The Role of Veterans Affairs in Emergency Management: A Systematic Literature Review

Claver, Maria; Friedman, Darya; Dobalian, Aram; Ricci, Karen A.; Mallers, Melanie H.

doi:10.1371/198d344bc40a75f927c9bc5024279815

Cited by 6 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…healthcare missions is to provide backup medical resources to both the military health system and to local communities following terrorist incidents and other major disasters [29]. As such, VA has responded to numerous national emergencies [30] and also provided care for non-Veterans during such events [30][31][32][33]. Nevertheless, we found that 57-70% of VA employees would like more training to improve their level of preparedness for a disaster, with the highest proportion of employees reporting the need for training related to epidemics and manmade disasters compared to natural disasters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

2020

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Background Most U.S. studies on workforce preparedness have a narrow scope, focusing primarily on perceptions of clinical staff in a single hospital and for one type of disaster. In contrast, this study compares the perceptions of workplace disaster preparedness among both clinical and non-clinical staff at all U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities nationwide for three types of disasters (natural, epidemic/pandemic, and manmade). Methods The VA Preparedness Survey used a stratified simple random, web-based survey (fielded from October through December 2018) of all employees at VA medical facilities. We conducted bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to compare the sociodemographic characteristics and perceptions of disaster preparedness between clinical and non-clinical VA staff. Results The study population included 4026 VA employees (2488 clinicians and 1538 non-clinicians). Overall, VA staff were less confident in their medical facility’s ability to respond to epidemic/pandemics and manmade disasters. Depending on the type of disaster, clinical staff, compared to non-clinical staff, were less likely to be confident in their VA medical facility’s ability to respond to natural disasters (OR:0.78, 95% CI:0.67–0.93, p < 0.01), pandemics (OR:0.82, 95% CI:0.70–0.96, p < 0.05), and manmade disasters (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.63–0.86, p < 0.001). On the other hand, clinicians, compared to non-clinicians, were 1.45 to 1.78 more likely to perceive their role in disaster response to be important (natural OR:1.57, 95% CI:1.32–1.87; pandemic OR:1.78, 95% CI:1.51–2.10; manmade: OR:1.45; 95% CI: 1.23–1.71; p’s < 0.001), and 1.27 to 1.29 more likely to want additional trainings to prepare for all three types of disasters (natural OR:1.29, 95% CI:1.10–1.51; pandemic OR:1.27, 95% CI:1.08–1.49; manmade OR:1.29; 95% CI:1.09–1.52; p’s < 0.01). Clinicians were more likely to be women, younger, and more educated (p’s < 0.001) than non-clinicians. Compared to clinicians, non-clinical staff had been employed longer with the VA (p < 0.025) and were more likely to have served in the U.S. Armed Forces (p < 0.001). Conclusions These findings suggest both a desire and a need for additional training, particularly for clinicians, and with a focus on epidemics/pandemics and manmade disasters. Training programs should underscore the importance of non-clinical roles when responding to disasters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

2020

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“…Veterans include a range of persons with a high level of comorbid health conditions (e.g., higher rates of smoking, substance use disorders and other conditions compared to the general adult population) and other socioeconomic factors (e.g., homelessness) that place them among the more vulnerable members of the population [ 25 ]. Information on flu vaccination uptake comparing Veterans and non-Veterans is limited, especially on a nationally representative sample.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparison of the Use of H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccinations between veterans and non-veterans in the United States, 2010

Der‐Martirosian¹,

Heslin

Mitchell³

et al. 2013

BMC Public Health

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BackgroundVeterans of the U.S. armed forces tend to be older and have more chronic health problems than the general adult population, which may place them at greater risk of complications from influenza. Despite Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendations, seasonal influenza vaccination rates for the general adult population remain well below the national goal of 80%. Achieving this goal would be facilitated by a clearer understanding of which factors influence vaccination.MethodsUsing the 2010 U.S. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), this study estimates models of two types of vaccinations (H1N1 and seasonal flu), assesses if the correlates differ for these vaccinations, and analyses the distribution of the correlates by veteran status.ResultsVeterans, women, non-Hispanic whites, non-smokers, those at high risk, educated, with health insurance, and who use clinics as a usual source of care were more likely to receive both types of vaccinations. Those who were older, married, and with higher income were more likely to get vaccinated for seasonal flu, but not for H1N1. Age and number of children living in the household were found to have different effects for H1N1 compared to seasonal flu.ConclusionVeterans are more likely to get vaccinated for seasonal influenza and H1N1 compared to the general population. This might be due to Veterans having better access to care or Veterans participating in better health care practices. Future studies should examine potential differences in flu vaccination use among Veterans using Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system vs. non-VA users.

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“…The VHA indeed has an Office of Emergency Management that is responsible for assisting the agency in responding and managing emergencies and natural disaster throughout the four phases of the emergency management cycle: preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation/prevention. Because of such focus and history related to emergency responses at the VHA (see [15] for a review of the VA's emergency management), it was not surprising that the VHA responded effectively to Katrina. It is important to note that over 1,833 people died in the Hurricane and subsequent floods, where the failures in New Orleans' Hurricane surge protection, considered the worst civil engineering disaster in U.S. history, prompted a lawsuit against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.…”

Section: B Vha's Response To Hurricane Katrinamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The HDR also provides additional benefits, such as providing information to support research and population analyses, facilitating patient access to data and sharing information across the VHA, and improving data quality and data security. Prior research has indeed suggested that one of the cornerstones of the VHA's disaster response was the use of patient tracking [15]. In fact, the patient tracking system in the VHA, the Computerized Patient Record System, was credited with its success in helping the agency provide patient care to thousands of displaced veterans.…”

Section: B Strategy 2 Develop a Universal Data Repositorymentioning

confidence: 99%

If the Worst Happens: Five Strategies for Developing and Leveraging Information Technology-Enabled Disaster Response in Healthcare

Bala

Venkatesh

Venkatraman

et al. 2016

IEEE J. Biomed. Health Inform.

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Natural disasters, such as hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, and floods, have a profound impact on healthcare by limiting healthcare providers' ability to effectively provide patient care in the affected areas and respond to myriad healthcare needs of the affected population. The situation can potentially be exacerbated if healthcare providers do not have effective mechanisms in place for disaster response. The response to Hurricane Katrina, a Category 3 hurricane that made landfall in August 2005 and affected several states in the southwestern U.S., was a vivid example of how the lack of effective planning and responsiveness can affect healthcare services. In this paper, based on an extensive case study, which included a rigorous examination of the Veterans Health Administration's information technology (IT) infrastructure and its response to Hurricane Katrina, we present five strategies that healthcare organizations can undertake to develop and leverage IT-enabled disaster response. These include the development of: 1) an integrated IT architecture; 2) a universal data repository; 3) web-based disaster communication and coordination; 4) an IT-enabled disaster support system; and 5) standardized and integrated IT-enabled disaster response processes. We discuss how these strategies can help healthcare providers manage continuity and offer quality healthcare during natural disasters.

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The Role of Veterans Affairs in Emergency Management: A Systematic Literature Review

Cited by 6 publications

References 38 publications

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Comparison of the Use of H1N1 and seasonal influenza vaccinations between veterans and non-veterans in the United States, 2010

If the Worst Happens: Five Strategies for Developing and Leveraging Information Technology-Enabled Disaster Response in Healthcare

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