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Surveys were sent to all eligible paramedic staff. The criterion for inclusion in this study was that the participant held a clinical or clinically related position, or a position that directly affected clinical outcomes of paramedic care. A total of 1258 surveys were returned and collated centrally, yielding a response rate of 55.3%. The average age of participants was 38.1 years, with 78.1% (n=983) of participants being male and 20.7% (n=260) being female. In the sample, the average length of ambulance service was 10.1 years. Paramedic knowledge of the aetiology of common epidemiologically significant infectious diseases was collected. Results for correct responses are listed in Table 1. Knowledge was deemed to be inadequate if a participant obtained less than 50% correct for the 25 diseases. More than 50% of participants could not correctly identify the aetiology for 8 of the 25 diseases. Interestingly, only three diseases were reported correctly by the majority of participants (that is, more than 80 percent), those being HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and influenza. Poorest results were observed for pertussis, infectious mononucleosis, leprosy, dengue fever, Japanese B encephalitis and vancomycin resistant enterococcus (VRE), all with less than half correct.
Only four three of the disease types were correctly identified by more than 80% of the sample, those being HIV/AIDS, salmonella and influenza. Poorest results were observed for polio, infectious mononucleosis, diphtheria, shigella, Japanese B encephalitis, vancomycin resistant enterococcus and meningococcal meningitis, all with less than 50% of respondents achieving a correct response.
The Chain of Infection outlines the essential factors required for the spread of infectious disease, namely: causative agent, reservoir, susceptible host, transfer mode, entry point and exit point. Around twenty percent of the sample (19.4%, n=244) reported they did not know the answer.
Knowledge and understanding of microbiology underpins infection control patient care practices of paramedics, as with all health care workers. The management of infectious diseases and limiting of the spread of these diseases requires knowledge of disease aetiology and epidemiology. Recognition of the early signs of infection informs timely provisional identification of the type of infectious disease, its aetiological cause and the type of precautions needed to prevent transmission to others . This study suggests poor overall knowledge of infectious disease aetiology and epidemiology among paramedics. Paramedic knowledge of the aetiology of twenty-five (25) epidemiologically significant infectious diseases as determined by the NHMRC [6] was found to be generally poor in this survey. The average proportion of respondents correctly identifying the aetiological cause for a disease was 59.3%. Interestingly, the most correctly identified cause of disease was that of HIV/AIDS, with almost all participants identifying correct aetiology. The poorest result was achieved for shigella. Only three disease types were noted to have correct percentage rates above 80, those being HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B, and influenza. More than 50% of participants could not correctly identify the aetiology for 8 of the 25 diseases. These results may reflect the visible public profile of specific diseases such as HIV/AIDS. Regardless, the results reflect poor overall knowledge. Paramedic knowledge of the modes of transmission of infectious diseases was also assessed.
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