Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #106839

Carol B. Isaac, MA, RN, Public Health Association of Nebraska, 4667 Hickory St., Omaha, NE 68106-0366, (402) 558-0755, PHNsNE@aol.com, Bevely J. Hays, PhD, RN, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 321 Lafayette Ave., Council Bluffs, IA 51503, and Sharon Medcalf, MEd, RN, Center for Biopreparedness Education, University of Nebraska Medical Center, 984550 Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, NE 68198-4550.

Partnerships between academic and public health organizations are essential to the development of statewide disaster preparedness training programs. Furthermore, collaboration with communicable disease specialists in academic and public health settings is imperative to curriculum development, particularly in bioterrorism preparedness. The purpose of this presentation is to describe how the public health nursing (PHN) section of our statewide public health association utilized academic and public health partnerships to prepare our PHN workforce for emerging disasters. The first year of the project, a multidisciplinary task force and planning committee comprised of public health and academic experts met three times to develop topics and key foci for a nine-module curriculum, with program oversight and technical support provided by our local university's bioterrorism education center. To date, 115 PHNs recruited from local health departments, community action agencies, schools, and parish nurse settings across the state have participated in the curriculum using a combination of live presentation and web-based training. This presentation will provide an overview of the curriculum but will focus on the expertise available within our partnershps and the roles of various disciplinary representatives during curriculum planning. Discussion will include partnership development and implications for academic and public health partnerships in disaster preparedness.

Learning Objectives:

• Articulate the steps involved in partnership development for a statewide bioterrorism preparedness continuing education program.
• Identify three strengths of academic and public health partnerships in the development of disaster preparedness training.

Keywords: Bioterrorism, Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.