Evaluation of Knowledge and Awareness of University Hospital Personnel on Pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Services

AIM: Pre-hospital emergency medical services (PHEMS) are crucial in reducing mortality and morbidity in emergencies such as trauma, cardiac arrest, and stroke. Timely and correct interventions improve patient outcomes and enhance healthcare efficiency. This study aimed to assess healthcare professionals's knowledge and awareness of PHEMS at a university hospital, identify strengths and weaknesses, and provide evidence-based training recommendations.
MATRERIAL and METHOD: A descriptive study was conducted with 403 volunteers, including doctors, nurses, paramedics, emergency medical technicians (EMTs), and other healthcare professionals at Balikesir University Faculty of Medicine Research and Training Hospital. Data were collected face-to-face using the “PHEMS Knowledge Level Questionnaire,” comprising 30 items under five domains: organizational knowledge, scene and triage, clinical intervention, transfer and transport, and legal-ethical knowledge. Chi-square and Fisher-Freeman-Halton tests were applied, with subgroup analyses where significant differences were found.
RESULTS: Participants’ mean age was 28.7±5.3 years, with 58.3% female; 35.9% were doctors, 29.6% nurses, 13.2% paramedics, 10.1% EMTs, and 11.2% others. High proportions of correct responses were observed in the organizational and legal–ethical domains. For example, 96.8% correctly identified the mission of the National Medical Rescue Team (NMRT), and most answered questions about patient rights correctly. Conversely, practice-based knowledge was limited: only 20.6% answered the fundamental principle of triage, 26.8% identified the first response in cardiac arrest, and 43.4% recognized the scene manager. Paramedics and EMTs outperformed doctors and nurses in practice-based areas (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: Hospital staff demonstrated sufficient theoretical knowledge but notable deficits in the practical aspects of PHEMS, which may have potential implications for care processes; however, clinical performance and patient outcomes were not assessed in this study. Regular, practice-based, interdisciplinary training and improved integration of hospital and pre-hospital teams, aligned with national protocols, are recommended. These findings may provide useful information for the planning of future training strategies in similar institutional settings.