The effectiveness of an on-line training program for improving knowledge of fire prevention and evacuation of healthcare workers: A randomized controlled trial
Paul H Lee, Baoguo Fu, Wangting Cai, Jingya Chen, Zhenfei Yuan, Lifen Zhang, Xiuhong Ying, Paul H Lee, Baoguo Fu, Wangting Cai, Jingya Chen, Zhenfei Yuan, Lifen Zhang, Xiuhong Ying
Abstract
Background: Hospitals are vulnerable to fires and the evacuation process is challenging. However, face-to-face fire prevention and evacuation training may take healthcare workers' time away from patient care; therefore, effective on-line training may be warranted. We carried out and examined the effectiveness of an on-line education and training of fire prevention and evacuation training for healthcare workers in China by a randomized controlled trial using convenience sampling from five public hospitals in China.
Methods: A total of 128 participants were recruited between December 2014 and March 2015. The authors built a webpage that included the informed consent statement, pre-test questionnaire, video training, and post-test questionnaire. After completing the pre-test questionnaire, participants were randomly assigned to watch the intervention video (basic response to a hospital fire) or the control video (introduction to volcanic disasters). A 45-item questionnaire on knowledge of fire prevention and evacuation was administered before and after the video watching. This questionnaire were further divided into two subscales (25-item generic knowledge of fire response and 20-item hospital-specific knowledge of fire prevention and evacuation). One point was awarded for each correct answer.
Results: Half of the participants (n = 64, 50%) were randomized into the intervention group and the remaining 64 (50%) were randomized into the control group. For generic knowledge of fire prevention and evacuation, those in the intervention group improved significantly (from 16.16 to 20.44, P < 0.001) while the scores of those in the control group decreased significantly (from 15.27 to 13.70, P = 0.03). For hospital-specific knowledge of fire prevention and evacuation, those in the intervention group (from 10.75 to 11.33, P = 0.15) and the control group (from 10.38 to 10.16, P = 0.54) had insignificant change. For total score, those in the intervention group improved significantly (from 26.91 to 31.77, P < 0.001) while those in the control group decreased insignificantly (from 25.64 to 23.86, P = 0.07). After the intervention, the difference between the scores of the intervention group and the control group on all three knowledge areas of fire prevention and evacuation (generic, hospital-specific, and total) were significant (all Ps < 0.05).
Conclusions: An on-line fire training program delivered via educational video can effectively improve healthcare workers' knowledge of fire prevention and evacuation.
Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT02438150.
Conflict of interest statement
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Figures
References
- Chinese emergency equipment website. Fire knowledge and definition 2016 [cited 2016 14 Sep]. Available from: (Archived by WebCite at ).
- Kelly FE, Hardy R, Hall EA, McDonald J, Turner M, Rivers J, et al. Fire on an intensive care unit caused by an oxygen cylinder (correspondence). Anaesthesia. 2013;68:102–4.
- Su X, Zhang Y. Hospital fire risk factors and control measures (In Chinese). Prac J Med Pharm. 2014;31(1):94–6.
- Miles LF, Scheinkestel CD, Downey GO. Environmental emergencies in theatre and critical care areas: power failure, fire, and explosion. Continuing Educ Anaesth Crit Care Pain. 2015;15(2):78–83.
- Song HX. Behind the Fire of Liaoyuan Central Hospital (In Chinese). Labour Protect. 2006;4:26–8.
- National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People's Republic of China. "Guidance of medical and health institutions disasters prevention and emergency response" issued (in Chinese) 2006 [cited 2016 12 Sep]. Available from: (Archived by WebCite at ).
- Bliss JP, Tidwell PD, Guest MA. The effectiveness of virtual reality for administering spatial navigation training to firefighters. Presence. 1997;6(1):73–86.
- Wener R, Panindre P, Kumar S, Feygina I, Smith E, Dalton J, et al. Assessment of web-based interactive game system methodology for dissemination and diffusion to improve firefighter safety and wellness. Fire Safety J. 2015;72:59–67.
- Stone DM, Barber CW, Potter L. Public health training online: The National Center for Suicide Prevention Training. Am J Prev Med. 2005;29(5S2):247–51.
- Löfqvist E, Oskarsson Å, Brändström H, Vuorio A, Haney M. Evacuation preparedness in the event of fire in intensive care units in Sweden: More is needed. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(3):317–20. doi:
- Kritz M, Gschwandtner M, Stefanov V, Hanbury A, Samwald M. Utilization and perceived problems of online medical resources and search tools among different groups of European physicians. J Med Internet Res. 2013;15(6):e122 doi:
- Januszewski A, Molenda M. Educational Technology: A Definition with Commentary New York: L. Erlbaum Associates; 2008.
- eLearning Industry. 5 advantages of online learning: Education without leaving home 2016 [cited 2016 6 Oct]. Available from: (Archived by WebCite at ).
- Dimeff LA, Koerner K, Woodcock EA, Beadnell B, Brown MZ, Skutch JM, et al. Which training method works best? A randomized controlled trial comparing three methods of training clinicians in dialectical behavior therapy skills. Behav Res Ther. 2009;47(11):921–30. doi:
- Golub SA, Arunakul J, Hassan A. A global perspective: training opportunities in Adolescent Medicine for healthcare professionals. Curr Opin Pediatr. 2016;28:447–53. doi:
- Wang Y, Yin G. Brief review on online subjects in online learning (In Chinese). Technology Informatics. 2010;4:159.
- Cohen J. Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences 2nd ed: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 1988.
- Lee PH. Covariate adjustments in randomized controlled trials increased study power and reduced biasedness of effect size estimation. J Clin Epidemiol. 2016;76:137–46. doi:
- Chowdhury K. Fires in Indian hospitals: root cause analysis and recommendations for their prevention. J Clin Anesth. 2014;26(5):414–24. doi:
- Lin L, He G, Li Z. Role and responsibility of nurses in disaster relief (In Chinese). Nursing Research. 2006;20(12):3203–4.
- Liu T. About the risk of hospital fire fighting and prevention countermeasure (In Chinese). Disaster Reduction in China 2006:38–9.
- Lu GD, Xe SH, Yang YJ. On the status and role of the military nurses in disaster relief. Nursing Journal of PLA. 2009;11(72–74).
- National Fire Protection Association International Operations Department. Case analysis of fire in hospitals in the States—review on the fire in medical center in Missouri. Chinese Hospital Architecture Equipment. 2006;2:52–4.
- Zhao GY, Zhu XL, Liu MY, Zhu JJ. Construction and management of disaster nursing and emergency preparedness systems (In Chinese). Nursing Management. 2013;12(20):19–21.
- Feng SH, Meng FS. A contingent plan of a fire in hospital (In Chinese). Information of Medical Equipment. 2006;8(21):69–70.
- Murphy GR, Foot C. ICU fire evacuation preparedness in London: a cross-sectional study. Br J Anaesth. 2011;106(5):695–8. doi:
- Pang H. Strategies in hospital fire evacuation (In Chinese). Guangdong Safety Production. 2013;8:34–5.
- Wang W. Design and implementation of online training system of fire fighting certification examination In: Wu Y, editor. Software Engineering and Knowledge Engineering: Theory and Practice. Berlin: Springer; 2012. p. 1131–7.
- Xue G, Zhang J, Liu F, Sun XT. Duscission on fire prevention system in large scale complex hospital. Fire Science Technology. 2007;26(1):57–9.
- Yuan WW, Wang YH, Chen ZH. Developing contingency plans for hospital fire evacuation to ensure patient safety (In Chinese). Modern Hospital. 2012;12(2):117–8.
- Silva JF, Aldeima JE, Rossetti RJF, Coelho AL. A serious game for EVAcuation training. IEEE 2nd International Conference on Serious Games and Applications for Health (SeGAH); Vilamoura, Portugal: IEEE; 2013. p. 1–6.
- Croatti A, Ricci A, Viroli M. Towards a Mobile Augmented Reality System for Emergency Management: The Case of SAFE. Int J Distributed Syst Tech. 2017;8(1):46–58.
- Maddalena V. Leadership training for undergraduate medical students. Leadersh Health Serv. 2016;29(3):348–51.
- Xiao Y, Seagull J, Bochicchio GV, Guzzo JL, Dutton RP, Sisley A, et al. Video-based training increases sterile-technique compliance during central venous catheter insertion. Crit Care Med. 2007;35:1302–6. doi:
- Schneider M, Evans R, Haas M, Leach M, Delagran L, Hawk C, et al. The effectiveness and feasibility of an online educational program for improving evidence-based practice literacy: an exploratory randomized study of US chiropractors. Chiropr Man Therap. 2016;24:27 doi:
- Siassakos D, Crofts J, Winter C, Draycott T, on behalf of the SaFE Study Group. Multiprofessional ‘fire-drill’ training in the labour ward. Obstet Gynecol. 2009;11:55–60.
- Anderson ER, Black R, Brocklehurst P. Acute obstetric emergency drill in England and Wales: a survey of practice. BJOG. 2005;112:372–5. doi:
Source: PubMed