Using a toolkit to assess the performance of Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) units

The MRC is a national network of community-based units created to promote the recruitment, training, and activation of volunteers, especially with medical and public health background, to provide emergency health services. Especially during the 2009-10 national H1N1 vaccination campaign, many MRC units assisted with flu clinics. In this and the previous year, we developed, tested, and validated two survey instruments intended to enable MRC to assess and monitor performance and attitudes of the volunteers who attended clinics, as well as barriers limiting participation. The instruments have now been implemented in 24 clinics in 15 locations in 8 states. A total of 1,059 questionnaires were collected. Using the results of a factor analysis, we found we found that the level of motivation of the volunteers who participated in the clinics was higher than those who were called to participate but unable to attend. In particular, motivation driven by a sense of community service was significantly higher in the MRC unit members who attended the events. Volunteers who participated in 2009-10 were more motivated by a sense of community service than in 2008-09, but were less familiar with the incident command system and similar factors. Healthcare and public health professionals reported higher confidence in interacting with clients than other volunteers and were also more likely to be motivated by the importance of community service. The primary barriers to participation, on the other hand, were job duties (60%) and lack of childcare (24%) or transportation (26%).