@article{ref1,
title="Nuclear disaster preparedness level of medical responders in Pakistan",
journal="Journal of nuclear medicine technology",
year="2020",
author="Shah, Nadeem Ahmad and Shahzad, Naeem and Afzal, Muhammad Sohail",
volume="ePub",
number="ePub",
pages="ePub-ePub",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Pakistan is a nuclear capable country in the region sharing borders with two other nuclear powers i.e., India in the East and China in the North East. This  makes the area a &quot;nuclear flash point&quot;. It is therefore, imperative to have  commensurating health care facilities to meet any eventualities. Although, Pakistan  is trying to improve medical facilities for the people, but medical setup is already  overwhelmed by patients because of large population of the country. The study was  conducted to evaluate the level of awareness/preparedness of medical responders  against nuclear/radiological disasters in public hospitals in major cities of  Pakistan. <br><br>METHODS: A detailed questionnaire survey covering all the different  aspects of the study was designed and discussed with the most concerned people in  the field of medicine, nuclear sciences and disaster management in Pakistan. It was  adopted based on the early studies on the subject with necessary modification to  fulfill the requirements at Pakistan's level. Semi-structured interviews were also  conducted with key personnel of different response agencies in Pakistan. <br><br>RESULTS: A  total of 554 surveys were completed and collected from medical providers in  different hospitals across the country. Medical responders included doctors, nurses  and medical assistants from emergency and non-emergency departments. The medical  responders were aware about the catastrophic consequences of nuclear disaster and  were found willing to respond to these kinds of disasters voluntarily, but they were  not satisfied with their level of preparedness/awareness about nuclear/radiological  disasters. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Although medical responders had good educational background  and knowledge in their specific fields and were found quite active and energetic in  response against conventional injuries and natural disasters but in order to  effectively respond to nuclear/radiological disasters a dire need was felt to  enhance their level of knowledge/preparedness against unconventional  disasters/injuries.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0091-4916",
doi="10.2967/jnmt.120.252577",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.2967/jnmt.120.252577"
}