141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

286054
Emergency response willingness among public health workers: A qualitative evaluation of an extended parallel process model (EPPM)-centered curricular intervention

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Nicole Errett, MSPH, CPH , Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Krista Harrison, PhD (c) , Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Natalie Semon, MSEd , Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
J. Douglas Storey, PhD, MA , Health, Behavior and Society, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
Daniel J. Barnett, MD, MPH , Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Background In light of an uptick in the number of federally-declared disasters and the concurrent staffing shortage among local health departments (LHDs) nationwide, it is critical that LHDs maintain an all-hands-on-deck approach to public health emergency response. Ensuring such an approach fundamentally requires the willingness of these workers to report to duty when called upon to do so. Quantitative findings have supported efficacy and threat perceptions as important predictors of self-reported response willingness among a variety of health worker cohorts.

Methods Between 2010 and 2012, eight geographically representative clusters of U.S. local health departments received a multi-method curriculum, developed using the framework of Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model. In alignment with this model, the curriculum focused on modifying perceptions of self-efficacy, response efficacy, and threat related to specific hazards in the all hazards spectrum among participants. Two to three rounds of focus groups were held after the training was complete. Focus groups were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed for themes using NVIVO8 qualitative analysis software.

Results Overall, participants reported that despite challenges in administration, the curriculum was well designed and appropriate for combining multiple management levels and disciplines. The qualitative findings support quantitative findings of the curriculum's benefit in improving self efficacy and willingness to respond among participants.

Conclusion It is believed that this training or others developed under the EPPM framework have the potential to enhance emergency response willingness and related self-efficacy among LHD workers.

Learning Areas:
Environmental health sciences
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe the components of the Extended Parallel Process Model framework for informing a novel curricular intervention to improve response willingness among local public health workers. Describe themes regarding curriculum satisfaction, self-efficacy, response efficacy, threat perceptions and response willingness among local public health workers to four representative public health emergency scenario categories (weather related emergency, pandemic influenza emergency, radiological “dirty bomb” emergency, and inhalational anthrax bioterrorism emergency) that emerged during focus groups. Discuss evidence-informed policy and programmatic recommendations to improve response willingness among local public health workers.

Keywords: Disasters, Workforce

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been one of the two primary researchers conducting the analysis for the qualitative portion of this research. I have worked in the preparedness industry for as a practitioner and researcher for the past five years, and on this project for since January 2010.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.