Firefighters' and Emergency Medical Service Personnel's Knowledge and Training on Radiation Exposures and Safety: Results from a Survey

Rebmann, Terri; Charney, Rachel L.; Loux, Travis; Turner, James A.; Nguyen, Dominic

doi:10.1089/hs.2019.0086

Cited by 9 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Respondents who declared a high self-assessment of knowledge and skills for mass casualty incidents and disasters, in most cases, better evaluated the preparedness of the current workplace. Previous research on the relationship between self-assessment of trainees and their actual knowledge and skills, disclosed that to a large extent, it is the attitudes and beliefs of hospital staff which impact upon their readiness to work in conditions associated with mass casualty incidents and disasters [6,10,[49][50][51][52].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of pre-training gap analyses and the identification of competencies and skill requirements of medical personnel for mass casualty incidents and disaster training

Goniewicz

Włoszczak-Szubzda

et al. 2021

BMC Public Health

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Background Effective preparedness to respond to mass casualty incidents and disasters requires a well-planned and integrated effort by all involved professionals, particularly those who are working in healthcare, who are equipped with unique knowledge and skills for emergencies. This study aims to investigate and evaluate the level of knowledge and skills related to mass casualty and disaster management in a cohort of healthcare professionals. Methods A cross-sectional brief study was conducted using a validated and anonymous questionnaire, with a sample of 134 employees at a clinical hospital in Lublin, Poland. Results The findings of this study may indicate a need for standardization of training for hospitals employees. It also suggests a knowledge gap between different professional groups, which calls for adjusting such general training, to at least, the weakest group, while special tasks and mission can be given to other groups within the training occasion. Conclusion Pre-Training gap analyses and identification of participants’ competencies and skills should be conducted prior to training in mass casualty incidents and disasters. Such analyses provides an opportunity to develop training curriculum at various skill and knowledge levels from basic to advance. All training in mass casualty incidents and disasters should be subject to ongoing, not just periodic, evaluation, in order to assess continued competency.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The importance of pre-training gap analyses and the identification of competencies and skill requirements of medical personnel for mass casualty incidents and disaster training

Goniewicz

Włoszczak-Szubzda

et al. 2021

BMC Public Health

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“…Training is a countermeasure that can increase self-confidence, and it is the only method with a validated efficacy. A previous study showed that firefighters receive insufficient training or exercises [ 6 ], thereby leading to insufficient knowledge of nuclear disasters and increased levels of anxiety related to radiation exposure. In another study on nurses, those who wanted to receive training were found to be significantly interested in nuclear disaster activities [ 7 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors associated with the intention to participate in activities during a nuclear disaster situation among firefighters

Iyama

Takano

Takahashi

et al. 2020

Journal of Radiation Research

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Willingness to participate in activities during a nuclear disaster situation among firefighters is low. Thus, we aimed to identify the factors affecting the intention to participate in nuclear disaster activities. A questionnaire survey was conducted among firefighter training students (n = 186) and firefighters (n = 410), and a multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify factors affecting the intention to participate in nuclear disaster activities. The percentage of students and firefighters who were willing to participate in nuclear disaster activities was 70.4% (n = 131) and 56.3% (n = 231) (P < 0.01), respectively. The factors affecting the students’ intention to participant were “wish to learn more information about radiation” and “firefighters should actively work in a nuclear disaster.” Meanwhile, the factors affecting the firefighters’ intention to work were “have self-confidence during nuclear disaster activities,” “participate if there is an incentive,” “unable to get a family member to understand the need to participate in a nuclear disaster activity,” and marital status. A student’s decision might be strongly connected to social norms about participating in nuclear disaster activities. The willingness to participate in nuclear disaster activities among firefighters might be improved by facilitating activities that can build their self-confidence, providing sufficient incentives, and helping their families understand their work. Therefore, not only direct education for responders but also educational activities for the general public and their families are essential.

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“…This study found that first responders’ knowledge of radiation exposure and prevention is insufficient. In particular, more than 64% of the 433 first responders who participated in the survey said they had zero hours of training in responding to a dirty bomb ( Rebmann et al 2019 ). An earlier survey conducted by Reilly et al (2007) found that a mere 30% of Emergency Medical Service (EMS) professionals had been trained in radiological terrorism.…”

Section: Potential For Increased Cost To Remediate Due To Deficient R...mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Gap in Insurance Liability for Blood and Research Gamma Irradiators

et al. 2023

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In 2019, a federal contractor accidently breached a 2,900 Ci 137 Cs sealed source while decommissioning it from a University of Washington research building, releasing a single digit curie of its contents. This event contaminated 13 people as well as all seven floors of the research building, which housed the radiation source. Estimates for clean-up costs and lost revenue exceeded $150 million. The magnitude of this cost prompted licensees in possession of such radioactive sources to question whether their insurance coverage is adequate to cover a large-scale incident and if coverage for such exposure even exists. In this article, we identify potential gaps in commercially available insurance policies by evaluating and assessing associated risks, damages, and accountability. While insurance can mitigate the expense associated with remediation, it is unlikely that sufficient limits would exist to fully protect healthcare institutions from direct financial liability in the event that their radioactive sources are implicated in a nuclear, chemical, biological, or radiological (NCBR) (sometimes called CBRN in other literature) mass contamination event. This paper seeks to outline how the risks and liability to healthcare institutions having such gamma irradiators can be reduced significantly by removing them rather than seeking to insure against the cost of remediation in the event of a leak and/or mass contamination. As such, licensees are encouraged to check their policies for the correct coverage and make sure any coverage restriction is removed from their policies. In addition, licensees are also encouraged to explore financial incentives offered by the US government programs to not only dispose of their present gamma irradiator sources at no cost but also to provide financial support to replace them with alternative technologies.

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Firefighters' and Emergency Medical Service Personnel's Knowledge and Training on Radiation Exposures and Safety: Results from a Survey

Cited by 9 publications

References 25 publications

The importance of pre-training gap analyses and the identification of competencies and skill requirements of medical personnel for mass casualty incidents and disaster training

The importance of pre-training gap analyses and the identification of competencies and skill requirements of medical personnel for mass casualty incidents and disaster training

Factors associated with the intention to participate in activities during a nuclear disaster situation among firefighters

The Gap in Insurance Liability for Blood and Research Gamma Irradiators

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