Rural communities face barriers to disaster preparedness and considerable risk of disasters. Emergency preparedness among rural communities has improved with funding from federal programs and implementation of a National Incident Management System. The objective of this project was to design and implement disaster exercises to test decision making by rural response partners to improve regional planning, collaboration, and readiness. Six functional exercises were developed and conducted among three rural Nebraska (USA) regions by the Center for Preparedness Education (CPE) at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (Omaha, Nebraska USA). A total of 83 command centers participated. Six functional exercises were designed to test regional response and command-level decision making, and each 3-hour exercise was followed by a 3-hour regional after action conference. Participant feedback, single agency debriefing feedback, and regional After Action Reports were analyzed. Functional exercises were able to test command-level decision making and operations at multiple agencies simultaneously with limited funding. Observations included emergency management jurisdiction barriers to utilization of unified command and establishment of joint information centers, limited utilization of documentation necessary for reimbursement, and the need to develop coordinated public messaging. Functional exercises are a key tool for testing command-level decision making and response at a higher level than what is typically achieved in tabletop or short, full-scale exercises. Functional exercises enable evaluation of command staff, identification of areas for improvement, and advancing regional collaboration among diverse response partners. Obaid JM , Bailey G , Wheeler H , Meyers L , Medcalf SJ , Hansen KF , Sanger KK , Lowe JJ . Utilization of functional exercises to build regional emergency preparedness among rural health organizations in the US. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2017;32(2):224-230.

Objectives:To develop an educational video to reach elderly Latinos in order to improve understanding and encourage evaluation of cognitive changes by 1) using focus groups to identify dementia knowledge gaps, health communication preferences and trusted advisors for health concerns; 2) collaborating with elderly Latino community members to create a video; and 3) collecting survey data regarding community response to the video.Design:Grounded theory qualitative approach using focus groups; collaborative community based model to create the video and anonymous survey at community screenings.Setting:Community senior centers in East Harlem, New York.Participants:A team of low-income mono and bilingual elderly Latino community residents, researchers, clinicians, and a film professional.Measurements:Thematic analysis of focus group transcripts; three item survey.Results:A collaboratively produced video and initial assessment in 49 Latino elders that indicated the video had a positive effect on interest in obtaining a brief memory screening at outreach events (71%).Conclusions:The project demonstrates the feasibility of this interdisciplinary partnership to create a culturally and linguistically sensitive video to promote service use concerning memory loss and cognitive evaluations among elderly Latinos. Initial survey results suggested a positive response and an increase in interest in memory screening.

Objective This article describes Phase 1 of a pilot that aims to develop, implement, and test an intervention to educate and simultaneously engage highly stressed Latino parents in child mental health services. A team of Spanish-speaking academic and community co-investigators developed the intervention using a community-based participatory research approach and qualitative methods. Method Through focus groups, the team identified parents' knowledge gaps and their health communication preferences. Results Latino parents from urban communities need and welcome child mental health literacy interventions that integrate printed materials with videos, preferably in their native language, combined with guidance from professionals. Conclusion A 3-minute video in Spanish that integrates education entertainment strategies and a culturally relevant format was produced as part of the intervention to educate and simultaneously engage highly stressed Latino parents in child mental health care. It is anticipated that the intervention will positively impact service use among this group.