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How Do Doctors and Nurses in Emergency Departments in Hong Kong View Their Disaster Preparedness? A Cross-Sectional Territory-Wide Online Survey

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 August 2017

Rex P. K. Lam ,
Satchit Balsari ,
Kevin K. C. Hung ,
Kai-hsun Hsiao ,
L. P. Leung  and
Jennifer Leaning
Rex P. K. Lam*
Affiliation:
Emergency Medicine Unit, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Satchit Balsari
Affiliation:
Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts Global Emergency Medicine Division, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York, New York
Kevin K. C. Hung
Affiliation:
Accident and Emergency Medicine Academic Unit, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Special Administrative Region, China.
Kai-hsun Hsiao
Affiliation:
Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
L. P. Leung
Affiliation:
Emergency Medicine Unit, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Jennifer Leaning
Affiliation:
Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, François-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Dr Rex Pui Kin Lam, Emergency Medicine Unit, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Room 512, 5/F, William MW Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China (e-mail: lampkrex@hku.hk)
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Abstract

Objectives

To assess the level of all-hazards disaster preparedness and training needs of emergency department (ED) doctors and nurses in Hong Kong from their perspective, and identify factors associated with high perceived personal preparedness.

Design

This study was a cross-sectional territory-wide online survey conducted from 9 September to 26 October, 2015.

Participants

The participants were doctors from the Hong Kong College of Emergency Medicine and nurses from the Hong Kong College of Emergency Nursing.

Methods

We assessed various components of all-hazards preparedness using a 25-item questionnaire. Backward logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with perceived preparedness.

Results

A total of 107 responses were analyzed. Respondents lacked training in disaster management, emergency communication, psychological first aid, public health interventions, disaster law and ethics, media handling, and humanitarian response in an overseas setting. High perceived workplace preparedness, length of practice, and willingness to respond were associated with high perceived personal preparedness.

Conclusions

Given the current gaps in and needs for increased disaster preparedness training, ED doctors and nurses in Hong Kong may benefit from the development of core-competency-based training targeting the under-trained areas, measures to improve staff confidence in their workplaces, and efforts to remove barriers to staff willingness to respond. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018; 12: 329–336)

Keywords

disastersemergency preparednessphysiciansnursescross-sectional studies
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 12 , Issue 3 , June 2018 , pp. 329 - 336
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2017 

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