EVALUATION OF SHIFTS IN VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TRAUMA CARE TOPICS FOLLOWING A STRUCTURED EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION IN LIMA, PERU adentice@mcw.edu

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EVALUATION OF SHIFTS IN VOLUNTEER FIREFIGHTERS’ PERCEPTIONS OF TRAUMA CARE TOPICS FOLLOWING A STRUCTURED EDUCATIONAL INTERVENTION IN LIMA, PERU

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Juan Diego Miranda juan.miranda.n@upch.pe Universidad Peruano Cayetano Heredia Lima Peru

Carlos Malpica cmalpicac1@gmail.com Cuerpo General de Bomberos Voluntarios del Perú Lima Peru

Segundo Leon SEGUNDO.LEON@upsjb.edu.pe Universidad Privada San Juan Bautista Lima Peru

Katherine Iverson kiverson@mcw.edu Medical College of Wisconsin Milwaukee United States

United States

Oral or Poster

In Peru, volunteer firefighters deliver substantial emergency medical care despite limited formal training. To address this gap, the Cuerpo General de Bomberos Voluntarios del Perú developed a hybrid, multi-day prehospital trauma course with 25 hours of virtual lectures and hands-on practice. This study evaluated changes in participants’ knowledge, preparedness, and communication before and after the course.

All June 2025 course trainees were invited to participate; informed consent was obtained. Pre- and post-course electronic surveys, administered via REDCap, included nine five-point Likert scale questions assessing trauma knowledge, readiness, and team communication. Mean score differences were analyzed using t-tests.

One hundred nineteen pre-course and ninety-six post-course surveys were analyzed. Seven of nine items showed significant improvement (P<0.001). No change was found in believing additional training would be beneficial or in feeling anxious as a trauma team member. Significant increases included self-reported adequate knowledge of trauma care (+0.5, 95% CI [0.32, 0.75]), adequate training for typical emergencies (+0.6, 95% CI [0.37, 0.86]), familiarity with standard protocols (+0.6, 95% CI [0.38, 0.84]), preparedness to handle patients in the field (+0.4, 95% CI [0.22, 0.68]), recognition of room for skill improvement (+0.4, 95% CI [0.18, 0.63]), ability to identify patient needs and communicate with the team (+0.4, 95% CI [0.18, 0.64]), and ability to assess injuries effectively (+0.5, 95% CI [0.28, 0.75]).

This hybrid trauma course significantly improved volunteer firefighters’ perceived trauma care knowledge, preparedness, and communication. It may be a valuable component of broader efforts to strengthen prehospital trauma care in Peru.