Evaluating the Disaster Triage Knowledge of Nurses Personnel in Public Hospitals of Ilam

Abstract

Background: Educational planning and managing critical situations of accidents and disasters are among the most important issues. Triage, which means the classification of patients and injuries based on specific situations and needs, is one of the important tasks of hospitals at times of disasters. In this study, triage knowledge and practice of nurses working in hospitals affiliated to Ilam University of Medical Sciences are evaluated. Materials and Methods: This is a cross-sectional and analytic study conducted in 2017. The statistical population comprised all nurses working in Ilam Medical Sciences hospitals. Using Cochran's formula, 174 people were sampled and 160 of them completed the study questionnaires and returned them. The main tool of collecting data was a researcher-made questionnaire based on Canadian triage scale. Validity of the questionnaire was assessed by 10 members of the Ilam University of Medical Sciences. The reliability of the questionnaire was between 0.83 and 0.89 using Cronbach α coefficient. The obtained data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS. Results:The Mean±SD duration of nurses' working in the emergency department was 5.2±3.4 years, of which 46.2% had an experience of using triage. The Mean±SD score of nurses' knowledge and practice of triage were respectively 10.44±2.11 and 9.22±2.14 out of 15. There was no significant relationship between work experience, gender and age with knowledge and practice of triage, but there was a significant relationship between knowledge and practice of nurses about triage with nursing educational degree. Conclusion:The level of nurses' knowledge and practice of triage in hospitals of Ilam University of Medical Sciences is moderate.

The knowledge of triage system in disaster among emergency medical service personnel at Saudi Red Crescent Authority in Riyadh city stations

“…Moreover, the results from the present study reveal that the levels of triage knowledge of EMS personnel did not differ significantly based on age and work experience. This is consistent with the findings of Asgari et al (2018). However, this result contradicts the findings of Sedaghat et al , which might reflect the role of continuous education and training (Sedaghat et al , 2012).…”

“…The findings from this study revealed that the average knowledge level on the START triage was lower than newly enrolled first-year medical students in the University of North Carolina in the United States as pointed out by Sapp et al (12.6 ± 19.58% out of 15) and nurses working in hospitals of Ilam University of Medical Sciences in Iran as pointed out by Asgari et al (10.4 ± 2.11 out of 15) (Sapp et al , 2010; Asgari et al , 2018). On the other hand, field EMS personnel in this study have a higher average knowledge level than EMS personnel in North Khuzestan in Iran, as shown in the study of Sedaghat et al (5.69 ± 2.5 out of 15) (Sedaghat et al , 2012).…”

“…Inadequate to moderate triage knowledge among EMS personnel is not restricted to this study. It has been documented by numerous studies across several countries (Sarikaya et al , 2004; Sedaghat et al , 2012; Mirhaghi and Roudbari, 2017; Kerie et al , 2018; Duko et al , 2019; Chen et al , 2003; Rahmati et al , 2013; Phukubye et al , 2019; Fry and Burr, 2001; Göransson et al , 2005; Asgari et al , 2018; Sherafat et al , 2019).…”

“…Furthermore, Sedaghat et al and Asgari et al showed that nurses' education affected their knowledge and performance on prehospital triage (Sedaghat et al , 2012; Asgari et al , 2018). A study by Pouraghaei et al demonstrated that educational training of prehospital triage before the disasters indeed improved EMS personnel knowledge and practices and thus led to a decrease in performance errors and hospital overcrowding (Pouraghaei et al , 2017).…”

Knowledge of triage and its correlated factors among Emergency Department Nurses

“…In addition, (Afaya et al, 2017;Aloyce et al, 2014), who found that many nurses were informed about triage, agreed with the current study's findings. Additionally, (Asgari et al, 2018) discovered that nurses had modest knowledge of triage.…”