%0 Journal Article
%T Factors associated with healthcare workers willingness to participate in disasters: a cross-sectional study in Sana¡¯a, Yemen
%A Karuthan Chinna
%A Victor CW Hoe
%A Weiam Al-Hunaishi
%J -
%D 2019
%R 10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030547
%X Objectives Willingness to participate in disasters is usually overlooked and not addressed in disaster preparedness training courses to ensure health service coverage. This will lead to issues during the disaster¡¯s response. This study, therefore, aims to assess healthcare workers willingness to participate in biological and natural disasters, and to identify its associated factors.

Design This is a cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire. The questionnaire was distributed to 1093 healthcare workers. The data were analysed using multiple logistic regression with significance level p<0.05. Ethical clearance and consent of the participants were duly obtained.

Setting In three public hospitals that provide tertiary-level healthcare in Sana¡¯a City, Yemen.

Participants There were 692 nurses and doctors (response rate 63.3%) completed the questionnaires.

Results Almost half of the participants 55.1% were nurses and 44.9% were doctors. The study found that self-efficacy was associated with willingness to participate in disaster response for any type of disasters (OR 1.319, 95% CI 1.197 to 1.453), natural disasters (OR 1.143, 95% CI 1.069 to 1.221) and influenza pandemic (OR 1.114, 95% CI 1.050 to 1.182). The results further show that willingness is associated with healthcare workers being young, male and having higher educational qualifications.

Conclusion Self-efficacy has been found to be an important factor associated with willingness. Improving self-efficacy through training in disaster preparedness may increase willingness of healthcare workers to participate in a disaster
%U https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/9/10/e030547