Survey of physicians' knowledge, Knowledge, attitude, practice and organizational readiness of general physicians in dealing with bioterrorism attacks in Shemiranat in 2020

Bioterrorism is an important health issue worldwide and physicians play an important role in managing victims when such events occur. Therefore, the present study was conducted to determine the knowledge, attitude, practice and organizational readiness of physicians in dealing with bioterrorism attacks.

The present cross-sectional study was conducted among all 50 physicians working in Shemiranat health center in 2020. A researcher-made questionnaire including five sections: demographics, knowledge, attitude, performance, and organizational readiness was used. The validity of questionnaire was confirmed by faculty members of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences and its reliability was assessed through Cronbach's alpha test in four areas of knowledge, attitude, performance and organizational readiness. SPSS software version 21 was used for data analysis. Ethical considerations were observed in all stages of the study.

Knowledge of physicians in our study was desirable (94%) (the highest share: scope and nature of bioterrorism 70%). Most physicians showed a good and excellent attitude in dealing with bioterrorism attacks (maximum share: emotional domain 96%), and 94% of them reported good performance and at the same time found the necessary platform to deal with bioterrorism attacks. There was a statistically significant relationship between service performance (p= 0.031) and organizational readiness with age (p= 0.001).

The results of this study can be helpful in managing health managers in educational interventions in order to promote participation, performance and integration of frontline forces against bioterrorism in the community.