Elsevier

Disaster Management & Response

Volume 5, Issue 4, October–December 2007, Pages 99-110
Disaster Management & Response

Research Study
Emergency Preparedness and Professional Competency Among Health Care Providers During Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: Pilot Study Results

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dmr.2007.08.001Get rights and content

Background

To date, no systematic examination of the preparedness of individual health care providers and their response capabilities during a large-scale disaster has been conducted. As a result, very little is known about what knowledge, skills and abilities, or professional competencies are needed, or how professional competency requirements may change depending on the circumstances of a disaster. The objective of this pilot study was to collect, explore, and describe background data on professional competencies from health care providers who were involved in the Hurricanes Katrina and/or Rita disaster responses.

Methods

Utilizing an anonymous survey of a convenience sample, 200 health care providers attending 2 disaster conferences were asked to respond to open-ended questions about the competencies they needed and performed during their disaster response.

Results

Of the 200 respondents, registered nurses (37%) and physicians (24%) were the largest categories of providers. Basic clinical care (39%) and triage (26%) were the most frequent response skills reported; the areas wherein respondents felt least prepared were disaster-specific response skills (22%) and systems issues (34%). Only 22% of respondents reported that they did not know a specific skill. The 200 respondents made 495 individual recommendations for future responders, including actions to improve the respondent's personal preparedness (23%) and the need for training (25%). However, only 3% of the recommendations (n = 15) actually identified a specific type of training such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support or triage.

Conclusion

Few respondents reported knowledge deficits. Rather, what they described was an abrupt change or transition from their everyday practice worlds that required accommodation in order to practice effectively. Current training programs generally focus on providing skills information. Further research is required to determine if training programs should address facilitating the transition process.

Section snippets

Emergency Preparedness

A key concept in disaster management and planning is “emergency preparedness.” Although the concept frequently is referred to within medical literature, psychological literature, and local, state and federal documents, this term is not well defined. Similarly, emergency preparedness training remains inadequately delineated. Turnock2 best summed up the lack of consensus of a definition of emergency preparedness as follows: “Currently, states are not clear about what is meant by preparedness and

Purpose

The objective of this pilot study was to begin to explore, describe, and collect background data on professional competencies from health care providers who were involved in the Katrina and/or Rita disaster responses. Data obtained from this preliminary study will form the basis for design of a larger Web-based survey to assess the issue of individual health care provider preparedness at the time of Katrina/Rita and elucidate pathways to better performance in the future.

Methods

This exploratory descriptive study utilized a convenience sample of health care providers aged 18 years or older who worked on site in a disaster response for Hurricane Katrina and/or Rita in Alabama, Louisiana, or Mississippi. Respondents either attended the 2006 National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) or U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) annual conferences, sites where large numbers of health care providers deployed to areas hit by the hurricanes. Individuals who chose to participate

Results

Of the 200 participants in this study, the largest categories of respondents were registered nurses (RNs) (37%) and physicians (24%). Other respondents included EMTs (10%), advanced practice nurses (8.5%), physician assistants (5%), dentists (3%), and licensed vocational/ practical nurses (1.5%). Self-reported years of experience in their health care provider role ranged from 2 to 50 years, with the average being 19.5 years (SD 9.5), and the mode being 15 years (7.5%). One hundred thirteen

Demographics

The responder categories in this study are consistent with anecdotal reports. The sample group was composed of experienced health care providers. Because the majority of providers reported 15 or more years of experience in their health care provider role, one could expect that many individuals would have both basic clinical care and triage well incorporated into their skill sets. More importantly, nearly 60% of the group reported that they had prior experience with disaster responses. More than

Conclusions

While the risk of a catastrophic event occurring in the United States is always present, never has an event of similar scope ever happened. The death and destruction resulting from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita triggered the largest natural disaster relief and recovery operations in United States history and created an unprecedented demand for relief health care services.

The objective of this pilot study was to begin to explore, describe, and collect background data on professional competencies

CAPT Lynn A. Slepski is a PhD candidate, United States Public Health Service, Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Gaithersburg, Md

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    CAPT Lynn A. Slepski is a PhD candidate, United States Public Health Service, Graduate School of Nursing, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Gaithersburg, Md

    The views expressed here are the work of the author and do not represent the official policy of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences or the United States Government.

    Reprints are not available from the author.

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