Outbreak Investigations: Community Participation and Role of Community and Public Health Nurses

Abstract

Community and public health nurses (C/PHNs) may play a vital role in the investigation of disease outbreaks. C/PHNs possess skills in conducting interviews on sensitive subjects and in collaborating with communities. C/PHNs maintain key links to community providers, symptomatic clients, their families and associates, as well as community institutions where outbreaks occur. This combination of skills makes C/PHNs ideally suited to perform outbreak investigations. There are, however, pressing questions about whether C/PHNs are adequately prepared to contribute to investigation outcomes, to foster participation of affected communities, and to fully apply nursing skills to outbreak investigations to stop the spread of disease. Using one case study, the authors explore investigation outcomes, community participation issues, educational preparation, and public health funding and workforce policies required to achieve these ends successfully. One model of community participation in the steps of outbreak investigation and several Quad Council domains and competencies are proposed for use in practice. Questions regarding the use of emergency preparedness funding and employment of C/PHNs in epidemiology roles are raised.

Understanding Community Resilience in the Context of National Health Security: A Literature Review

“…This ability was defined by a perceived need for training and level of confidence to recognize unusual events that might indicate an emergency situation, to follow procedures for a suspected emergency situation, and to report actual emergencies to the appropriate individual(s). Sistrom & Hale (2006) revealed that community and public health nurses are not well-utilized in outbreak investigation and, in some cases, are not as prepared as they could be to contribute to these investigations and to apply their skills to address disease spread.…”

Influencing Student Beliefs about Poverty and Health through Interprofessional Community-Based Educational Experiences

“…Evidence affirms poverty as the most powerful social determinant of health [1,2]. Local research has provided compelling data on the magnitude of health disparity by neighbourhood income [3].…”

Elicitation of Pandemic Coping Strategies among Health Care Workers: Contextual Adaptation of a Mental Models Method

“…Arras 2005), ii) the baseline knowledge of pandemics among HCWs, iii) existing communication routines (cf. Sistrom et al 2006;Hawryluck et al 2005;Tai 2007) and, iv) ethical problems and emotional issues (cf. Arras 2005, Gardner 2006Sweet 2006;Chan et al 2005;Maunder et al 2006;Clarke et al 2007).…”

“…Inadequate communication routines between HCWs and health department officials may, consequently, prevent the knowledge and competences of different healthcare worker groups from being optimally utilized (Sistrom et al 2006). Moreover, experiences from the SARS outbreak illuminate the importance of these information routines being not only efficient but, also, dynamic.…”

“…Sustaining efficient communication routines between HCWs during outbreaks of infectious diseases is important not only for the provision of timely and accurate information, but also for continuous feedback about the experiences of those HCWs treating seriously ill patients or dealing with anxious citizens (Sistrom et al 2006;Hawryluck et al 2005;Tai 2007). Inadequate communication routines between HCWs and health department officials may, consequently, prevent the knowledge and competences of different healthcare worker groups from being optimally utilized (Sistrom et al 2006).…”