Abstract

Introduction: Since emergency medical service (EMS) staff members are the firsproviders of health care at times of crisis, this study was done with the aim of determiningthe knowledge of EMS staff on crisis management and its related factors in all emergencybases located throughout Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, Iran. Methods: This studywas done as a descriptive cross-sectional one. Sampling was done via conveniencesampling. The tool used for data gathering was a questionnaire prepared by a researcherthat included questions regarding demographic characteristics and knowledge of EMSstaff on crisis management, which evaluated their knowledge in 4 categories oeducational, management related, professional, and safety related. 4 questions were askedin each category that assessed the knowledge of EMS staff on Likert scale using 5 choiceof none, low, moderate, high, and very high. Validity of the questionnaire was evaluatedusing the content validity method and its reliability was calculated to be 88% via Cronbach’s alpha. To analyze the data, SPSS 13 software and descriptive statistics methodwere applied. Results: Data analysis showed that 100% of the participants in this studywere male and their mean age was 27.52 ± 6.47 years. Knowledge of the EMS staff on crisimanagement was very high in 2.2 % of the participants; high in 10.2%; moderate in 48.4%and low in 39.2%. In evaluation of statistical correlations it was determined thateducational level, attending crisis maneuvers, and crisis committee membership directlycorrelated with knowledge of the participants on crisis management (p < 0.05)Conclusion: The results of the present study indicate the relatively low knowledge of EMSstaff members on crisis management and its related factors, which points out the need fo education and holding maneuvers to improve their knowledge in order to be prepared fo facing crises.

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