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Article

Emergency Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions of Preparedness and Willingness to Work during Disasters and Public Health Emergencies

by
Mohammed Ali Salem Sultan
1,2,*,
Jarle Løwe Sørensen
3,
Eric Carlström
2,3,
Luc Mortelmans
4,5 and
Amir Khorram-Manesh
6,7
1
Directorate of Health Affairs in Najran, Najran 66255, Saudi Arabia
2
Institute of Health and Care Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, 413 46 Gothenburg, Sweden
3
USN School of Business, Campus Vestfold, University of South-Eastern Norway, 3603 Kongsberg, Norway
4
Center for Research and Education in Emergency Care, University of Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium
5
Regedim, VUB, Brussels and dept of Emergency Medicine, ZNA, Stuivenberg, 2060 Antwerp, Belgium
6
Institute of Clinical Sciences, Sahlgrenska Academy, Gothenburg University, 413 90 Gothenburg, Sweden
7
Department of Research and Development, Swedish Armed Forces Centre for Defence Medicine, 426 76 Gothenburg, Sweden
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Healthcare 2020, 8(4), 442; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040442
Submission received: 16 September 2020 / Revised: 19 October 2020 / Accepted: 26 October 2020 / Published: 29 October 2020
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Health and Safety in the Healthcare Sector)

Abstract

This study evaluates the perceptions of preparedness and willingness to work during disasters and public health emergencies among 213 healthcare workers at hospitals in the southern region of Saudi Arabia by using a quantitative survey (Fight or Flight). The results showed that participants’ willingness to work unconditionally during disasters and emergencies varied based on the type of condition: natural disasters (61.97%), seasonal influenza pandemic (52.58%), smallpox pandemic (47.89%), SARS/COVID-19 pandemic (43.56%), special flu pandemic (36.15%), mass shooting (37.56%), chemical incident and bombing threats (31.92%), biological events (28.17%), Ebola outbreaks (27.7%), and nuclear incident (24.88%). A lack of confidence and the absence of safety assurance for healthcare workers and their family members were the most important reasons cited. The co-variation between age and education versus risk and danger by Spearman’s rho confirmed a small negative correlation between education and danger at a 95% level of significance, meaning that educated healthcare workers have less fear to work under dangerous events. Although the causes of unsuccessful management of disasters and emergencies may vary, individuals’ characteristics, such as lack of confidence and emotional distractions because of uncertainty about the safety issues, may also play a significant role. Besides educational initiatives, other measures, which guarantee the safety of healthcare providers and their family members, should be established and implemented.
Keywords: confidence; disaster; emergency; healthcare; family member; preparedness confidence; disaster; emergency; healthcare; family member; preparedness

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Sultan, M.A.S.; Løwe Sørensen, J.; Carlström, E.; Mortelmans, L.; Khorram-Manesh, A. Emergency Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions of Preparedness and Willingness to Work during Disasters and Public Health Emergencies. Healthcare 2020, 8, 442. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040442

AMA Style

Sultan MAS, Løwe Sørensen J, Carlström E, Mortelmans L, Khorram-Manesh A. Emergency Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions of Preparedness and Willingness to Work during Disasters and Public Health Emergencies. Healthcare. 2020; 8(4):442. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040442

Chicago/Turabian Style

Sultan, Mohammed Ali Salem, Jarle Løwe Sørensen, Eric Carlström, Luc Mortelmans, and Amir Khorram-Manesh. 2020. "Emergency Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions of Preparedness and Willingness to Work during Disasters and Public Health Emergencies" Healthcare 8, no. 4: 442. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040442

APA Style

Sultan, M. A. S., Løwe Sørensen, J., Carlström, E., Mortelmans, L., & Khorram-Manesh, A. (2020). Emergency Healthcare Providers’ Perceptions of Preparedness and Willingness to Work during Disasters and Public Health Emergencies. Healthcare, 8(4), 442. https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare8040442

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