Fire Safety Knowledge and Emergency Preparedness Assessment among Health Care Workers at Three Hospitals in Kunene Region, Namibia

Abstract Background Hospital preparedness for accidents like fires is essential because fire outbreaks in healthcare settings can occur anytime and require quick responses. Therefore, this study assessed the knowledge of fire safety and emergency preparedness among healthcare workers, as well as the predictors of knowledge of fire safety and emergency preparedness among healthcare workers. Methods An institutional-based descriptive cross-sectional online survey was employed to assess knowledge of fire safety and emergency preparedness among 257 healthcare workers from three hospitals in the Kunene region. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were carried out using STATA version 18. Frequencies and percentages were used in the descriptive statistics and Pearson’s chi square test, correlation analysis and logistic regression were adapted for the inferential statistics. The statistical significance level was set at p-value ≤ 0.05 at 95% confidence interval. Results The study observed that (65.4%) of healthcare workers lack adequate level of knowledge concerning emergency preparedness while 6% of healthcare workers lack sufficient knowledge regarding fire safety. The findings indicated that there is a strong relationship (r = 0.992) between fire safety knowledge and emergency preparedness among healthcare workers. The study findings reported that gender (< 0.0001), and place of work (< 0.0001) were associated with knowledge of fire safety and emergency preparedness. Male participants were more likely to have adequate knowledge of fire safety ((aOR: 3.74; 95%CI: 2.016–6.950) and emergency preparedness (aOR: 3.64; 95%CI: 1.956–6.756) compared to females. Khorixas district hospital had lower odds (aOR: 0.354; 95%CI: 0.173–0.724) of having adequate knowledge of emergency preparedness compared to those working at the Opuwo hospital. Conclusion According to the study's findings, the vast majority of healthcare professionals do not know enough about fire safety and how to prepare for a fire. Ensuring a safe hospital workplace requires addressing the gaps in healthcare personnel' knowledge and awareness about fire safety.