Evaluation of site triage knowledge levels of disaster and emergency response personnel

This study aimed to evaluate the knowledge levels of Hatay 112 Emergency Health Services (ASH) employees on Triage at the Scene of Disaster and Emergency Situations and the affecting factors. The population of the study consisted of healthcare personnel who intervened with emergency ambulances affiliated with the 112 Provincial Ambulance Service Chief Physician in Hatay province. Data were collected between June 15 and November 15, 2023. A total of 273 healthcare personnel participated in the study. Face-to-face interviews were used in data collection and the data form was filled in an average of 10 minutes. The "Triage Knowledge Level" and "Triage Skill Level Determination" scales and personal information form, developed in English by Aghababaeian et al. (2012) and translated into Turkish by Aslan (2018), were used as data collection tools. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 27.0 package program. Averages were compared using "Independent Samples t Test", "One-Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA)", "Mann-Whitney U Test" and "Kruskal-Wallis H Test". "Post-Hoc" analysis was used to examine the significance between groups. In addition, "Pearson Correlation" and "Spearman's Correlation" analyses were used to determine the relationship between knowledge and skill score averages. As a result of the research, it was determined that the triage knowledge level and triage skill level score averages varied when compared according to the participants' place of duty, performing triage practice, receiving triage training, and whether the triage training was sufficient or not.