Evaluation of Prehospital Providers' Disaster Medicine Knowledge Levels And Attitudes Toward E-Learning

Aim: This study aimed to evaluate the disaster medicine knowledge level and determine the education expectations and attitudes toward e-learning of prehospital providers. Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted among prehospital providers in Istanbul, Turkey between February-March 2023. An survey which included the Demographic Information Form, the Attitudes Toward E-Learning Scale, and the Disaster Medicine Knowledge survey was applied to the participants by face-to-face data collection method. Results: Among the 384 participants, 119 were EMTs; 241 were paramedics and 24 were physicians. The mean level of disaster medicine knowledge of the participants was 68.15±14.06 and the mean level of attitudes toward e-learning was 26.69±8.42. Out of all the participants, 200 (52.1%) had a low level of disaster medicine knowledge and 184 (47.9%) had a high level of disaster medicine knowledge. Most of the participants (n=221, 64.8%) preferred to receive disaster medicine education via online. The participants who stated that they wanted to receive disaster medicine education were found to be higher attitudes toward e-learning than those who did not (28.43±7.93 vs. 23.74 ± 8.39; p < 0.001) Conclusions: In this study, a majority of the prehospital providers had low knowledge but had a high attitudes toward e-learning. Developing an online education program for disaster medicine, designed according to current developments and needs, can help prehospital providers systematically prepare for their disaster response roles. Making this education a mandatory program in in-service education can be motivating for those with lower levels of knowledge and can increase the knowledge levels of participants and confidence in their personal competencies.