142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Pandemic preparedness and response: A novel course bringing together practitioners and the community

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Brian Fink, PhD, MPH, CHES , Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Toledo Health Science Campus, Toledo, OH
Robert Jelf, MPH-C , Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Toledo Health Science Campus, Toledo, OH
Paul Rega, MD , Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Toledo - Health Science Campus, Toledo, OH
Barbara Saltzman, PhD, MPH , Department of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, University of Toledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences, Toledo, OH
Background: In this century we have had severe acute respiratory syndrome, avian flu, and swine flu pandemics which, in addition to their morbidity and mortality, have demonstrated the threat of a true global pandemic soon becoming a reality. The roles of public health professionals are evolving and in order to properly respond, they must be trained in pandemic preparedness and response. Pandemic preparedness courses in graduate public health curricula are therefore essential.

Methods: The opening course scenario: A mysterious infectious disease emerges from afar.  During a multi-week functional exercise utilizing interactive and immersive role-play, game-like feedback mechanisms, and direct challenges, public health students must prepare for a pandemic threat as it approaches.  Students were placed in roles of authority and responsibility, with an emphasis on the Incident Command System, where their decisions had measurable results on their simulated counties. The first course iteration in Spring 2014 will be evaluated by students and recommended changes will be applied to future course offerings.                                       

Conclusions: Public health students must be trained in pandemic preparedness and response. They must know how to collaborate with professionals and make quick, informed decisions during a crisis.  As the American healthcare paradigm evolves, future public health professionals must be well-prepared to accept currently non-traditional roles to truly improve the health and well-being of populations.  Placing public health students in roles of authority and responsibility, where their decisions have measurable effects on their simulated communities, will help prepare them for real world applications of abstract concepts.

Learning Areas:

Basic medical science applied in public health
Clinical medicine applied in public health
Other professions or practice related to public health
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control

Learning Objectives:
Design an evidence-based and practical curriculum of pandemic preparedness and response using a variety of training methods, for graduate-level public health, medical, nursing, and physician assistant students. Design simulation lab exercises, tabletop exercises, and additional training scenarios that allow public health students to collaborate with physicians and other health care professionals. Demonstrate the need of public health students and professionals to collaborate with health professionals, government officials, military, schools, and others. Evaluate the course post-implementation based on student feedback first and faculty feedback second.

Keyword(s): Emergency Preparedness, Public Health Curricula & Competencies

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have taught pandemic influenza scenarios in one of my classes for the past three years with Dr. Paul Rega. These scenarios were published in Public Health Nursing and the data collected during their implementation plus student interest helped in the design of this complete course. I have FEMA certification in both Incident Command System and National Incident Management System and have taught infectious disease epidemiology for the past eight years.
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.

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