Assessing the needs of key audiences in CDC's H1N1 influenza response

When 2009 pandemic influenza (H1N1) was first identified in spring 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was flooded with questions concerning how to prevent the spread of disease. Before H1N1 vaccine became available, community and individual measures were critical strategies for prevention. To educate key audiences about these strategies and to facilitate their adoption, CDC developed planning guidance and toolkits targeting four key audiences: 1) Childcare and Early Childhood Programs, 2) K-12 schools, 3) Institutions of Higher Education, and 4) Businesses and Employers. During the second wave of H1N1 influenza in fall 2009, CDC conducted a needs assessment to assess the priorities, challenges, and strengths of each audience in addition to evaluating the comprehension, usefulness, and efficacy of existing H1N1 influenza materials. Methods included conference calls with opinion leaders and interviews and web-based focus groups with frontline personnel. Results from the needs assessment showed that while CDC's website was a top destination for H1N1 information, many key audiences were largely unaware of specific resources targeting them. However, when presented with these resources, audiences said they would use at least some of them, especially plain language materials they could share with parents or employees. Other key findings that transcended audiences included concern about the safety and availability of H1N1 vaccine, resistance to implementing policy changes such as telecommuting for businesses, and the need for more information on specific topics such as how to clean, ways to implement social distancing, and when to seek emergency care.