Emergency preparedness training preferences and perceived barriers to training among various healthcare providers and public health practitioners in Massachusetts

Authors

  • John Broach, MD, MPH, MBA, FACEP
  • Mary-Elise Smith, MA, MD, FACEP

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/ajdm.2017.0264

Keywords:

emergency preparedness, training, disaster medicine

Abstract

Introduction: Emergency preparedness training is vital to a wide range of healthcare and public health disciplines. Although agencies may try to tailor their training efforts based on perceived need, the topics and methods of instruction may be misguided, resulting in wasted effort and poor participation in training events.

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand in a rigorous way, the training preferences and barriers to training among practitioners in Massachusetts.

Methods: In August 2013, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health distributed an online survey to health professionals in Massachusetts regarding their emergency preparedness training topic preferences and any perceived barriers and challenges associated with obtaining this training. A total of 796 healthcare and public health professionals responded to the survey and answered some or all of the questions asked.

Results: The results of the survey identified important differences in preference for some topics based on a provider's practice location and discipline. However, Community Recovery and Community Preparedness were seen as desirable by all disciplines with more than 80 percent of respondents rating each of these issues as being highly important. Barriers to training were also assessed. Time spent away from work was the most commonly identified barrier (77.41 percent). Travel distance and financial constraints were also rated highly with scores of 65.48 and 63.71 percent, respectively.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates important areas of agreement with respect to desired training topics and points out areas where providers in different disciplines and from different geographic areas may have differing educational preferences. Even within the limitation of this investigation, we expect that this study will be a valuable tool for those attempting to effectively target emergency preparedness training and structure course offerings in ways that minimize the impact of barriers to training.

Author Biographies

John Broach, MD, MPH, MBA, FACEP

Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine and Director, Division of Disaster Medicine, The University of Massachusetts Medical School, Worcester, Massachusetts

Mary-Elise Smith, MA, MD, FACEP

Harrington Healthcare, Southbridge, Massachusetts

References

Schultz C, Koenig KL, Whiteside M, et al.: Development of national standardized all-hazard disaster core competencies for acute care physicians, nurses, and EMS professionals. Ann Emerg Med. 2012; 59(3): 196–208.

Rambhia K, Waldhorn RE, Selck F, et al.: A survey of hospitals to determine the prevalence and characteristics of healthcare coalitions for emergency preparedness and response. Biosecur. Bioterror. 2012; 10(3): 304-313.

Hyer K, Brown LM, Berman A, et al.: Establishing and refining hurricane response systems for long-term care facilities. Health Aff. 2006; 25(5): w407-w411.

Koh HK, Shei AC, Bataringaya J, et al.: Building community-based surge capacity through public health and academic collaboration: the role of community health care centers. Public Health Rep. 2006; 121: 211-216.

Hick J, Hanfling D, Burstein JL, et al.: Health care facility and community strategies for patient care surge capacity. Ann Emerg Med. 2004; 44(3): 253-261.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Public Health Preparedness Capabilities. National Standards for State and Local Planning, March 2011. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/capabilities/DSLR_capabilities_July.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2017.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Hospital Preparedness Program. Healthcare Preparedness Capabilities. National Guidance for Healthcare system Preparedness, January 2012. Available at http://www.phe.gov/preparedness/planning/hpp/reports/documents/capabilities.pdf. Accessed July 12, 2017.

Carrier E, Yee T, Cross D, et al.: Emergency preparedness and community coalitions: opportunities and challenges. Center for Studying Health System Change. Findings from HSC, Research Brief no. 24, November 2012.

Hsu E, Li Y, Bayram JD, et al.: State of virtual reality based disaster preparedness and response training. PLoS Curr. 2013; 5: ecurrents. dis.1ea2b2e71237d5337fa53982a38b2aff.

Stroud C, Altevogt BM, Butler JC, et al.: The Institute of Medicine Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events. Value-based models for sustaining emergency preparedness capacity and capability in the United States.

Ablah E, et al.: Community health centers and emergency preparedness: an assessment of competencies and training needs. J Community Health. 2008; 33: 241-247.

Scott LA, Swartzentruber DA, Davis CA, et al.: Competency in chaos: lifesaving performance of care providers utilizing a competency-based, multi-actor emergency preparedness training curriculum. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013; 28(4): 322-333.

Morgan D, Braun B, Milstone AM, et al.: Lessons learned from hospital Ebola preparation. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2015; 36: 627-631.

Phrampus P, O'Donnell JM, Farkas D, et al.: Rapid development and deployment of Ebola readiness training across an academic health system: the critical role of simulation education, consulting, and systems integration. Simul Healthc. 2016; 11: 82-88.

Herstein J, Biddinger PD, Kraft CS, et al.: Initial costs of Ebola treatment centers in the United States. Emerg Infect Dis. 2016; 22(2): 350-352.

Nulty D.: The adequacy of response rates to online and paper surveys: what can be done? Assess Eval High Educ. 2008; 33: 301-314.

Shih T-H, Fan X.: Comparing response rates in e-mail and paper surveys: a meta-analysis. Educ Res Rev. 2009; 4: 26-40.

Fan, W, Yan, Z.: Factors affecting response rates of the web survey: a systematic review. Comput Human Behav. 2010; 26: 132-139.

Published

04/01/2017

How to Cite

Broach, MD, MPH, MBA, FACEP, J., and M.-E. Smith, MA, MD, FACEP. “Emergency Preparedness Training Preferences and Perceived Barriers to Training Among Various Healthcare Providers and Public Health Practitioners in Massachusetts”. American Journal of Disaster Medicine, vol. 12, no. 2, Apr. 2017, pp. 85-106, doi:10.5055/ajdm.2017.0264.

Issue

Section

Articles

Similar Articles

<< < 1 2 3 4 5 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.

Most read articles by the same author(s)