Local public health workers' perceptions toward responding to an influenza pandemic

Balicer, Ran D.; Omer, Saad B.; Barnett, Daniel J.; Everly, George S.

doi:10.1186/1471-2458-6-99

Cited by 220 publications

(335 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In the United States of America (USA), between April 2009 and March 2010, it was responsible for an estimated 192,000 to 398,000 hospitalizations and 8,720 to 18,050 deaths (CDC, 2010). The effective management of pandemic influenza continues to constitute a major concern throughout the public health community (Balicer et al, 2006;Ferguson et al, 2006). A key issue facing the public health community includes the development of strategies for reducing the spread and effects of pandemic influenza.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological factors associated with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) hospitalization rates in California, USA: a geospatial analysis

Maliszewski

Wei

2011

Geospat Health

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Abstract. The 2009 H1N1 influenza A virus subtype (H1N1) pandemic had a large impact in the United States of America (USA), causing an estimated 192,000 to 398,000 hospitalizations and 8,720 to 18,050 deaths between April 2009 and midMarch 2010. Recent research on the 2009 H1N1 pandemic has largely focused on individual, non-spatial demographic characterizations (e.g. age and race/ethnicity) associated with H1N1 hospitalizations. Broader ecological factors such as transportation use, land use and other socioeconomic factors are important aspects of influenza studies that have not been empirically examined. This research explores and identifies ecological factors associated with 2009 H1N1 pandemic hospitalization rates. We conducted a spatial regression analysis of county level hospitalization rates from 3 April to 15 September, 2009 obtained via the California Department of Public Health. Hospitalization rates were found to be spatially dependent. Public transportation usage rates and agricultural land use proportions were significant environmental factors positively related to hospitalization rates. Consistent with public health official's assumptions and existing evidence, county percentages of persons less than 18 years of age were positively associated with hospitalization. These findings help to clarify the limited consensus and dubious evidence on the role of broader ecological factors associated with pandemic influenza. A better understanding of the ecological risk factors associated with hospitalizations should also benefit public health officials with respect to their work aiming at improving emergency supply allocation and non-pharmaceutical intervention strategies in the context of an influenza pandemic.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological factors associated with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) hospitalization rates in California, USA: a geospatial analysis

Maliszewski

Wei

2011

Geospat Health

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“…environmental disasters, mass casualty incidents) 11) . In another study on public health workers, Balicer et al found that almost half of HCWs were unlikely to report to duty during an influenza pandemic 12) . In a study by Ruderman et al after the SARS outbreak, healthcare professionals questioned their choice of career and decided to leave their profession and pursue new ventures, showing an unwillingness or inability to care for patients in the face of risk 13) .…”

Section: Concernsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concerns and Preparedness for an Avian Influenza Pandemic: A Comparison between Community Hospital and Tertiary Hospital Healthcare Workers

et al. 2007

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Little is known about differences in levels of concerns or preparedness for an avian influenza (AI) pandemic among healthcare workers (HCWs) in different types of hospitals. We compared these concerns and preparedness between 326 HCWs of two community hospitals (CHs) and 908 HCWs from a tertiary hospital (TH) using a self-administered questionnaire between March-June 2006. Response rates were 84.2% and 80.0% from the CHs and TH. Most HCWs (71.6%) felt prepared for an AI outbreak and had significant concerns. They perceive an AI pandemic having adverse impacts on their personal life and work, such as people avoiding them (57.1%). A greater percentage of TH compared to CH HCWs expressed concerns such as feeling their jobs put them at great AI exposure (78.3% vs 67.5%, p=0.012). TH HCWs were more likely to report participating in readiness preparation activities, such as training for infection control (90.0% vs 82.2%, p=0.014) and feel that they (74.1% vs 64.7%, p=0.045) and their hospital (86.8% vs 71.8%, p=0.000) were prepared for an outbreak. Healthcare institutions need to include personal, psychological and family concerns on the agenda and increase participation in readiness preparation activities among HCWs to help prepare for such future crises.

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“…5 However, a study in 2005 found that other factors, including one's ''perceived self-importance in an organization,'' contributed to willingness to respond. 6 This finding has influenced recent research using the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM) to understand willingness to respond in local public health workers, emergency medical technicians, and hospital workers. [7][8][9][10] First introduced by Witte in 1992, the EPPM interprets an effective message as one that conveys 2 equally important parts: threat and efficacy.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers' Emergency Response Willingness Using a Threat- and Efficacy-Based Model

Errett¹,

Barnett²,

Thompson³

et al. 2013

Biosecurity and Bioterrorism: Biodefense Strategy, Practice, an

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The goal of this study was to investigate the willingness of Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers to participate in public health emergency-related activities by assessing their attitudes and beliefs. MRC volunteers responded to an online survey organized around the Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM). Respondents reported agreement with attitude/belief statements representing perceived threat, perceived efficacy, and personal/organizational preparedness in 4 scenarios: a weather-related disaster, a pandemic influenza emergency, a radiological (''dirty bomb'') emergency, and an inhalational anthrax bioterrorism emergency. Logistic regression analyses were used to evaluate predictors of volunteer response willingness. In 2 response contexts (if asked and regardless of severity), self-reported willingness to respond was higher among those with a high perceived self-efficacy than among those with low perceived self-efficacy. Analyses of the association between attitude/belief statements and the EPPM profiles indicated that, under all 4 scenarios and with few exceptions, those with a perceived high threat/high efficacy EPPM profile had statistically higher odds of agreement with the attitude/belief statements than those with a perceived low threat/low efficacy EPPM profile. The radiological emergency consistently received the lowest agreement rates for the attitude/belief statements and response willingness across scenarios. The findings suggest that enrollment with an MRC unit is not automatically predictive of willingness to respond in these types of scenarios. While MRC volunteers' self-reported willingness to respond was found to differ across scenarios and among different attitude and belief statements, the identification of self-efficacy as the primary predictor of willingness to respond regardless of severity and if asked highlights the critical role of efficacy in an organized volunteer response context.

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Local public health workers' perceptions toward responding to an influenza pandemic

Cited by 220 publications

References 6 publications

Ecological factors associated with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) hospitalization rates in California, USA: a geospatial analysis

Ecological factors associated with pandemic influenza A (H1N1) hospitalization rates in California, USA: a geospatial analysis

Concerns and Preparedness for an Avian Influenza Pandemic: A Comparison between Community Hospital and Tertiary Hospital Healthcare Workers

Assessment of Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers' Emergency Response Willingness Using a Threat- and Efficacy-Based Model

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