Design and Validation of Prehospital Emergency Preparedness Evaluation Tool for Terrorist Attacks in Iran: A Study Protocol

Introduction: accidents and disasters have affected human lives and various aspects, including casualties, and financial, psychological, and environmental damage, directly and indirectly. prehospital emergency, one of the vital organs and agencies that respond immediately to the scene and aid the injured, plays a crucial part in such incidents and is a vital link in the chain of public safety that protects the lives and health of its users. methods: each of the two stages in this mixed-method (qualitative and quantitative) study serves as an introduction to the application of the subsequent phase. the first phase was a qualitative one (item generation) with 3 steps: a scoping review, qualitative study, and incorporation of steps 1 and 2 (synthesis research). second, the quantitative phase (item reduction) has 4 steps: face validity, content validity, construct validity, and tool reliability. results: every year, many terrorist attacks occur in different countries of the world and many people become victims of such incidents and their lives and families are affected. the analysis and review of the studies that have been conducted in this area demonstrate that different nations, particularly developed and developing nations, are taking a fresh look at these incidents and are working to improve their readiness and capabilities in a variety of areas for managing and responding to them. conclusion: pre-hospital emergency preparedness to properly manage and respond to terrorist attacks requires formulating and training response programs and quantitative and qualitative improvement of existing capabilities and capacities. the gap caused by the existence of a standard and comprehensive evaluation tool for pre-hospital emergency preparedness in terrorist attacks is one of the main obstacles to accurate and scientific evaluation of this preparation. therefore, it is necessary to design a tool to measure pre-hospital emergency preparedness in terrorist attacks.