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Response and Recovery App in Washington (RRAIN): A Statewide Disaster Information Partnership
The Response and Recovery App in Washington (RRAIN Washington) and mobile-optimized website helps first responders during disaster events by providing an open, free authoritative mobile knowledge base and situational awareness tools. Previous work with Washington State first responders revealed that they lacked consolidated access to state-specific response and recovery mobile resources. To address this need, the University of Washington Health Sciences Library partnered with the Washington State Department of Health and other organizations invested in injury and emergency health data issues to develop a mobile application and mobile-optimized website.
Methods
A content development team selected resources for a mobile-optimized website. An in-person focus group informed the content and clarified information use scenarios. Content was redeveloped for an iOS app by an external programmer. Librarians led workshops to teach responders how to us the resources within the app and website.
Results/Outcomes
The focus group provided critical, constructive feedback and strengthened the project team’s relationships with informal partners. The primary target audience of first responders was reached through on-site workshops, with higher attendance at emergency management professional conferences. Workshop evaluations assessed participants’ knowledge of response and recovery resources and of disaster information management tools.
Conclusions
With the support of a diverse project team and strong existing relationships with community stakeholders, similar state-specific disaster information projects can deployed to meet first responder information needs. The deliverables from this collaboration will be used by over 17,000 Washington State first responders in order to build community resilience in Washington State.
Learning Areas:
Communication and informaticsEnvironmental health sciences
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
List three freely available trusted resources to use in the field
Name the web site address to access the RRAIN web site
Explain the types of content contained within the RRAIN Washington site
Identify opportunities to collaborate with information professionals to purse similar projects
Describe situational awareness resources available in their regions
Keyword(s): Emergency Preparedness, Disasters
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am currently the disaster information liaison to the National Network of Libraries of Medicine, Pacific Northwest Region and have taken continuing education courses from NLM Disaster Information Management Research Center and FEMA Emergency Management Institute. I participate in academic and community information literacy and technology outreach efforts as a professional librarian with an expertise in disaster literature. My professional certification includes Academy of Health Information Professionals, Senior Level, from the Medical Library Association.
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.