Disaster preparedness for charge nurses: A program evaluation

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 39-45
Author(s):  
Rae Becker, DNP, RN, CPN ◽  
Joan Sevy Majers, DNP, RN, FACHE, CENP, CCM ◽  
Julie Moody, DNP, MEd, RN, NPD-BC
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Senior Leadership ◽  
Clinical Leadership ◽  
Charge Nurses ◽  
Inpatient Units ◽  
Specific Education

Over the last 3 years at a large, midwestern, pediatric hospital, there have been near disaster events, a few of which required transfer or evacuation of patients. The responses from the inpatient units to these events have varied greatly and can be traced back to communication, knowledge, comfort level, and effectiveness of the charge nurses on the nursing units. A task force was formed to understand the variation in their disaster response procedures and to standardize disaster response procedures. Respondents included the bedside, clinical leadership, managers of patient services, emergency preparedness management, and senior leadership. This resulted in the creation of a tabletop simulation exercise for use by inpatient charge nurses within the institution. The results indicated that participants reported higher levels of self-reported knowledge, confidence, and effectiveness regarding the disaster preparedness on their units (p 0.001). The program was effective, with feedback from participants indicating the need for more frequent and/or department specific education.

scholarly journals (P1-54) Healthcare Worker's Perception towards Individual and Institution Disaster Preparedness

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s116-s116
Author(s):  
G.H. Lim
Keyword(s):  
Family Support ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Response Training ◽  
The Family ◽  
Training Opportunities ◽  
H1n1 Outbreak

Background and AimDisaster and MCI events are occurrences that healthcare institutions must be prepared to respond to at all times. The events of September 11 2001 have rekindled our attention to this aspect of preparedness amongst our healthcare institutions. In Singapore, the SARS experience in 2003 and the recent H1N1 outbreak have thrust emergency preparedness further into the limelight. While priorities had been re-calibrated, we feel that we still lack far behind in our level of preparedness. This study is conducted to understand the perception of our healthcare workers towards their individual and the institution preparedness towards a disaster incident.MethodA questionnaire survey was done for this study for the doctors, nurses and allied health workers in our hospital. Questions measuring perception of disaster preparedness for themselves, their colleagues and that of the institution were asked. This was done using a 5-point likert scale.ResultsThe study was conducted over a 2-month period from 1st August 2010 till 30th September 2010. 1534 healthcare workers participated in the study. 75.3% felt that the institution is ready to respond to a disaster incident; but only 36.4% felt that they were ready. 12.6% had previous experience in disaster response. They were more likely to be ready to respond to future incidents (p = 0.00). Factors that influenced perception of readiness included leadership (p = 0.00), disaster drills (p = 0.02), access to disaster plans (p = 0.04), family support. 80.7% were willing to participate in future disaster incident response training. 74.5% felt that being able to respond to a disaster incident constitute part of their professional competency. However, only 31% of the respondents agreed that disaster response training was readily available and only 27.8% knew where to go to look for these training opportunities.ConclusionThere is an urgent need to train the healthcare workers to enhance their capability to respond to a disaster incident. While they have confidence in the institutions capability they were not sure of their own capability. Training opportunities should be made more accessible. We should also do more to harvest the family support that these worker value in order for them to be able to perform their roles in a disaster incident.

Emergency preparedness: Interviews with senior leadership in Nebraska hospitals

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 399-409
Author(s):  
Shreya Roy, PhD ◽  
Sarbinaz Bekmuratova, PhD ◽  
Sharon Medcalf, PhD ◽  
Harlan Sayles, MS ◽  
Wael ElRayes, MD, PhD, FACHE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Theory Approach ◽  
Senior Leadership ◽  
Hospital Emergency ◽  
Organizational Mission ◽  
Vulnerability Assessments ◽  
Community Staff ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Hospital Emergency Preparedness

Objective: The objective of this study was to explore perceptions of senior leadership in hospitals on the motivations, cost, benefits, barriers, and facilitators of investment in emergency preparedness. Study design: This is a qualitative study which used a grounded theory approach to develop a theory of hospital emergency preparedness. Setting and study participants: A purposive sample of hospital leaders (n = 11) in the US state of Nebraska were interviewed.Results: Results showed that the environmental risk associated with the hospital location, the hospital’s position in the community, and the preparedness requirements of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services contribute to investment decisions. Rural hospitals face unique challenges in preparing for disasters, for example, lack of trained personnel. Facilitators of disaster preparedness include the availability of federal funds, the commitment of leadership, and an organizational mission aligned toward emergency preparedness. Hospitals invest in hazard vulnerability assessments; partnerships with other organizations in the community; staff trainings and infrastructure.Conclusions: The authors concluded that hospitals in Nebraska are committed toward investing in preparedness activities. The theory of hospital emergency preparedness developed will be used in a subsequent study to develop a decision-support framework for hospital investment in preparedness.

scholarly journals Preparing for the Surge: A Half-Day Emergency Preparedness Training Course for the “Second Front”

2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 121-126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lancer A. Scott ◽  
Layne A. Madden ◽  
Amy E. Wahlquist ◽  
Daniel W. Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Small Group ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Group Performance ◽  
Task Force ◽  
Core Competencies ◽  
Course Evaluation ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Disaster Medicine ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Average Percentage

AbstractPurposeClinical disaster medicine requires providers working collaboratively to care for multiple patients, yet many clinicians lack competency-based training. A 5-hour emergency preparedness training (EPT) curriculum was created using didactics, small group discussion, and scenario-based learning. The goal was to evaluate the effect of a short course on improving clinical-provider knowledge, confidence and skill.MethodsParticipants were enrolled in a medical university between 2011 and 2014. The course consisted of didactic lectures, small group exercises, and live mass-casualty training scenarios. Core competencies and performance objectives were developed by a task force and assessed via facilitator observation, pre- and posttesting, and a course evaluation.ResultsA total of 708 participants were trained, including 49.9% physicians, 31.9% medical students, 7.2% nurses, and 11% allied health personnel. The average percentage of correct answers increased from 39% to 60% (P<0.01). Following didactics, trainees met 73% and 96% of small group performance objectives. Trainees also met 68.5% and 61.1% of the mass-casualty performance objectives. Average trainee self-assessment of disaster-preparedness skill improved from 36 to 73 points out of 100.ConclusionA brief, intensive EPT course can improve the disaster knowledge and comfort level of a diverse group of clinical providers as well as foster disaster-performance skills. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:121–126)

scholarly journals (A108) Hospital Disaster Planning: The Structured Approach

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s30-s30
Author(s):  
G.E.A. Khalifa
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Emergency Services ◽  
Disaster Planning ◽  
Mass Casualty Incident ◽  
Mass Casualty ◽  
Disaster Plan ◽  
Preparedness Plan ◽  
Hospital Disaster Preparedness

BackgroundDisasters and incidents with hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of casualties are not generally addressed in hospital disaster plans. Nevertheless, they may occur, and recent disasters around the globe suggest that it would be prudent for hospitals to improve their preparedness for a mass casualty incident. Disaster, large or small, natural or man-made can strike in many ways and can put the hospital services in danger. Hospitals, because of their emergency services and 24 hour a day operation, will be seen by the public as a vital resource for diagnosis, treatment, and follow up for both physical and psychological care.ObjectivesDevelop a hospital-based disaster and emergency preparedness plan. Consider how a disaster may pose various challenges to hospital disaster response. Formulate a disaster plan for different medical facility response. Assess the need for further changes in existing plans.MethodsThe author uses literature review and his own experience to develop step-by-step logistic approach to hospital disaster planning. The author presents a model for hospital disaster preparedness that produces a living document that contains guidelines for review, testing, education, training and update. The model provides the method to develop the base plan, functional annexes and hazard specific annexes.

scholarly journals Development of a Virtual Reality Platform to Promote Disaster Preparedness Among Older Adults

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 352-352
Author(s):  
Chen Kan ◽  
Aaron Hagedorn ◽  
Sam Thomas ◽  
Reid Yeager ◽  
Zhen Cong
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
Disaster Scenario

Abstract This project develops a tailored and adaptive virtual reality platform to innovatively promote older adults’ disaster preparation in a socially engaging environment. The platform serves the following purposes: 1) assist older adults to develop tailored household emergency preparedness plans, 2) simulate extreme weather conditions and warnings for older adults to practice disaster response and develop relevant knowledge and skills as well as test and revise their emergency preparedness plans, 3) use the process as a social engagement tool to reduce social isolation and promote a sense of community. The virtual environments are designed in Unity to simulate extreme weather conditions/natural disasters and older adults are guided to use the HTC VR headset and experience the selected disaster scenario. The pilot VR platform will be tested among community-dwelling older adults in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area.

scholarly journals (P2-56) Nurses' Knowledge, Skills and Perception Towards Disaster Response and Emergency Preparedness

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S1) ◽  
pp. s154-s154
Author(s):  
F.C. Wee
Keyword(s):  
Nursing Education ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Response Rate ◽  
Incident Response ◽  
Core Skill ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Structured Questionnaire ◽  
Nurses Knowledge

BackgroundDisaster response and emergency preparedness has taken a bigger role in our daily operations since the advent of events of September 11 2001. It is essential that nurses be prepared and trained to respond to disaster incidents. Nonetheless, we are largely unaware of how our nurses feel about their readiness to respond to these disaster incidents. This study aims to understand our nurses' knowledge, skills and perception towards disaster response and emergency preparedness.MethodA self administered structured questionnaire survey was conducted for the nurses in our hospital. Using a 5 point Likert scale, the questionnaire covered knowledge, skills and perception of institutional and individual preparedness towards a disaster incident. The data was analyzed using SPSS 17.ResultsA convenient sample of 1143 nurses (response rate 95.5%) was studied over a 2-month period from 1st August to 30th September 2010. 55.7% of the surveyed nurses have not attended any training in disaster response. Despite that, more than 50% of them scored correctly in term of their knowledge in different types of disaster incidents. 75.3% of them have not been trained to don the HAZMET suite within the last 2 years. 72.9% do not know where to get the HAZMET suit in the event of a chemical incident. While 80.2% felt that the institution is able to respond to any disaster incident, only 41.3% felt that they were ready. In addition, 83.6% were willing to participate in future disaster incident response training. 77.1% agreed that being able to respond to a disaster incident should be part of their professional competency.ConclusionsThere is a need for the hospital to incorporate disaster preparedness into nursing education curriculum as a clinical core skill to ensure that nurses are ready to respond to disaster incidents.

scholarly journals Disaster Preparedness and Coping Among Older Adults: Empirical Analysis and Virtual Reality Platform Development

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 351-351
Author(s):  
Zhen Cong
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Age Differences ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Response ◽  
Intergenerational Relationships ◽  
Household Survey ◽  
Different Types ◽  
And Coping

Abstract This symposium included 4 studies that use national and regional data to examine older adults’ disaster preparedness and coping. The first study examined age differences in preparedness for the continuation of COVID-19 with a sample of 443 residents in Dallas, TX. The findings highlight older adults’ resilience and special needs for different types of support during the pandemic. The second study examined the association of having COVID-19 and intergenerational relationships using the COVID-19 module of the Health and Retirement Study with a sample of 3266 respondents. Using a national sample of 1,467 respondents from the 2017 U.S. National Household Survey, the third study examined age differences relationships among the type of disasters (i.e., disasters with different lead-time), response efficacy, and disaster preparedness. The findings highlighted older adults’ unique vulnerability and resilience in different types of disasters. The fourth study discussed a pilot virtual reality platform under development to assist older adults to develop tailored household emergency preparedness plans and practice those plans with simulated extreme weather conditions and warnings for older adults to practice disaster response and develop relevant knowledge and skills as well as test and revise their emergency preparedness plans. Overall, this symposium emphasizes the uniqueness of older adults’ needs, vulnerability, and resilience to disasters.

THE ROLE OF EDUCATION ON DISASTER PREPAREDNESS CASE STUDY OF 2012 INDIAN OCEAN EARTHQUAKES ON THAILAND’S

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raya Muttarak ◽  
Wiraporn Pothisiri
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Emergency Preparedness ◽  
Disaster Preparedness ◽  
Formal Education ◽  
Disaster Experience ◽  
Individual Household ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
The Individual

In this paper we investigate how well residents of the Andaman coast in Phang Nga province, Thailand, are prepared for earthquakes and tsunami. It is hypothesized that formal education can promote disaster preparedness because education enhances individual cognitive and learning skills, as well as access to information. A survey was conducted of 557 households in the areas that received tsunami warnings following the Indian Ocean earthquakes on 11 April 2012. Interviews were carried out during the period of numerous aftershocks, which put residents in the region on high alert. The respondents were asked what emergency preparedness measures they had taken following the 11 April earthquakes. Using the partial proportional odds model, the paper investigates determinants of personal disaster preparedness measured as the number of preparedness actions taken. Controlling for village effects, we find that formal education, measured at the individual, household, and community levels, has a positive relationship with taking preparedness measures. For the survey group without past disaster experience, the education level of household members is positively related to disaster preparedness. The findings also show that disaster related training is most effective for individuals with high educational attainment. Furthermore, living in a community with a higher proportion of women who have at least a secondary education increases the likelihood of disaster preparedness. In conclusion, we found that formal education can increase disaster preparedness and reduce vulnerability to natural hazards.

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