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Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Army Soldiers on Prehospital Trauma Care in Matara District, Sri Lanka

Injury is one of the leading causes of hospitalization in Sri Lanka. The prehospital trauma care is critical in reducing the morbidity and mortality following injury. Army soldiers are one of the first responder categories after a major disaster causing injury. This study was carried out with the objective of describing the knowledge, attitudes and practices on prehospital trauma care among army soldiers in Matara District. A descriptive cross sectional study was carried using a self-administered questionnaire among all army soldiers attached to the Matara army camp. Knowledge and practices were categorized as “Poor” and “Good” taking 50% as the cut off. Total of 266 participants was studied and the response rate was 97.79%. The overall level of knowledge on prehospital trauma care was poor (78.6%). The knowledge on golden hour of trauma, triage system and cardio pulmonary resuscitation was markedly poor. More than 80% of them had positive attitudes on most aspects of prehospital trauma care. Majority (62.8%) had a poor level of practice. They lack practice on first-aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and safe transportation of the patients. A significant association was observed between good knowledge and good practice on prehospital trauma care. A high proportion had poor knowledge and poor practice on prehospital trauma care while majority had positive attitudes. It is recommended to include training on prehospital trauma care in the basic military curriculum which will enhance the ability to act as first responders effectively.