Citation

Spranger CB, Villegas D, Kazda MJ, Harris AM, Mathew S, Migala W. Disaster Manage. Response 2007; 5(3): 82-86.

Affiliation

Bioterrorism and Health Emergency Preparedness Team, City of Fort Worth Public Health Department, Fort Worth, TX 76107, USA. csprang@hsc.unt.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Emergency Nurses Association, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.dmr.2007.05.001

PMID

17719509

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The role of physicians in the detection, reporting, and response to infectious disease outbreaks, anomalous biologic events, or other public health emergencies is critical to the community's safety. OBJECTIVE/METHOD: In an effort to assess the level of preparedness of local physicians to respond to such events, the City of Fort Worth Public Health Department, the Fort Worth/Tarrant County Health Authority, and the Tarrant County Medical Society collaborated in designing and administering a cross-sectional study in spring 2006. RESULTS: The results serve as a baseline of the local clinical community's preparedness, with 91% of local physicians reporting their knowledge as "fair-poor," 80% desiring more information, and 83% favoring more training opportunities. CONCLUSION: Information obtained through this assessment is used to help cultivate educational interventions that will enhance the participation, integration, and mobilization of clinicians in the event of a community emergency.

Language: en