Zero Hour: The use of technology to train the public health workforce

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) has partnered with the University of Illinois at Chicago's Center for the Advancement of Distance Education (CADE) to develop a video game simulation to be used as a response tool for training public health staff for response to event requiring mass prophylaxis of an entire population. The session will first explore the use of gaming technology to train public health workforce in emergency response roles. Participants will then receive a demonstration of the game to better understand its uses and benefits as a training tool. The game simulates a mass prophylaxis exercise and while not intended to replace full-scale exercises (FSEs), which are costly and time consuming (and not everyone gets to play), it serves as an intermediary between FSEs and tabletops. The game teaches skills needed for multiple roles in a Dispensing/Vaccination Center (DVC) and enables staff to maneuver through routine situations that would be encountered in a mass prophylaxis scenario. Consequently, skills are honed and by the time a FSE is held, health departments can focus on measuring speed of serving the public, as opposed to staff skill level. Because the simulation is web-based, it is available to staff from any Internet-capable PC and will provide health departments with greater numbers of trained staff in an event.