Hostname: page-component-7c8c6479df-27gpq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-03-28T16:39:56.125Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Examining Public Health Workers’ Perceptions Toward Participating in Disaster Recovery After Hurricane Sandy: A Quantitative Assessment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 April 2016

Nicole A. Errett
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Baltimore, Maryland
Carol B. Thompson
Affiliation:
Department of Biostatistics, Baltimore, Maryland
Lainie Rutkow
Affiliation:
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Baltimore, Maryland
Stephanie Garrity
Affiliation:
Cecil County Health Department, Elkton, Maryland
Kandra Stauss-Riggs
Affiliation:
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, Bethesda, Maryland
Brian A. Altman
Affiliation:
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, Bethesda, Maryland
Lauren Walsh
Affiliation:
The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine, Inc, Bethesda, Maryland
Jeffrey D. Freeman
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Baltimore, Maryland
Ran D. Balicer
Affiliation:
Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Epidemiology, Beer-Sheva, Israel
Kenneth W. Schor
Affiliation:
The National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Rockville, Maryland.
Daniel J. Barnett*
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Baltimore, Maryland
*
Correspondence and reprint requests to Daniel J. Barnett, MD, MPH, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 North Wolfe Street, Room E7036, Baltimore, MD 21205 (e-mail: dbarnet4@jhu.edu).

Abstract

Objective

We aimed to quantitatively gauge local public health workers’ perceptions toward disaster recovery role expectations among jurisdictions in New Jersey and Maryland affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Methods

An online survey was made available in 2014 to all employees in 8 Maryland and New Jersey local health departments whose jurisdictions had been impacted by Hurricane Sandy in October 2012. The survey included perceptions of their actual disaster recovery involvement across 3 phases: days to weeks, weeks to months, and months to years. The survey also queried about their perceptions about future involvement and future available support.

Results

Sixty-four percent of the 1047 potential staff responded to the survey (n=669). Across the 3 phases, 72% to 74% of the pre-Hurricane Sandy hires knew their roles in disaster recovery, 73% to 75% indicated confidence in their assigned roles (self-efficacy), and 58% to 63% indicated that their participation made a difference (response efficacy). Of the respondents who did not think it likely that they would be asked to participate in future disaster recovery efforts (n=70), 39% indicated a willingness to participate.

Conclusion

The marked gaps identified in local public health workers’ awareness of, sense of efficacy toward, and willingness to participate in disaster recovery efforts after Hurricane Sandy represent a significant infrastructural concern of policy and programmatic relevance. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:371–377)

Type
Original Research
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2016 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1. Altevogt, BM, Pope, AM, Hill, MN, et al. eds. Committee on Research Priorities in Emergency Preparedness and Response for Public Health Systems. Research Priorities in Emergency Preparedness and Response for Public Health Systems: A Letter Report. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press; 2008.Google Scholar
2. Federal Emergency Management Agency, US Department of Homeland Security. National Disaster Recovery Framework: Strengthening Disaster Recovery for the Nation. 2011 http://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1820-25045-5325/508_ndrf.pdf. Updated February 24, 2015. Accessed September 26, 2015.Google Scholar
3. Blake, ES, Kimberlain, TB, Berg, RJ, et al. Tropical Cyclone Report Hurricane Sandy. Miami, FL: National Hurricane Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; 2013. Publication AL182012.Google Scholar
4. National Association of County and City Health Officials. NACCHO’s 2013. National Profile of Local Health Departments Shows Continued Funding Cuts for Preparedness. Preparedness Brief, 2013. http://nacchopreparedness.org/?p=1199. Updated January 28, 2014. Accessed September 7, 2015.Google Scholar
5. Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters – CRED. EM-DAT The International Disasters Database. Natural Disaster Trends, 2009. http://www.emdat.be/natural-disasters-trends. Updated 2009. Accessed September 26, 2015.Google Scholar
6. Barnett, DJ, Thompson, CB, Errett, NA, et al. Determinants of emergency response willingness in the local public health workforce by jurisdictional and scenario patterns: a cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health. [published online March 7, 2012]. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-164.Google Scholar
7. Bandura, A. Self Efficacy: The Exercise of Control. New York: WH Freeman; 1997.Google Scholar
8. Bronson, JW, Faircloth, JB, Valentine, SR. Business owner’s optimism and business performance after a natural disaster. Psychol Rep. 2006;99(1):960-962.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9. Witte, K. Putting the fear back into fear appeals: the Extended Parallel Process Model. Commun Monogr. 1992;59(4):329-349. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03637759209376276.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10. Barnett, DJ, Balicer, RD, Thompson, CB, et al. Assessment of local public health workers’ willingness to respond to pandemic influenza through application of the extended parallel process model. PLoS One. [published online July 24, 2009]. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0006365.Google Scholar
11. Witte, K, Allen, M. A meta-analysis of fear appeals: implications for effective public health campaigns. Health Educ Behav. 2000;27(5):591-615. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/109019810002700506.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12. US Department of Health and Human Services. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response. Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning. http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/capabilities/DSLR_capabilities_July.pdf. Updated July 22, 2011. Accessed September 6, 2015.Google Scholar
13. US Department of Health and Human Services. National Health Security Strategy of the United States of America. http://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/planning/authority/nhss/strategy/Documents/nhss-final.pdf. Updated December 2009. Accessed September 6, 2015.Google Scholar
14. Balicer, RD, Omer, SB, Barnett, DJ, et al. Local public health workers’ perceptions toward responding to an influenza pandemic. BMC Public Health. [published online April 18, 2006]. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-6-99.Google Scholar
15. Barnett, DJ, Thompson, CB, Semon, NL, et al. EPPM and willingness to respond: the role of risk and efficacy communication in strengthening public health emergency response systems. Health Commun. 2014;29(6):598-609. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2013.785474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16. Errett, NA, Barnett, DJ, Thompson, CB, et al. Assessment of psychological preparedness and emergency response willingness of local public health department and hospital workers. Int J Emerg Ment Health. 2012;14(2):125-133.Google ScholarPubMed
17. Rutkow, L, Vernick, JS, Thompson, CB, et al. Legal protections to promote response willingness among the local public health workforce. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2015;9(2):98-102. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dmp.2015.8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18. Botoseneanu, A, Wu, H, Wasserman, J, et al. Achieving public health legal preparedness: how dissonant views on public health law threaten emergency preparedness and response. J Public Health. 2011;33(3):361-368. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pubmed/fdq092.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19. Errett, NA, Egan, S, Garrity, S, et al. Attitudinal determinants of local public health workers’ participation in Hurricane Sandy recovery activities. Health Secur. 2015;13(4):267-273. http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/hs.2015.0004.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed