Knowledge, Attitude and Practices of Healthcare Professionals Regarding Disaster Management

Authors

  • S H Waqar Professor & Head, Department of General Surgery, PIMS, Islamabad
  • Muhammad Atif House Officer, Department of General Surgery, PIMS, Islamabad
  • Laiba Ejaz House Officer, Department of General Surgery, PIMS, Islamabad
  • Samia Sajid House Officer, Department of General Surgery, PIMS, Islamabad
  • Mirza Khan House Officer, Department of General Surgery, PIMS, Islamabad
  • Zain ul Abidin, House Officer, Department of General Surgery, PIMS, Islamabad
  • Fatima Shahzad House Officer, Department of General Surgery, PIMS, Islamabad
  • Shahzad Rasheed Senior lecturer Anatomy department, College of Medicine, Imam Mohammad Saud University, Riyadh, KSA

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.48036/apims.v21i4.1598

Keywords:

Disaster, Disaster preparedness, Healthcare professionals

Abstract

Objective: To assess the level of knowledge, attitude, and readiness to practice disaster medicine among healthcare professionals.
Methodology: A cross-sectional observational study was conducted from November 2024 to January 2025, at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) in Islamabad. A self-administered, validated questionnaire was used to collect the information from the doctors regarding knowledge, attitude and practices about disaster management. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.
Results: A total of 170 doctors participated in the study, 55.3% (n = 94) were males and 44.7% (n = 76) were females. House officers were the largest percentage of responders (56.5%, n = 96), followed by postgraduates (30%, n= 51). Most of the participants (95.3%, n=162) knew the disaster meaning. However, only 27.1% (n = 46) were aware of their hospital's disaster preparedness plan. 52.4% (n=89) were unclear about the disaster drills. Majority (97.1%, n = 165) agreed that disaster preparedness training should be required for the doctors.
Conclusion: There are gaps in disaster preparedness among doctors at PIMS, as many reported lacking formal training, awareness of hospital disaster plans, or participation in drills. A strong consensus among participants supported making disaster preparedness training mandatory, with a high willingness to engage in such programs.

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Published

2025-12-21

Issue

Vol. 21 No. 4 (2025): October-December

Section

Original Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2025 S H Waqar, Muhammad Atif, Laiba Ejaz, Samia Sajid, Mirza Khan, Zain ul Abidin,, Fatima Shahzad, Shahzad Rasheed

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.