Factors influencing emergency medical competencies of health centers and fire stations in areas that are vulnerable to earthquakes

Abstract

Objective This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the emergency medical com-petency (EMC), perceived by the fire station and health center staff, in the areas where of emergency medical vulnerability where earthquakes had occurred. Methods This study was conducted between December 2019 and February 2020. A proper questionnaire was created to evaluate EMC in disaster situations and administered to the fire station and the health center groups. Descriptive variables of each group were calculated. The Kendall rank correlation analysis was used to measure the relationships between the demographic vari-ables, disaster-related variables, and EMC. The factors influencing the EMC for both groups were investigated in the linear regression analysis. Results For a total of 200 respondents, the mean scores of EMC were 99.85±21.24 and 95.24± 20.05 for the fire station (n=96) and the health center (n=104) groups, respectively (P=0.121). EMC was significantly correlated with age, years of service, job position, natural disaster experi-ence, disaster relief service experience, and joint disaster response exercise (P<0.050). Linear regression analysis revealed that the duration of joint disaster response exercise (β= 0.640, t= 11.696) in Model 1 (F=136.806, P<0.001), the duration of joint disaster response exercise (β= 0.627, P<0.001), and disaster rescue service experience (β= 0.124, P<0.001) in Model 2 (F=72.431, P<0.001) were independently associated with EMC improvement. Conclusion Our findings indicate that the disaster preparedness program with a longer duration of joint disaster response exercise and more frequent disaster rescue service experience is necessary for improved and systematic response to a disaster.