Knowledge and attitude of Iranian Red Crescent Societyvolunteers in dealing with chemical attacks

Introduction: Bioterrorism is a worldwide problem and has been the focus of attention during recent decades. There is no precise information on the knowledge, attitude, andpreparedness of Iranian Red Crescent volunteers in dealing with bioterrorism. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the above-mentioned parameters in Mahabad Red Crescent Society volunteers. Methods: In this prospective cross-sectional study, the knowledge of 120 volunteers was evaluated and rated as poor, moderate, and good. In addition, attitude of the volunteers and preparedness of Mahabad Red Crescent Society was rated as inappropriate and appropriate using a questionnaire.Results: The mean age of volunteers was 32.0 ± 8.2 years (62.5% male). 2 (1.7%) volunteers had good knowledge while 94 (78.3%) had no knowledge regarding bioterrorist attack management. Only 1 (0.8%) volunteer had ap-propriate attitude and 6 (5.0%) stated their preparedness for being sent out to the crisis zone. 116 volunteers (96.7%) indicated that Mahabad Red Crescent Society has an inappropriate level of preparedness to encounter bioterrorist attacks.Conclusion: The findings of the present study showed poor knowledge and inappropriate at-titude of Mahabad Red Crescent Society volunteers in encounteringprobable bioterrorist attacks. Furthermore, the Red Crescent Society of this town had an inappropriate level of preparedness in the field of bioterrorism from the viewpointof the studied volunteers.

Keywords:

Bioterrorism , knowledge , civil defense , rescue work