Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #114951

Dorian F. Villegas, MPH¹, Witold M. Migala, MPH, PhD², Michael J. Kazda, MA³, Shane A. Mathew, MPH, RS², Hilda Zuniga², Melissa Patterson, BS, LP², and Amy Leider, DVM, MA². (1) City of Fort Worth Public Health Department, Epidemiology & Assessment, 1800 University Dr Ste 218, Fort Worth, TX 76107, 817-871-7362, Dorian.villegas@fortworthgov.org, (2) Epidemiology & Assessment, City of Fort Worth Public Health Department, 1800 University, Fort Worth, TX 76107, (3) Department of Public Health, City of Fort Worth, 1800 University Drive, Room 218, Fort Worth, TX 76107

The general public is the most critical component in the success or failure of emergency response plans, especially those for bioterrorism. To accurately assess the educational efforts and subsequent emergency preparedness status of the local population, the City of Fort Worth Public Health Department conducted a comprehensive Community Needs Assessments (CNA) in part to assess emergency preparedness throughout the population. Factors examined included knowledge of emergency contingencies, preparation of survival packs, access to emergency information and level of self-perceived preparedness. Extent of preparedness was further stratified by socio-economic status, educational level, race/ethnicity, geopolitical boundaries, income and other variables that provided additional evaluation of the efficacy of educational interventions. These data provided insight into preparedness disparities within the community and among specific cross-sections of the population. Respondents often did not demonstrate a level of preparedness commensurate with their self-perceived level of knowledge and security. CNA data indicated a population-wide contrast between perceived and actual preparedness. The first two years of a multidisciplinary, multi-medium bioterrorism preparedness educational program indicate that over 65% of the city's households have been exposed to emergency preparedness education. The CNA indicates, however, that less than a third of households have engaged in behavior indicative of a minimal level of preparedness. Historically, public health initiatives have required constant maintenance to ensure long-term success. Therefore, for reliable analysis and insight into the emergency preparedness of a particular community, a CNA or other epidemiological sampling method is recommended to accurately help assess the educational impact and needs of the community.

Learning Objectives:

• • Describe the use of Community Needs Assessment (CNA) data to analyze impact and evaluate efficacy of educational efforts of a bioterrorism preparedness program.
• • Recognize the importance of priorities as perceived by the community when articulating the components of an effective emergency preparedness program.
• • Recognize the benefits of cultivating the response capabilities of the general public as critical in the successful response and recovery from emergency and disaster events.
• • Develop CNA and other epidemiological instruments to identify the special needs of the local population and target intervention to yield optimum compliance by the general public in response to natural, accidental or intentional emergency events.

Keywords: Bioterrorism, Outcomes Research

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation