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

Abstract #115942

Michael J. Reilly, MPH NREMT-P, Center for Public Health Preparedness, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W. 168th Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10032, 212-342-5544, mr2381@columbia.edu, David Markenson, MD, Mailman School of Public Health - Columbia University, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, 722 West 168th Street, Suite 1040 South, New York, NY 10032, and Charles DiMaggio, PhD, MPH, PA-C, National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 722 W. 168th Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10032.

Introduction: The public health system has a specialized body of knowledge and expertise in bioterrorism and public health emergency management that can assist in the development and delivery of continuing medical education (CME) programs to meet the needs of emergency medical service providers.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of the basic and paramedic emergency medical service providers in the United States was surveyed to assess whether they had received training in weapons of mass destruction, bioterrorism, chemical terrorism, radiological terrorism, and/or public health emergencies, and how the training was provided.

Results: Local health departments provided little in the way of training in biologic, chemical or radiological terrorism to EMS providers (7.4% – 14.9%). State health departments provided even less training (6.3% - 17.3%) on all topics to EMS providers. Training that was provided by the health department in bioterrorism and public health emergency response was associated with an increase comfort level in responding to a BT event (OR= 2.74, 95% CI 2.68, 2.81).

Conclusions: Local and state public health agencies should work with the emergency medical services systems to develop and deliver training with an all-hazards approach to disasters and other public health emergencies.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the need for training of EMS professionals in the areas of bioterrorism and public health emergency response.
• Discuss the benefits of utilizing EMS expertise to augment the public health response to disasters of emerging health crises.
• Identify methods to enhance public health worker education and training programs, to meet the needs of the prehospital health provider.

Keywords: EMS/Trauma, Education

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.