ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Disaster and Emergency Medicine
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1623868
This article is part of the Research TopicImplementation Science for Disaster Preparedness and Emergency MedicineView all articles
Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Healthcare Providers in Prehospital Care in Nepal
Provisionally accepted
Pavan Kumar Sah1
Wenyi Lai1
Neelam Gupta2
Bimal Singh Bist3Sanjib Gautam4
Khem Raj Sapkota1Bipin Koirala1Ileana Kong1Morlai Sesay1
Ying Guan1*- 1Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
- 2Paropakar Maternity and Women's Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal
- 3Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu, Nepal
- 4Nepal College of Information Technology, Lalitpur, Nepal
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Introduction: Pre-hospital emergency care is crucial for improving patient outcomes, especially in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) where trauma is a leading cause of death. In Nepal, inadequate pre-hospital care contributes to approximately 16,600 preventable deaths annually. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of healthcare providers in pre-hospital care to identify factors influencing their preparedness.Methods: A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional design was employed, utilizing a 35-item questionnaire based on a 5-point Likert scale. Data were collected via an online survey (Google Forms) from 517 healthcare providers (doctors, nurses, and paramedics) across 16 hubs and 76 satellite hospitals in Nepal's seven provinces based on a systematic randomization technique.Data were described with median and interquartile range. Nonparametric analysis, rank Spearman's correlation, and ordinal regression were used to analyze the data.The study revealed that 62% of providers had good knowledge, 66% exhibited positive attitudes, but only 25% demonstrated good practice. Significant variations were observed by gender, profession, and workplace, with males, doctors, and private hospital providers scoring higher in knowledge and practice. Moderate correlations were found between knowledge, attitude, and practice (rs = 0.420-0.562, p < 0.001). Ordinal logistic regression indicated significant associations between demographic factors and KAP levels. Conclusion: Despite good knowledge and positive attitudes, only 25% demonstrated good practice , indicating practical implementation of pre-hospital care remains suboptimal. Targeted training programs, simulation-based learning, and continuous professional development will be needed to bridge the gap between knowledge and practice.
Keywords: Emergency Medical Services, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), Healthcare workers, Prehospital system, Nepal, KAP survey
Received: 06 May 2025; Accepted: 09 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Sah, Lai, Gupta, Singh Bist, Gautam, Sapkota, Koirala, Kong, Sesay and Guan. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Ying Guan, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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