When disaster strikes, there's an app for that

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department through support from the National Library of Medicine developed a smart phone application and web vortal to support the general public and emergency responders when a natural or manmade disaster strikes. A partnership with the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine's Library provided an opportunity to coordinate content development with medical students and rural communities throughout the state. Extensive research included an online thirteen question survey distributed to responders, volunteers, medical students and local health department staff throughout the State of West Virginia. With over 180 responses to the survey, the mobile app and web vortal was designed to reduce barriers with special emphasis on ease of use, ability to tailor to particular situations or emergencies, low storage requirement, option to save content to memory card, work without an internet connection, include evacuation plan, link to emergency contacts, training opportunities, and just in time quick guides for point of dispensing operations. Once the guiding principles were established the content was tailored to the specific populations to ensure ease of understanding and use. The application also provides an area for volunteer recruitment for the Capital Medical Reserve Corps as well as a section where users can select other health and emergency response applications which may be useful. The mobile application provides an opportunity for community members, Medical Reserve Corps, responders and others to have the pertinent information at the tip of their fingers and readily accessible.