evaluation of the impact of webinar training in comparison to conventional training on covid-19 risk perception in emergency medical technicians

Background: the covid-19 pandemic has affected in countless ways conventional teaching methods and led to a sudden shift in teaching methods toward distance teaching. objectives: hence, this study aimed to evaluate the impact of webinar training compared to conventional training on the risk perception of covid-19 in emergency medical technicians (emts). methods: this quasi-experimental study selected 70 emts employed at the emergency medical services (ems) affiliated to the birjand university of medical sciences via convenience sampling. the participants were randomly designed into a webinar training group (n = 35) and a conventional training group (n = 35). the risk perception of covid-19 was evaluated using a researcher-made questionnaire (40 questions) at baseline and immediately after teaching. the study data were analyzed using spss v.26, descriptive (frequency, mean, and standard deviation), and inferential statistics (t-test, anova, and chi-square test). results: all the 70 participants completed the questionnaire. the mean score of covid-19 risk perception in both groups improved following teaching (p < 0.001). however, there was no statistically significant difference between the groups immediately after training (p = 0.76). also, independent t-test and one- way anova showed that the mean score of covid- 19 risk perception had no significant difference with the participants’ demographic data in the two groups (p > 0.05). conclusions: the webinar in the form of distance teaching can be as effective as conventional teaching in improving covid-19 risk perception. therefore, a webinar format can be used during pandemics of infectious diseases when conventional training is impossible.