Citation

Kut A, Tokalak I, Basaran O, Moray G, Haberal MA. Burns 2005; 31(7): 850-854.

Affiliation

Baskent University, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2005, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.burns.2005.04.009

PMID

16199294

Abstract

The primary care of victims of burns at the workplace is provided by occupational physicians. In Turkey, the routine practice is to certify physicians for work in occupational medicine. The aim was to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of occupational physicians regarding burn cases. A total of 510 occupational physicians working in Ankara were surveyed by mail, and 101 (19.8%) physicians responded. Most of these physicians (n=67, 66.3%) had encountered burn cases within the prior year. The most frequent type of burn was scalds (n=55, 54.5%) followed by thermal burns (n=37, 36.6%). Of the respondents, 22 (21.8%) knew the most appropriate classification of burns. Regarding first-aid treatments prior to triage, only 4% chose the valid items. The mean rate of favourable attitudes of the participants toward first aid of different types of burn injuries was 70.8%. Only 31.7% of the physicians surveyed used up-to-date first-aid modalities. We conclude that Turkish occupational physicians have inadequate knowledge and inappropriate attitudes toward the first aid and primary care of burn victims. With the vital support of the Burn and Fire Disaster Institute at Baskent University, nationwide educational policies could be improved and assessed.