Insights into Disaster Management among Emergency Paramedical Staffs: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India

Introduction: Disasters can be natural (e.g., cyclones and earthquakes) or man-made (e.g., chemical spills). Unpredictable disasters and multifaceted damage necessitate that healthcare providers be prepared to manage victims with varying skills and care to mitigate the impact of these disasters. Ai...

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Main Authors: M Lavanya, K Bincy, Roshni Mary Peter, N Keerthana, MVM Pradeep
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: JCDR Research and Publications Private Limited 2025-06-01
Series:Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/20998/76588_CE[Ra1]_F(SHU)_QC(PS_SS)_PF1(AG_SS)_PFA(IS)_PB(AG_IS)PN(IS).pdf
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author M Lavanya
K Bincy
Roshni Mary Peter
N Keerthana
MVM Pradeep
author_facet M Lavanya
K Bincy
Roshni Mary Peter
N Keerthana
MVM Pradeep
author_sort M Lavanya
collection DOAJ
description Introduction: Disasters can be natural (e.g., cyclones and earthquakes) or man-made (e.g., chemical spills). Unpredictable disasters and multifaceted damage necessitate that healthcare providers be prepared to manage victims with varying skills and care to mitigate the impact of these disasters. Aim: To assess various aspects pertaining to disaster preparedness and management among paramedical staff in the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India. Seventy paramedical staff members in the emergency department were included in the study and given a pretested semistructured questionnaire. The collected data was entered into Excel, and the associations between demographic factors and insights were measured using the Chi-square test in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 27.0. Results: In this study, 44 (62.9%) participants were female. This study showed that 91.4% of the staff had adequate knowledge, while 82.9% demonstrated adequate practice. In the knowledge domain, there were no significant differences across demographic variables. However, in the practice domain, there was a significant difference based on gender (p-value<0.05). A significant association was found between knowledge and practice adequacy (χ2=26.91, p-value<0.001), indicating that staff members with adequate knowledge are more likely to practice adequately. Conclusion: This study concluded that the levels of knowledge and practice regarding disaster preparedness are adequate among the majority of staff. Management should organise medical education and training programs frequently to achieve standardised levels of preparedness.
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spelling doaj-art-2c36e227a8934d1585d8d6153bf8b8832025-08-20T01:55:19ZengJCDR Research and Publications Private LimitedJournal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research2249-782X0973-709X2025-06-01196LC01LC0410.7860/JCDR/2025/76588.20998Insights into Disaster Management among Emergency Paramedical Staffs: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, IndiaM Lavanya0K Bincy1Roshni Mary Peter2N Keerthana3MVM Pradeep4Postgraduate Student, Department of Community Medicine, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.Tutor, Department of Community Medicine, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.Professor, Department of Community Medicine, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.Postgraduate Student, Department of Community Medicine, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.Associate Professor, Department of Community Medicine, SRM Medical College Hospital and Research Centre, SRMIST, Kattankulathur, Tamil Nadu, India.Introduction: Disasters can be natural (e.g., cyclones and earthquakes) or man-made (e.g., chemical spills). Unpredictable disasters and multifaceted damage necessitate that healthcare providers be prepared to manage victims with varying skills and care to mitigate the impact of these disasters. Aim: To assess various aspects pertaining to disaster preparedness and management among paramedical staff in the emergency department of a tertiary care hospital. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in a tertiary care hospital in Chengalpattu, Tamil Nadu, India. Seventy paramedical staff members in the emergency department were included in the study and given a pretested semistructured questionnaire. The collected data was entered into Excel, and the associations between demographic factors and insights were measured using the Chi-square test in Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 27.0. Results: In this study, 44 (62.9%) participants were female. This study showed that 91.4% of the staff had adequate knowledge, while 82.9% demonstrated adequate practice. In the knowledge domain, there were no significant differences across demographic variables. However, in the practice domain, there was a significant difference based on gender (p-value<0.05). A significant association was found between knowledge and practice adequacy (χ2=26.91, p-value<0.001), indicating that staff members with adequate knowledge are more likely to practice adequately. Conclusion: This study concluded that the levels of knowledge and practice regarding disaster preparedness are adequate among the majority of staff. Management should organise medical education and training programs frequently to achieve standardised levels of preparedness.https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/20998/76588_CE[Ra1]_F(SHU)_QC(PS_SS)_PF1(AG_SS)_PFA(IS)_PB(AG_IS)PN(IS).pdfdisaster medicinedisaster responseemergency preparednesshealth workforcetriage
spellingShingle M Lavanya
K Bincy
Roshni Mary Peter
N Keerthana
MVM Pradeep
Insights into Disaster Management among Emergency Paramedical Staffs: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India
Journal of Clinical and Diagnostic Research
disaster medicine
disaster response
emergency preparedness
health workforce
triage
title Insights into Disaster Management among Emergency Paramedical Staffs: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India
title_full Insights into Disaster Management among Emergency Paramedical Staffs: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India
title_fullStr Insights into Disaster Management among Emergency Paramedical Staffs: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India
title_full_unstemmed Insights into Disaster Management among Emergency Paramedical Staffs: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India
title_short Insights into Disaster Management among Emergency Paramedical Staffs: A Cross-sectional Study at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Tamil Nadu, India
title_sort insights into disaster management among emergency paramedical staffs a cross sectional study at a tertiary care hospital in tamil nadu india
topic disaster medicine
disaster response
emergency preparedness
health workforce
triage
url https://jcdr.net/articles/PDF/20998/76588_CE[Ra1]_F(SHU)_QC(PS_SS)_PF1(AG_SS)_PFA(IS)_PB(AG_IS)PN(IS).pdf
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