Ready to Respond: A Survey of Interdisciplinary Health-Care Students and Administrators on Disaster Management Competencies

2019 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Rachel L. Charney ◽  
Roberta P. Lavin ◽  
Annah Bender ◽  
Joanne C. Langan ◽  
Rick S. Zimmerman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Management Competencies ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Master Of Public Health ◽  
Curriculum Coverage ◽  
Interdisciplinary Health Care ◽  
Post Hoc ◽  
Low Coverage

ABSTRACTBackground:A sense of competency and confidence in disaster management is linked to response willingness and efficacy. This study assessed current health-care student disaster competency curricula and resultant confidence.Methods:A survey was sent to students and administrators in nurse practitioner (NP), master of public health (MPH), and medical/osteopathic schools (MD/DO), assessing curriculum coverage of 15 disaster management competencies (1-4, total 15-60), and confidence in performing 15 related behaviors (1-7, total 15-105). One-way analysis of variance with Tukey’s post-hoc and Mann-Whitney U-tests were used to examine group differences.Results:A total of 729 students and 72 administrators completed the survey. Low coverage of all topics was reported by both students and administrators (mean 24.4; SD 9.6). Among students, NP students (21.66 ± 8.56) scored significantly lower than MD/DO (23.32 ± 8.19; P < 0.001) and MPH students (26.58 ± 9.06; P < 0.001) on curriculum coverage. Both administrators and students expressed low confidence in competence, with students significantly lower (P < 0.001). NP students scored higher (63.12 ± 20.69; P < 0.001) than both MPH (54.85 ± 17.82) and MD/DO (51.17 ± 19.71; P < 0.001) students.Conclusions:Health-care students report low coverage of topics considered to be necessary disaster response competencies, as well as their confidence to execute functions. This may negatively impact willingness and ability of these professionals to respond effectively in a disaster.

scholarly journals An Evaluation of the Self-Reported Knowledge Base of Disaster Management Core Competencies of Australian Paramedics

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (s1) ◽  
pp. s129-s130
Author(s):  
Peter Horrocks ◽  
Vivienne Tippett ◽  
Peter Aitken
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Ambulance Service ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Extensive Experience

Introduction:Evidence-based training and curriculum are seen as vital in order to be successful in preparing paramedics for an effective disaster response. The creation of broadly recognized standard core competencies to support the development of disaster response education and training courses for general health care providers and specific health care professionals will help to ensure that medical personnel are truly prepared to care for victims of mass casualty events.Aim:To identify current Australian operational paramedic’s specific disaster management education and knowledge as it relates to disaster management core competencies identified throughout the literature and the frequency of measures/techniques which these paramedics use to maintain competency and currency.Methods:Paramedics from all states of Australia were invited to complete an anonymous online survey. Two professional bodies distributed the survey via social media and a major ambulance service was surveyed via email.Results:The study population includes 130 respondents who self-identified as a currently practicing Australian paramedic. Paramedics from all states except South Australia responded, with the majority coming from Queensland Ambulance Service (N= 81%). In terms of experience, 81.54% of respondents report being qualified for greater than 5 years. Initial analysis shows that despite the extensive experience of the practitioners surveyed when asked to rate from high to low their level of knowledge of specific disaster management core competencies a number of gaps exist.Discussion:Core competencies are a defined level of expertise that is essential or fundamental to a particular job, and serve to form the foundation of education, training, and practice for operational service delivery. While more research is needed, these results may help inform industry, government, and education providers to better understand and to more efficiently provide education and ongoing training to paramedics who are responsible for the management of disaster within the Australian community.

scholarly journals Insights into disaster management scenario among various health-care students in India: A multi-institutional, multi-professional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Almas Binnal ◽  
Gururaghavendran Rajesh ◽  
MithunB H. Pai ◽  
SVijayendranath Nayak ◽  
Ramya Shenoy ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Management Scenario ◽  
Professional Study

scholarly journals Core Competencies in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance: A Systematic Review

2015 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alba Ripoll Gallardo ◽  
Ahmadreza Djalali ◽  
Marco Foletti ◽  
Luca Ragazzoni ◽  
Francesco Della Corte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
English Language ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Humanitarian Assistance ◽  
Cochrane Library ◽  
Library Studies ◽  
Competency Domains

AbstractDisaster response demands a large workforce covering diverse professional sectors. Throughout this article, we illustrate the results of a systematic review of peer-reviewed studies to identify existing competency sets for disaster management and humanitarian assistance that would serve as guidance for the development of a common disaster curriculum. A systematic review of English-language articles was performed on PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, ERIC, and Cochrane Library. Studies were included if reporting competency domains, abilities, knowledge, skills, or attitudes for professionals involved disaster relief or humanitarian assistance. Exclusion criteria included abstracts, citations, case studies, and studies not dealing with disasters or humanitarian assistance. Thirty-eight papers were analyzed. Target audience was defined in all articles. Five references (13%) reported cross-sectorial competencies. Most of the articles (81.6%) were specific to health care. Eighteen (47%) papers included competencies for at least 2 different disciplines and 18 (47%) for different professional groups. Nursing was the most widely represented cadre. Eighteen papers (47%) defined competency domains and 36 (94%) reported list of competencies. Nineteen articles (50%) adopted consensus-building to define competencies, and 12 (31%) included competencies adapted to different professional responsibility levels. This systematic review revealed that the largest number of papers were mainly focused on the health care sector and presented a lack of agreement on the terminology used for competency-based definition. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2015;9:430–439)

scholarly journals Depression among health care students in the time of COVID-19: the mediating role of resilience in the hopelessness–depression relationship

2021 ◽  
pp. 008124632199445
Author(s):  
Tammy-lee Pretorius
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Traumatic Event ◽  
National Level ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Mediating Role ◽  
First Case ◽  
Hopelessness Depression ◽  
The World

COVID-19 spread rapidly across the world, and by March 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was identified in South Africa. Lockdown-related measures such as restricted movement and isolation were implemented to contain the virus. Combined with these measures, factors such as economic decline, job losses, and food shortages can cause numerous mental health sequelae such as depression. Feelings of hopelessness and helplessness as well as cases of suicide have been reported around the world due to the pandemic and the associated feelings of anxiety and depression. The aims of this study were to investigate levels of hopelessness and depression in a sample of health care students. A random sample of students ( N = 174) enrolled in a health sciences programme at the University of the Western Cape completed the Beck Hopelessness Scale, the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale, and a three-item Resilience Scale. The results revealed high levels of hopelessness and depression compared to previously reported normative data for these scales. In addition, the indirect effects of hopelessness on depression were significant, demonstrating the mediating role of resilience in the hopelessness–depression relationship. These results highlight a call for universities to take proactive measures in providing students with free and easily accessible resources to help them cope and manage stress during a traumatic event. More importantly, at a national level, preventive measures should be implemented to strengthen resilience in young adults.

Disaster Management in Rural and Remote Primary Health Care: A Scoping Review

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (3) ◽  
pp. 362-369
Author(s):  
Katie A. Willson ◽  
Gerard J. FitzGerald ◽  
David Lim
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Primary Health Care ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Rural And Remote ◽  
Primary Health

AbstractObjective:This scoping review aims to map the roles of rural and remote primary health care professionals (PHCPs) during disasters.Introduction:Disasters can have catastrophic impacts on society and are broadly classified into natural events, man-made incidents, or a mixture of both. The PHCPs working in rural and remote communities face additional challenges when dealing with disasters and have significant roles during the Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery (PPRR) stages of disaster management.Methods:A Johanna Briggs Institute (JBI) scoping review methodology was utilized, and the search was conducted over seven electronic databases according to a priori protocol.Results:Forty-one papers were included and sixty-one roles were identified across the four stages of disaster management. The majority of disasters described within the literature were natural events and pandemics. Before a disaster occurs, PHCPs can build individual resilience through education. As recognized and respected leaders within their community, PHCPs are invaluable in assisting with disaster preparedness through being involved in organizations’ planning policies and contributing to natural disaster and pandemic surveillance. Key roles during the response stage include accommodating patient surge, triage, maintaining the health of the remaining population, instituting infection control, and ensuring a team-based approach to mental health care during the disaster. In the aftermath and recovery stage, rural and remote PHCPs provide long-term follow up, assisting patients in accessing post-disaster support including delivery of mental health care.Conclusion:Rural and remote PHCPs play significant roles within their community throughout the continuum of disaster management. As a consequence of their flexible scope of practice, PHCPs are well-placed to be involved during all stages of disaster, from building of community resilience and contributing to early alert of pandemics, to participating in the direct response when a disaster occurs and leading the way to recovery.

A New Scale of Readiness for Health Care Students to Encounter Partner Abuse

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052098113
Author(s):  
Simon Sawyer ◽  
Glenn Melvin ◽  
Angela Williams ◽  
Brett Williams
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Psychometric Properties ◽  
Internal Consistency ◽  
Partner Abuse ◽  
Content Validation ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Good Reliability ◽  
Health Care Students ◽  
Australian Health ◽  
Health Care Practitioners

Partner abuse (PA) is associated with significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Health care practitioners regularly encounter patients experiencing PA and require comprehensive education on how to respond. This study describes the creation and validation of a new measure of readiness to encounter patients experiencing PA for health care practitioners and students. Initial item development and content validation were informed by expert feedback. Psychometric properties were assessed using data collected from Australian health care students, using Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Internal consistency, inter-scale correlations, and test–retest analysis were performed. An initial pool of 67 items was reduced to 48 following content validation by 5 experts as a measure of construct validity. A total of n = 926 responses were collected, which were randomly split into two groups to perform a PCA and CFA. The PCA resulted in a 31-item version, which was further reduced to a 27-item version following the CFA, containing four factors. Internal consistency and test–retest analyses demonstrated good reliability. The produced scale is a 27-item measure of readiness to encounter patients experiencing PA, which has demonstrated good psychometric properties with a sample of Australian health care students. Results indicate that self-efficacy and Emotional-readiness are a large component of readiness. The scale may be used to measure the readiness of a cohort, or as a pre and post-intervention measure, and results may provide insight into the educational needs of a cohort.

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