Knowledge of bioterrorism management amongst emergency department clinicians: An exploratory descriptive study

Purpose. To develop a better understanding of the personal readiness of Emergency Department (ED) staff and senior nursing students with regard to managing a potential bioterrorism incident.;Findings. Universally a low level of awareness and knowledge was found in all groups. Only one knowledge-influencing factor was found. The factor, internal awareness, comprised of the participant self-report on personal and ED preparedness for a bioterrorism attack entered into the model with a R2 of .062.;Conclusion. The sample was not prepared to deal with bioterrorism. This lack of preparedness is impacted upon by the lack of awareness and knowledge ED clinicians have with respect to bioterrorism casualty management.;Methods. A cross-sectional descriptive survey using the Bioterrorism Assessment Tool was conducted to examine the factors influencing the knowledge pertaining to the health care management of victims of bioterrorism amongst ED clinicians.