Nurses’ Preparedness Toward Bioterrorism and Related Factors: A Multicenter Study
Background: Today, bioterrorism has drawn the attention of disaster response organizations such as hospitals and nurses are at the front line of hospitals’ response to bioterrorism. This study examined nurses’ preparedness against bioterrorist attacks and related factors. Materials and Methods: Thi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Negah Institute for Scientific Communication
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Health in Emergencies & Disasters Quarterly |
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| Online Access: | http://hdq.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-660-en.pdf |
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| author | Vahid Ghavami Marzie Asadi Fatemeh Kokabi-Saghi Hamidreza Shabanikiya |
| author_facet | Vahid Ghavami Marzie Asadi Fatemeh Kokabi-Saghi Hamidreza Shabanikiya |
| author_sort | Vahid Ghavami |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Today, bioterrorism has drawn the attention of disaster response organizations such as hospitals and nurses are at the front line of hospitals’ response to bioterrorism. This study examined nurses’ preparedness against bioterrorist attacks and related factors.
Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 529 nurses from 9 hospitals in North Khorasan Province, Iran. A questionnaire with three dimensions, knowledge, risk perception, and personal preparedness, was used to collect data. The scores for preparedness in the three dimensions and the total score were calculated based on 100 points
Results: The Mean±SD scores of knowledge, risk perception, personal preparedness and the total score were 3.57±11.33, 85.95±8.10, 14.95±29.47 and 37.74±6.84, respectively. There were positive statistical relationships between knowledge and female gender (P<0.001), holding a bachelor’s degree (P<0.001) and receiving bioterrorism training/exercises (P<0.001). Also, there were positive relationships between risk perception and female gender (P<0.05) and holding a master’s degree or higher (P<0.001). In addition, there were positive statistical relationships between personal preparedness and female gender (P<0.05), holding a bachelor’s degree (P<0.001), receiving bioterrorism training (P<0.05) and work experience (P<0.001). Finally, there were positive statistical relationships between total score of preparedness and female gender (P<0.001) and receiving bioterrorism training/exercises (P<0.001).
Conclusion: Findings revealed that nurses’ risk perception scored relatively high, but their knowledge and personal preparedness were alarmingly low. This finding suggests that while nurses recognize the potential threats posed by bioterrorism, they may lack the training to respond effectively. Based on the results of our study, the preparedness of the studied nurses toward bioterrorism was low, and various factors contributed to it. Because of nurses’ lack of knowledge, bioterrorism training is highly recommended. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d5bd10f1dfcb481c971887f16fe80961 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2345-4210 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Negah Institute for Scientific Communication |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health in Emergencies & Disasters Quarterly |
| spelling | doaj-art-d5bd10f1dfcb481c971887f16fe809612025-08-20T02:32:27ZengNegah Institute for Scientific CommunicationHealth in Emergencies & Disasters Quarterly2345-42102025-07-01104271278Nurses’ Preparedness Toward Bioterrorism and Related Factors: A Multicenter StudyVahid Ghavami0Marzie Asadi1Fatemeh Kokabi-Saghi2Hamidreza Shabanikiya3 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Student Research Committee, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Department of Health Economics and Management Sciences, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Department of Health Economics and Management Sciences, School of Health, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran. Background: Today, bioterrorism has drawn the attention of disaster response organizations such as hospitals and nurses are at the front line of hospitals’ response to bioterrorism. This study examined nurses’ preparedness against bioterrorist attacks and related factors. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 529 nurses from 9 hospitals in North Khorasan Province, Iran. A questionnaire with three dimensions, knowledge, risk perception, and personal preparedness, was used to collect data. The scores for preparedness in the three dimensions and the total score were calculated based on 100 points Results: The Mean±SD scores of knowledge, risk perception, personal preparedness and the total score were 3.57±11.33, 85.95±8.10, 14.95±29.47 and 37.74±6.84, respectively. There were positive statistical relationships between knowledge and female gender (P<0.001), holding a bachelor’s degree (P<0.001) and receiving bioterrorism training/exercises (P<0.001). Also, there were positive relationships between risk perception and female gender (P<0.05) and holding a master’s degree or higher (P<0.001). In addition, there were positive statistical relationships between personal preparedness and female gender (P<0.05), holding a bachelor’s degree (P<0.001), receiving bioterrorism training (P<0.05) and work experience (P<0.001). Finally, there were positive statistical relationships between total score of preparedness and female gender (P<0.001) and receiving bioterrorism training/exercises (P<0.001). Conclusion: Findings revealed that nurses’ risk perception scored relatively high, but their knowledge and personal preparedness were alarmingly low. This finding suggests that while nurses recognize the potential threats posed by bioterrorism, they may lack the training to respond effectively. Based on the results of our study, the preparedness of the studied nurses toward bioterrorism was low, and various factors contributed to it. Because of nurses’ lack of knowledge, bioterrorism training is highly recommended.http://hdq.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-660-en.pdfbioterrorismemergency preparednessnursedisasterscovid-19 |
| spellingShingle | Vahid Ghavami Marzie Asadi Fatemeh Kokabi-Saghi Hamidreza Shabanikiya Nurses’ Preparedness Toward Bioterrorism and Related Factors: A Multicenter Study Health in Emergencies & Disasters Quarterly bioterrorism emergency preparedness nurse disasters covid-19 |
| title | Nurses’ Preparedness Toward Bioterrorism and Related Factors: A Multicenter Study |
| title_full | Nurses’ Preparedness Toward Bioterrorism and Related Factors: A Multicenter Study |
| title_fullStr | Nurses’ Preparedness Toward Bioterrorism and Related Factors: A Multicenter Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nurses’ Preparedness Toward Bioterrorism and Related Factors: A Multicenter Study |
| title_short | Nurses’ Preparedness Toward Bioterrorism and Related Factors: A Multicenter Study |
| title_sort | nurses preparedness toward bioterrorism and related factors a multicenter study |
| topic | bioterrorism emergency preparedness nurse disasters covid-19 |
| url | http://hdq.uswr.ac.ir/article-1-660-en.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT vahidghavami nursespreparednesstowardbioterrorismandrelatedfactorsamulticenterstudy AT marzieasadi nursespreparednesstowardbioterrorismandrelatedfactorsamulticenterstudy AT fatemehkokabisaghi nursespreparednesstowardbioterrorismandrelatedfactorsamulticenterstudy AT hamidrezashabanikiya nursespreparednesstowardbioterrorismandrelatedfactorsamulticenterstudy |