The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #72238

Jon V. Warkentin, MD, MPH¹, Bart Perkey, MSW², and Doc Hooks, BS². (1) Bureau of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention, Metro Public Health Department, 311 23rd Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203, (615)340-5360, Jon.Warkentin@nashville.gov, (2) Bureau of Community Assessment and Health Promotion, Metropolitan Nashville Health Department, 311 23rd Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37203

The terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, revealed a critical need for emergency responders to communicate rapidly, efficiently, and predictably during any major public health emergency. The "Nashville Public Health Alert Network" (NPHAN) is a unique communication resource for linking physicians, hospital administrators, health department staff, community volunteers, and media contacts to critical information during a public health emergency. NPHAN employs the latest in communications technology and software design melded into a system with three functional components. First, the NPHAN home page is readily accessible to the public on the Internet. It offers news on domestic preparedness and public health, and links to community education, training opportunities for health care professionals, and information provided by local, state and federal agencies. The second NPHAN component provides rapid and simultaneous graded alert messages to network subscribers through multiple communication modalities, including pager, voicemail, fax, and E-mail. Within minutes of a public health emergency, network subscribers may receive a coded alert directing them to visit the NPHAN website for further details. The third NPHAN component enables secure access by network subscribers to a set of alert messages tailored to the individual’s profession and emergency response role. NPHAN can present this information by combining narrative text, photographs, diagrams, maps linked to GIS analysis, and links to specific triage or treatment guidelines. Emergency information can be updated as the emergency situation evolves and directed to subsets of the subscriber database. The NPHAN web-based communications model can be replicated for broader application in public health emergencies.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to:
• List four user populations linked by the Nashville Public Health Alert Network (NPHAN) to alert messages and rapid response information;
• Describe the technological platform which enables simultaneous alert messaging through multiple modalities;
• Create a conceptual model of a web-based communication network for alerting and mobilizing populations during a public health emergency

Keywords: Communication Technology, Emergency

Related Web page: www.nphan.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Metro Public Health Department, Nashville, Tennessee; Link2Gov, Inc.
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employee of MPHD