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

Abstract #121615

Kristine Qureshi, RN, DNSc¹, Robyn R.M. Gershon, MHS DrPH², Martin Sherman, PhD³, Eric Gebbie, MA, MIA⁴, Michael McCollum, BA⁵, and Stephen S. Morse, PhD⁵. (1) School of Nursing, Adelphi University, 1 South Avenue, Garden City, NY 11530, 516.877.4568, qureshi@adelphi.edu, (2) Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health, 600 west 168th st, 4th floor, New York, NY 10032, (3) Loyola College, 4501 North Charles Street, 222-B Batty Hall, Baltimore, MD 21210-2699, (4) Center for Public Health Preparedness, SUNY-Albany School of Public Health, One University Place, Rensselaer, NY 12144, (5) Center for Public Health Preparedness, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, 722 West 168th St., New York, NY 10032

This presentation will discuss the final results of a survey of healthcare workers (HCW) (N=6,428) from 47 healthcare facilities (hospitals, long term care facilities and community health centers) in the New York City metropolitan region that aimed to determine their ability and willingness to report to work during catastrophic events. Respondents were provided with seven different catastrophic disaster scenarios and asked about ability and willingness to report to duty for each. We found that both ability and willingness varied by type of event, and overall, the findings were consistent across all types and sizes of facilities. Respondents reported a greater ability to report for mass casualty incidents (MCI) (83%), environmental disasters (81%), and chemical incidents (71%), and less ability during a smallpox epidemic (69%), radiological event (64%), SARS outbreak (64%), or severe snow storm (49%). Respondents were most willing to report during a snow storm (80%), MCI (86%), and environmental disaster (84%), and least willing during a smallpox epidemic (61%), chemical terrorist event (68%), radiological event (57%), and SARS outbreak (48%). The following factors were found to lower the likelihood of respondents' ability to report to duty during a catastrophic disaster (P<.05): female gender, childcare or eldercare obligations, personal health issues, and lack of transportation. The following factors were found to lower the likelihood of being willing to report to duty during a catastrophic disaster (P<.05): female gender, childcare and eldercare obligations. Interestingly, marriage to a first responder increased the likelihood of being both able and willing to report. After controlling for age, gender, childcare and eldercare obligations, as an occupational group, physicians and EMT's were significantly more likely to be both able and willing to report. Many of the reported barriers that were identified are amenable to intervention.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe three common barriers for healthcare workers willingness to report to duty during catastrophic events
• Describe three common barriers for healthcare workers ability to report to duty during catastrophic events
• List and explain three strategies that may help address barriers for healthcare workers ability and willingness to report to duty during a catastrophic event

Keywords: Emergency, Disasters

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.