Public preparedness and knowledge about emergency medicine: A study across 6 countries

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Literacy
• Emergency Medicine

Background:

• Low health literacy is linked to adverse health outcomes and increased healthcare costs.
• Effective emergency care relies on public awareness and preparedness.
• Assessing emergency health literacy (EHL) is crucial for public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore public awareness and preparedness for acute medical events in 6 Middle Eastern countries.
• To assess the competence in evaluating the urgency of medical situations.
• To identify factors influencing emergency health literacy levels.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey design using an online questionnaire.
• Data collected from 4909 participants across Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Kuwait, and Bahrain.
• Binary logistic regression analysis to identify predictors of EHL.

Main Results:

• The majority of participants (75.1%) demonstrated problematic EHL.
• Identifying nearby emergency services was most known (81.4%), while rescue services were least known (48.1%).
• Difficulty in evaluating when to use emergency medical services was reported by 39.6%.

Conclusions:

• Significant gaps in public emergency health literacy exist across the studied Middle Eastern countries.
• Interventions are needed to enhance public knowledge and capabilities in emergency situations.
• Educational campaigns should target females, less educated, lower socioeconomic status individuals, and those aged 30-60 not in healthcare.