Reaching the unreachable and least prepared populations

Whether considering pandemic influenza or disaster preparedness, a review of post-hurricane Katrina events indicates subgroups within the general population that are hard to reach during emergencies. Oftentimes, such groups may also be the least prepared for eventualities. The purpose of this presentation is to continue the discourse on how best to reach the unreachable and get our unprepared segments moving more towards preparedness. The goal is to get people to think and act before catastrophic events and not to wait for help that may never materialize. Unfortunately, some preparedness personnel may number themselves among the unprepared, as demonstrable by a show of hands in sessions such as this present presentation. In this case, managers and other supervisors may need to play a role in ensuring that such first responders and others, to whom this pertains, have put in place personal and family response plans for preparedness. This would be over and above job-mandated drills and exercises in caring for community during a crisis. But the majority of unprepared individuals may be from vulnerable and special populations, with a number of personal or other challenges that work against their taking steps toward preparedness. What role could a lack of pre-event empathy/compassion play in preventing vulnerable populations from taking action? How can we step in other's shoes for a moment to get a realization of what prevents action/ seemingly reasonable steps towards preparedness? This workshop will guide participants in determining critical barriers to individual/community preparedness, and possible interventions or precursors that can be addressed, using a case study and scenario from pandemic influenza. Much as we cannot precisely predict if or how much time is left before pandemic influenza hits a home-run with an unbearable toll among communities, we have time today to reach the unreachable and get the unprepared prepared.