Nurses' and Medical Officers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Preparedness Toward Potential Bioterrorism Attacks

Effects of a mobile-based bioterrorism response program among clinical nurses: A quasi-experimental study

BACKGROUND

To respond to unstable international security and the outbreak of new infectious diseases, clinical nurses should be equipped with bioterrorism response competencies.

OBJECTIVES

This study developed a mobile-based bioterrorism response program for clinical nurses and examined its effectiveness on their knowledge of bioterrorism, attitude toward bioterrorism response, and bioterrorism response competencies.

DESIGN

A quasi-experimental study design was used.

SETTING

General or tertiary general hospitals in South Korea were considered.

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were 45 clinical nurses (23 in the experimental group and 22 in the control).

METHODS

The mobile-based bioterrorism response program was conducted over three weeks in 10 sessions (total of 300 min). The knowledge of bioterrorism, attitude toward bioterrorism response, and bioterrorism response competencies were compared between two groups using paired t-test, and Wilcoxon signed ranks test. Satisfaction with the program was measured in the experimental group.

RESULTS

Upon completion of the mobile-based bioterrorism response program, the experimental group showed significant increases in knowledge of bioterrorism, attitude toward bioterrorism response, and bioterrorism response competencies.

CONCLUSIONS

The mobile-based bioterrorism response program is expected to contribute to better preparedness for bioterrorism response systems in clinical practice. In addition, this program is expected to be of valuable use in bioterrorism education for nursing students as well as other healthcare professionals involved in bioterrorism response.

Knowledge, attitudes, and practices associated with bioterrorism preparedness in healthcare workers: a systematic review

Introduction

Bioterrorism is an important issue in the field of biosecurity, and effectively dealing with bioterrorism has become an urgent task worldwide. Healthcare workers are considered bioterrorism first responders, who shoulder essential responsibilities and must be equipped to deal with bioterrorism. This study aims to extract and summarize the main research components of the bioterrorism knowledge, attitude, and practice dimensions among healthcare workers.

Method

This study utilized a systematic review research design based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. A literature search was conducted in the PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases for peer-reviewed literature, and the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) version 2018 was used to assess the quality of the literature.

Result

A total of 16 studies were included in the final selection. Through the analysis and summary of the included studies, three main aspects and 14 subaspects of the knowledge dimension, three main aspects and 10 subaspects of the attitude dimension, and two main aspects and six subaspects of the practice dimension were extracted.

Conclusion

This study conducted a literature review on bioterrorism knowledge, attitudes, and practices for healthcare workers based on the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. The findings can guide improvements in health literacy and provide beneficial information to professional organizations that need to respond effectively to bioterrorism.

Disaster Response-A Global Concern: Are You Prepared to Care for Victims of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Attacks?

The threat of bioterrorism is increasing in lethality and numbers of events globally. Weapons of mass destruction include devices of chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear origin and are often selected by terrorists because they are capable of causing widespread destruction, harm, and panic. Emergency personnel are often first to recognize and report potential terrorist activities. It is essential that emergency personnel maintain a high index of suspicion for symptom patterns that correspond with effects of bioterrorism agents. Health care providers must have a solid understanding of personal protective equipment for specific categories of bioterrorism agents to protect themselves and others while providing care to victims in the emergency department. A clear understanding of disaster protocols, established communication systems, reporting requirements, and available resources to aid in patient management following a bioterrorism event is crucial for optimal, safe, quality care to be administered.

Comparison of the effect of bioterrorism education through two methods of lecture and booklet on the knowledge and attitude of nurses of Shams Al-Shomus Nezaja Hospital

BACKGROUND

Today, considering the importance of bioterrorism, it may be time to assess the risk of bioterrorism as an important priority. Nurses, as the broadest group of therapy group, are very influential in this regard. General aim: To determine the impact of bioterrorism education through two methods of lectures and booklets on the knowledge and attitude of nursing staff. Practical Aim: Minimizing the damage caused by bioterrorism attacks by empowering nursing staff.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

This two-group semiexperimental intervention study was performed as a before and after education intervention with the participation of 80 nursing staff of Shams Al-Shomus Nezaja Hospital affiliated to Health Administration of Islamic Republic of Iran Army Ground Forces. The study population included all hospital nursing staff in 2021. The inclusion criteria included having a willingness and informed consent to participate in the study and exclusion criteria included unwillingness to continue cooperation and failure to complete more than 10% of the questionnaire by the subject. This study was performed on 77 nurses in 2021. The nurses were divided into two groups: lecture and booklet. First, the pretest was completed by the nurses. After the educational intervention, both groups completed the posttest. Both groups then completed the questionnaire again after about 2 weeks. First, all the data were measured for normal distribution by the Kolmogorov-Smirnoff test. Statistical description was expressed for the variables with normal distribution as the ratio of geometric mean ± standard error and for abnormal variables as mean ± standard error. To compare the means of the studied quantitative variables, t-test and Wilcoxon matched-paired statistical tests were used. The significance level was considered <0.05. SPSS.16 and Graph Pad Prism 8.0.1 softwares were used to analyze the statistical data.

RESULTS

Using both methods is effective in improving the level of knowledge and betterment attitude, but according to the paired t-test in comparison of the two groups, at intervals immediately after training and 2 weeks after training, a significant increase in the average knowledge score of the lecture group Statistically shows (P < 0.001). However, the analysis of attitude scores was performed between the two groups of lectures and booklets, which did not show statistically significant changes between them.

CONCLUSIONS

One of the most important issues in the performance of medical staff in bioterrorism attacks is useful, effective, correct, and sufficient training. According to the results of the present study,bioterrorism training leads to increasing the level of knowledge and betterment the attitude of nurses in the field of bioterrorism. Therefore, the inclusion of training courses in medical centers, especially military medical centers, is necessary and sensitive.

Knowledge and practice of nursing students regarding bioterrorism and emergency preparedness: comparison of the effects of simulations and workshop

Background and purpose

Bioterrorism is a global threat. Nurses are one of the first groups that should be ready for it. College years are the best time to educate these issues. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of simulation and workshop on knowledge and practice of nursing students regarding bioterrorism.

Materials and methods

This was an experimental study. The study sample consisted of 40 last-year nursing students who were randomly assigned to two groups by using random numbers table. Data was collected using a demographic questionnaire, bioterrorism knowledge scale, and an OSCE checklist. Before the intervention, the students completed the study questionnaires and a six-station OSCE test. The workshop group (20 students) learned how to deal with bioterrorism through lectures. The simulation group (20 students) participated in a simulation learning program. After one month, the students completed the study tools again. Finally, collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics in SPSS V.16.

Results

The difference between the knowledge and performance scores of both groups (workshop and simulation), before and after the intervention, was statistically significant (P < 0.001). Students in both groups had higher knowledge and performance scores after the intervention. The simulation group scores were higher than the workshop group scores in the knowledge and the most of performance domains.

Conclusion

The simulation group had better results in terms of enhancing knowledge, preparedness, disaster triage, reporting, incident management, communication, mental disorders, and isolation domains compared to the workshop group.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12912-022-00917-y.