Barriers affecting disaster response times by state public health preparedness agencies, 2007-2008

The ability to notify and assemble staff in order to begin the decision-making process is critical in an emergency. To identify barriers to a timely response, qualitative analysis of 2007 and 2008 state health agencies' emergency preparedness data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was conducted. Of 794 events reported by PHEP program directors 57 (7%) events did not meet the recommended time to notify or assemble and twenty-four states out of 50 states reported at least one event in which they did not meet the recommendation. Three barriers to a timely response were identified: channels of communication, the organization and staff. Barriers related to channels of communication and the organization, once identified, were reduced or eliminated whereas barriers controlled by individual staff increased slightly in the two year time period. Having staff wired and monitoring their cell phones and Blackberries 24/7 was the principal barrier to a timely response and training staff on how to respond to a notification was a second barrier. These findings demonstrate practical implications for reducing disaster response times. By understanding what contributes to an effective response, state and federal government can target resources to assist in reducing response time.