| dc.description.abstract | This research was set to study knowledge and behavior on fire emergencies. An
assessment of the knowledge fire victims at Kenyatta National Hospital have concerning
fire emergencies and how their actions associate with the injuries they sustained.
The study was conducted among victims of fire at Kenyatta National Hospital which is
currently the largest referral and teaching hospital in the country, where most emergency cases within the vicinity of Nairobi town are treated. Hence this research found Kenyatta National hospital to be the only possible place where victims of fire could be accessed The general objective of this research was to study Knowledge and behavior on fire emergencies. In specific the study sought to find out the knowledge fire victims have concerning fire emergencies, what they did during the fire emergencies, and how their actions associate with the injuries they sustained.
Structured interviews were conducted among 77 patients of fire admitted in ward 4D of
Kenyatta National Hospital, the fire patients in the Burns Unit of K.N.H were not
interviewed as prior promised. Patients in this ward are not in a stable condition and
hence not accessible for interviews, once the patients become more stable, they are
moved to ward 4D where they continue to recuperate. A set of predetermined questions
were used to collect the primary data from the victims of fire. Unstructured observation
was also used to observe the injuries the victims got, this research realized that some
injuries were in sensitive places which could not be observed and hence observation tool only applied where possible.
The responses to specific questions were summarized, coded and categorized using
common themes and phrases relevant to the research questions. The data was then
entered into the computer for analysis using Statistical Package for Social Sciences
(SPSS). The data has been presented in form of relative frequency distribution tables and Cross-tabulation tables.
In establishing what fire victims do during a fire emergency, data collected revealed that
some fire patients loose consciousness and hence don’t engage in any action, however
those who don’t loose consciousness, engage in actions which expose them to multiple
injuries, of importance to note however is the fact that, only the pre-dominant actions the
fire victims engaged in were noted. In the future therefore, the study would recommend
the multiple responses of actions the fire victims engage in to be not emergencies. Hence to imply that the actions fire victims engage in during the fire emergencies directly associate with the injuries they sustain. Ability to respond to a hazard when it strikes is very important, and after the hazard, how one recovers from it is also very important, through recovery fire victims should be made better than they were so that if the hazard ever strikes again, they deal with it better hence minimizing injuries.
Lack of knowledge on fire emergencies make the fire victims vulnerable, vulnerability
precedes a disaster and contributes to its severity, when the vulnerability is overwhelming then responds does not work. The vulnerability cycle is prone to continue unless fire victims get exposed to knowledge on behavior during fire emergencies. Hence the study recommends, through societal structures, people should be exposed to knowledge on fire hazards. The study revealed that single people are more vulnerable to fire hazards and hence recommends an investigation into what happens in recovery for people with no proper social networks
The findings of this project are to be shared with the respective bodies, which include the University of Nairobi, Dep. Of Sociology, and the Kenyatta National Hospital
particularly the Ethical Research Board and more importantly the findings of this
research will be distributed and discussed in detail with the participants in the very Piece
of work. | en |
