Abstract
Background
Burn is a skin injury that results in the death of the impacted cells. Burn injuries are frequently unintentional and very avoidable. With proper management, the outcome is improved, and the need for surgical intervention is reduced. This article discusses healthcare providers' knowledge and practice of burn first aid and management to highlight the need for the enhanced practice of burn management and first-aid skills.
Objective
This study aims to assess the knowledge and practice of burn injuries management among healthcare workers in different specialties in Hail city.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted via an interviewer-administrated face-to-face questionnaire and video recording of a simulated case of burn injury collected from our skill lab at Hail University and evaluated by a board-certified plastic surgeon.
Result
The study analyzed 119 physicians (mean age = 36.3 years, SD = 6.7) managing burn cases. Of these, 59.7% were male, and 40.3% were female. The mean evaluation score was 7.71 (SD = 2.84). None of the factors studied, including gender (p = 0.353), age (p = 0.970), education level (p = 0.127), specialty (p = 0.871), professional experience (p = 0.118), working sector (p = 0.178), nationality (p = 0.742), or participation in burn management course (p = 0.131), had a significant effect on burn management skills of physicians. However, some groups had higher mean evaluation scores than others. Further research is needed to explore potential reasons for the observed differences in mean evaluation scores among different groups of physicians.
Conclusion
We discovered that most physicians were found to have poor practical knowledge of proper burn management, and most of them had not engaged in a burn first aid training, therefore more courses targeting physicians who may meet burn patients are required.