Awareness of family physician residents of their roles in disaster health management: a cross-sectional study in Turkey

Abstract

Aim: Family physicians are role models for their societies in disaster management and have an important place in it. This study was carried out during the specialty training of the residents, who are currently family physicians fighting against COVID-19 in the field, and was aimed to identify the awareness levels of residents regarding the roles and duties of family physicians before, during, and after disasters and to increase their awareness of disaster medicine and management. Background: The duties and responsibilities of a family physician in disasters should be a part of their specialty training. This study has contributed to the limited literature, increased awareness, and opened a new avenue of research for studies to be conducted with family physicians by demonstrating the current situation of family physicians in disaster management. Methods: This is an observational and descriptive study. The knowledge, experience, opinions, willingness, attitudes of the residents, and the awareness levels of the residents regarding their roles and duties in a disaster were evaluated along with their sociodemographic information. The surveys were applied in the family medicine clinics of the all residents by the interview method (n = 233). Findings: Only 9.2% of the residents stated that they had received training on disaster medicine where they currently work. The knowledge level of the residents on this subject was found as ‘Unsure’. In total, 80% of the residents stated that family physicians should have a role in disasters. It was found that 83.3% of the residents had never joined a disaster drill, 94.3% had never participated in making or applying a disaster plan, and 97.7% had never worked in any disaster. Conclusion: The residents participating in the study lacked not only information on disaster management but also experience. The residents’ willingness to receive training, work voluntarily, significantly question the curriculum, and specialize in disaster medicine were a positive outcome.

Awareness of Family Physician Residents of their Roles in Disaster Health Management: A Cross-Sectional Study in Saudi Arabia

“…Moreover, only 9.2% stated that they received training on disaster medicine where they work, the large majority (83.3%) had never joined a disaster drill, and the large majority (94.3%) had never participated in making a disaster plan. Also, the large majority had never worked in a disaster [2]. The findings of the Turkish study were poorer compared to our findings, and the participants in our study showed a higher level of knowledge, attitude and received more training.…”

“…Family physicians had a pivotalrole in their responding to the medical community needs due to the natural and/or man-made disasters [1]. Family physicians had a crucial role in disaster health management [2] as when they know persons at risks before a disaster strikes, they form essential health forces in the disaster management and implement a risk health management on a regional scale [2]. Additionally, when the disasters strike, family physicians are being at the front lines in their communities' responses [1].During and after a disaster, family physicians take several tasks and duties, such as event detection, critical information' collection and distribution, intervention by triage, and rehabilitative activities [3].…”

“…Additionally, most of them didn't have a proper disaster response experience before they are called to respond due to limited disaster training [7]. It was reported that the responsibilities and duties of family physicians in disaster management should be a definite part of their special training [2]. Therefore, more sufficient trainings on disasters management are required for family physician residents because they are being in contact with other units and to be ready for disasters by making a disaster plan [8].…”

“…Therefore, more sufficient trainings on disasters management are required for family physician residents because they are being in contact with other units and to be ready for disasters by making a disaster plan [8]. Disaster trainings help family physicians to take a proper decision and overcome these circumstances [2]. As they could reduce or cancel the nonessential services, home visits, increase the use of telephone, emails, message Apps, and videos for consultation [9].…”

“…Therefore, the current study aims to assess the awareness of family physician residents of their roles in disaster health management, Saudi Arabia. Yılmaz et al [2] carried out a cross sectional study among family physicians who are fighting against COVID-19 in Turkey to assess their awareness leveltowards their role and duties before, during, and after disasters and to improve their awareness of disaster medicine and management. The study results showed that most of family physician residents (80%) stated that family physicians should have an effective role in disaster, therefore their knowledge level was reported as unsure.…”