emergency Preparedness for Interdisciplinary College Students: A Single Group Pretest, Posttest.

Current standard practice for disaster response training is insufficient to prepare future responders. Interdisciplinary immersive education is necessary for disaster responders to react quickly to the devastating destruction, dangerous situations, and ethical dilemmas, while caring for survivors, families, and communities with limited resources. This study tests the effects of immersive emergency preparedness education on interdisciplinary college students. Thirty-four college students attended a 3-day immersive disaster training event. Interdisciplinary teams were given 6 challenges to adapt and overcome: mass casualty; field hospital triage, treatment, and transportation; water rescue; high building rescue; search and rescue; and a water treatment. A pretest and posttest survey, Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ), was administered to all participants. Statistically significant improvements in triage, biological agent detection, assessing critical resources, incident command, psychological issues, clinical decision making, and communication (range of P = 0.000-0.003). Improvement in clinical significance resulted in a change from limited knowledge to familiarity with the subject in all cases except isolation, quarantine, and decontamination. Preparation and training of health care professionals need to include immersive disaster scenarios that create the experience of fatigue, psychological challenges, and physical stresses.

Nurse Readiness in Disaster Preparedness During Pandemic Covid-19

Nurses have a role to take part in disaster situations. The development of a theoretical for disaster nursing is very much needed, but there are not many articles that discuss disaster nursing. This can happen because the nature of disasters experienced by humans cannot be predicted when they will occur and Health professionals need to concentrate on these activities. There have not been many in-depth studies related to how prepared nurses are in dealing with disasters, given their important role, especially in providing physical and psychological handling and assistance to victims when a disaster occurs. The COVID-19 pandemic situation as it is now is also a challenge for health workers, especially nurses. This study was conducted to determine the relationship between knowledge and nurse readiness in disaster preparedness through the 8 dimensions contained in the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) for nurse readiness in disaster preparedness, and 40 questionnaires for knowledge about disasters. The sample is a nurse in a hospital, active in disaster activities, aged 21-60 years, and willing to become research respondents. The total number of nurses is 66 people. The data collection technique was carried out on all nurses who worked and were active in disaster activities at the PKU Muhammadiyah Hospital in Kebumen. Data was taken through an online recap and analyzed using SPSS 25. The results showed average knowledge is 61.4 with Std Dev 12.97 (38-88) and Nurse readiness 76.4 with Std Dev 6.62 (61-89). The results of the Pearson correlation test showed that there was a relationship between knowledge and nurse readiness in disaster preparedness (p = 0.000). Massive and continuous education process will improve nurses' preparedness in dealing with the COVID-19 disaster

Using Experiential Learning to Affect Perceived Knowledge of Disaster Preparedness Among Hospital-Based Personnel.

Perceived knowledge deficits in disaster preparedness are widespread among hospital-based nurses and healthcare professionals. Experiential learning programs provide enhanced disaster preparedness familiarity among hospital-based healthcare staff. A disaster preparedness education class was offered at a midwestern suburban hospital to promote increased knowledge perception. The Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire was administered to assess disaster preparedness familiarity. The posttest scores after the experiential learning yielded statistically significant results ( t = 46.90, p < .001) for increased disaster preparedness familiarity.

Determinants of Nurse Preparedness in Disaster Management: A Cross-Sectional Study Among the Community Health Nurses in Coastal Areas.

PurposeBecause Indonesia has a high risk of natural disasters, nurse preparedness is necessary to reduce and prevent deaths in the aftermath of such disasters. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with nurse preparedness in disaster management among a sample of community health nurses in coastal areas.Patients and MethodsA cross-sectional study was undertaken from May to August 2020. The sample consisted of 142 nurses who worked at six Public Health Centers in Pangandaran, West Java, Indonesia. Participants were recruited using the total sampling technique. The data were collected using the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire and analyzed using Chi-Square and binary logistic regression.ResultsOf the 142 respondents, 54.24% had a high level of preparedness. Multivariate analysis showed that nurses with higher levels of preparedness had worked between 6 and 10 years (adjusted odds ratio (AOR): 12.755, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.653–61.314). Respondents who lacked disaster training were less likely to have a high level of disaster preparedness (AOR: 4.631, 95% CI: 1.604–13.367). Respondents who had never served as disaster volunteers were also less likely to have disaster preparedness (AOR: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.053–0.616).ConclusionWith nearly half of the respondents (45.77%) having a low level of disaster preparedness, this topic needs more attention from the government and healthcare workers. Several actions are needed to improve community nurses’ disaster preparedness: providing them with routine disaster-related training, encouraging them to serve as volunteers in various disaster conditions, and offering them useful disaster-related information.

Preparedness assessment for managing disasters among nurses in an international setting: Implications for nurses

BackgroundThe increasing frequency of disastrous incidents emphasizes on the need of an instant and efficient healthcare services. This study assesses the level of preparedness among nurses in Medina regarding the disaster management, with respect to their knowledge. MethodsCross-sectional study was conducted among five government hospitals in Medina. A total of 330 (94.3%) full-time nurses participated in this study. Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) was used to collect data. Data was then analyzed through descriptive statistics, Levene’s test (an independent sample t-test), and One-way ANOVA. ResultsFindings of the study indicated an average level of nurses’ preparedness for disaster management (M = 3.37, SD 1.03). The difference found for all the preparedness dimensions with respect to level of nursing education was not significant except for familiarity with ethical issues and triage (p = 0.028), and familiarity with accessing critical resources (p = 0.05). Finally, a statistically significant difference was found in the total mean score of disaster preparedness dimensions between nurses who received training in disaster management and those who did not receive training (p ≤ 0.001). ConclusionBased on the mean score from 10 factors the study concluded that majority of the nurses have an average level of preparedness for managing disaster situations. Therefore, providing proper education with respect to EPIQ dimensions to the nurses is thus suggested to increase their level of preparedness.

To Assess Preparedness in Disaster Management among EMS Professionals in Pune, India

Introduction: Natural disasters cause an estimated 60,000 deaths every year. Although low-frequency, highimpact events like earthquakes and tsunamis are not preventable, albeit loss of human lives can be preventedby developing an efficient disaster management system. In the last few decades robust emergency responsesystems, emergency preparedness, resilient infrastructure and accurate forecasting have significantlyreduced the death rate caused due to such calamities. Similar to natural disasters, MCIs drastically impactthe healthcare system and society at large.Emergency medical services (EMS) professionals play a pivotal role during disasters, mass casualty incidentsetc. and are an integral part of disaster management apparatus. The level of awareness and preparednessamongst EMPs with regards to disaster management is primordial. The areas requiring improvement includeskillset training strategic and operational planning and familiarity with the emergency preparedness indisaster management. Designing an effective training program for Indian EMS professionals, would requirea thorough understanding of the baseline level of preparedness among them.Objective: To assess preparedness in disaster management among Emergency Medical Professionals.Methodology: The study was conducted among Emergency Medical Professionals (EMPs) employed invarious hospitals in the city of Pune, India. The questionnaire tool utilized for the study was EmergencyPreparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) a pretested and validated tool. The revised EPIQ toolcomprises of 42 items and is divided into eight sections.All 42 items were required to be mandatorily filled. The tool was administered through online mode. 119respondents reverted with completely filled questionnaire.Conclusion: Disasters although infrequent, cause significant morbidity and mortality. A high degree ofpreparedness is expected amongst EMP’s which can only be achieved with regular training and feedback.

Increasing Disaster Preparedness in Emergency Nurses: A Quality Improvement Initiative

IntroductionEmergency nurses are on the frontlines of disaster response. Current research reveals low to moderate levels of disaster preparedness in this population and suggests education as an effective means of increasing preparedness. The purpose of this study was to measure, explore, and increase the preparedness levels among emergency nurses at an acute care community hospital in Southern California. MethodsThis was a single group pre/posttest of an educational intervention. The adapted Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire was administered to all emergency nurses at the practice site to assess disaster preparedness levels before and after a 6-month education intervention. The intervention was novel because the education was delivered through existing communication channels of daily shift huddles, regular e-mails, designated whiteboard, and staff meeting presentations. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and paired t tests were used to analyze the data. ResultsModerate levels of disaster preparedness were reported. The number of years worked in the emergency department had the strongest correlation with perceived preparedness levels, followed by prior disaster education/training. A 16.9-point (23.5%) increase between the respondents’ mean pre- and post-Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire scores (t(33) = –10.27, P ≤ 0.001) was observed. DiscussionThese results suggest that a tailored ED-specific disaster preparedness curriculum, delivered through established clinical communication channels, can effectively increase preparedness levels among nurses with little additional cost. The integration of concise, relevant disaster information can be implemented in any department interested in developing a more confident and prepared workforce.

Emergency and Disaster Preparedness at a Tertiary Medical City.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the readiness of a tertiary medical city's response to a disaster by assessing the hospital resources and knowledge, attitudes, practices, and familiarity of health care providers toward disaster and emergency preparedness. All KFMC (King Fahad Medical City) staff with > 1 year of clinical experience were eligible to participate in a cross-sectional study. Participants responded to the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ), knowledge and practice questionnaires, and a disaster planning attitude checklist. Data about resources were collected using the hospital disaster preparedness self-assessment tool. The overall mean knowledge score for disaster and emergency preparedness was 4.4 ± 1.1, and the mean overall familiarity score was 3.43 ± 0.97. Most participants knew that disaster drills (90.2%) and training (74.6%) are ongoing. Sixty-six (21.0%) agreed that KFMC is unlikely to experience a disaster. The highest and lowest EPIQ familiarity scores were for decontamination (83.0%) and accessing critical resources and reporting (64.3%), respectively. Most participants (99.4%) have access to work computers; however, only 53.0% used the Internet to access information on bioterrorism and/or emergency preparedness. The hospital is ready to respond in case of a disaster according to the used tool. The participants' levels of knowledge, practices, and overall familiarity toward emergency and disaster preparedness were satisfactory; however, participant attitudes and familiarity with where and how to access critical resources in the event of an emergency or disaster situations require reinforcement.

RELATIONSHIP OF KNOWLEDGE AND SELF-REGULATION WITH NURSES’ PREPAREDNESS FACING SMOKE DISASTER IN PONTIANAK CITY

Smoke haze disaster that occurred in 2015 due to forest and land fire caused suffering to about 503,874 people with acute respiratory infection (ARI) and caused death of 26 people and huge economic losses that reached 200 trillion and 43 million people were exposed to smoke haze. The research purposes in this study was to analyze the correlation of knowledge and self-regulation against the nurse’ preparedness in community health center in facing smoke haze disaster in Pontianak. The method used was analytical survey with cross sectional approach with total respondents of 90 nurses in health center that was collected by simple random sampling. Nurses’ preparedness was measured by using Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire. The test result of spearman ranks explained the correlation between knowledge (p=0.036), but there was no correlation of self-regulation (p=0.074) with the nurses’ preparedness in community health center in facing smoke haze disasters in Pontianak. Analysis of logistic regression explained that knowledge with calculated value of Exp (B=3.378) was the most related variable against the nurses’ preparedness in health center compared with self-regulation. Therefore from the study it was evident that knowledge of nurses about the disaster was substantial in aspect to management process of disaster in both preparedness phase and response phase.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of emergency department staff towards disaster and emergency preparedness at tertiary health care hospital in central Saudi Arabia.

Objectives:To assess the knowledge, practices, and attitudes regarding disaster and emergency preparedness among Emergency Department (ED) staff.Methods:This cross-sectional study was conducted at Tertiary health care hospital in central Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. A self-administered survey was utilized to collect data from ED physicians and nurses. The questionnaire was divided into 5 sections viz; demographics, knowledge about disaster management and preparedness, attitudes about disaster planning, current role and practices, and familiarity towards emergency.Results:A 189 participants have completed the questionnaire. Two-third of the participants were below 30 years, and more than 85% were female. One hundred and eleven (58.7%) had a clinical experience of more than 5 years, while 78 (41.3%) participants had more than 3 years of clinical service at the Tertiary care hospital in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Correct responses of knowledge towards disaster and emergency preparedness score was 6.2±2.5. Participants with more than 5-years of experience had a statistically significant (p=0.009) knowledge scale score for disaster and emergency preparedness. Overall, 186 (98.4%) patients believed that training is necessary for all healthcare workers. Approximately 153 (81%) participants reported the conduct of disaster drill at their hospital. The mean score (Mean±SD) for the overall familiarity of the study participants with emergency preparedness information questionnaire (EPIQ) scale was 3.2±1.3.Conclusion:The level of knowledge was satisfactory among healthcare providers with neutral level of attitude, practice, and familiarity regarding disaster preparedness. Follow-up research is necessary for maximizing ED preparedness.

Learning Outcome Measurement in Nurse Participants After Disaster Training.

The National Disaster Health Consortium is an interprofessional disaster training program. Using the Hierarchical Learning Framework of Competency Sets in Disaster Medicine and Public Health, this program educates nurses and other professionals to provide competent care and leadership within the interprofessional team. This study examined outcomes of this training. Training consisted of a combination of online and on-site training. Learning outcomes were measured by using the Emergency Preparedness Information Questionnaire (EPIQ) pre/post training and participant performance during live functional exercises with the use of rubrics based on Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation principles. A total of 64 participants completed the EPIQ before and after training. The mean EPIQ pre-training score of 154 and mean post-training score of 81 (reverse-scored) was found to be statistically significant by paired t-test (P<0.001). Performance was evaluated in the areas of triage, re-triage, surge response, and sheltering. Greater than 90% of the exercise criteria were either met or partially met. Participants successfully achieved overall objectives in all scenarios. Disaster response requires nurses and other providers to function in interprofessional teams. Educational projects, like the National Disaster Health Consortium program, offer the potential to address the need for a standardized, interprofessional disaster training curriculum to promote positive outcomes. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;page 1 of 6).