Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T17:03:51.508Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Household Preparedness and Perceptions of Workforce Preparedness During Pandemics: A Health Care Employee Survey at the US Department of Veterans Affairs

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 August 2021

Claudia Der-Martirosian ,
Michelle D. Balut Open the ORCID record for Michelle D. Balut [Opens in a new window]  and
Aram Dobalian
Claudia Der-Martirosian*
Affiliation:
Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), US Department of Veterans Affairs, North Hills, CA, USA
Michelle D. Balut
Affiliation:
Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), US Department of Veterans Affairs, North Hills, CA, USA
Aram Dobalian
Affiliation:
Veterans Emergency Management Evaluation Center (VEMEC), US Department of Veterans Affairs, North Hills, CA, USA Division of Health Systems Management and Policy, University of Memphis School of Public Health, Memphis, TN, USA
*
Corresponding Author: Claudia Der-Martirosian, Email: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objective:

To examine the effects of household preparedness on perceptions of workplace preparedness during a pandemic among all employees at the US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities.

Methods:

The VA Preparedness Survey (October–December 2018, Los Angeles, CA) used a stratified simple random, web-based survey. Multivariate statistical analyses examined the effect of household preparedness on perceptions of workforce preparedness during a pandemic: institutional readiness; desire for additional training; and understanding their role and its importance.

Results:

VA employees totaling 4026 participated. For a pandemic, 55% were confident in their VA medical facility’s ability to respond, 63% would like additional training, 49% understood their role during a response, and 68% reported their role as important. Only 23% reported being “well prepared” at home during major disasters. After controlling for study-relevant factors, household preparedness was positively associated with perceptions of workforce preparedness during a pandemic.

Conclusions:

Efforts to increase household preparedness for health care employees could bolster workforce preparedness during pandemics. Organizations should consider robust policies and strategies, such as flexible work arrangements, in order to mitigate factors that may serve as barriers to household preparedness.

Keywords

health care workerhousehold preparednesspandemicsUS Department of Veterans Affairsworkforce preparedness
Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 16 , Issue 5 , October 2022 , pp. 1953 - 1958
Copyright
© Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. 2021

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

Goodhue, CJ, Burke, RV, Ferrer, RR, et al. Willingness to respond in a disaster: a pediatric nurse practitioner national survey. J Pediatr Health Care. 2012;26(4):7-20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayanga, HK, Barnett, DJ, Shallow, NR, et al. Anesthesiologists and disaster medicine: a needs assessment for education and training and reported willingness to respond. Anesth Analg. 2017;124(5):1662-1669.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Brice, JH, Gregg, D, Sawyer, D, Cyr, JM. Survey of hospital employees’ personal preparedness and willingness to work following a disaster. South Med J. 2017;110(8):516-522.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mercer, MP, Ancock, B, Levis, JT, Reyes, V. Ready or not: does household preparedness prevent absenteeism among emergency department staff during a disaster? Am J Emerg Med. 2014;9(3):221-232.Google ScholarPubMed
Irvin, C, Cindrich, L, Patterson, W, Southall, A. Survey of hospital healthcare personnel response during a potential avian influenza pandemic: will they come to work? Prehosp Disaster Med. 2008;23(4):328-335.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bell, MA, Dake, JA, Price, JH, et al. A national survey of emergency nurses and avian influenza threat. J Emerg Nurs. 2014;40(3):212-217.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gershon, RR, Magda, LA, Qureshi, KA, et al. Factors associated with the ability and willingness of essential workers to report to duty during a pandemic. J Occup Environ Med. 2010;52(10):995-1003.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Aoyagi, Y, Beck, CR, Dingwall, R, Nguyen-Van-Tam, JS. Healthcare workers’ willingness to work during an influenza pandemic: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Influenza Other Respir Viruses. 2015;9(3):120-130. doi: 10.1111/irv.12310.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kim, CJ, Yoo, HR, Yoo, MS, et al. Attitude, beliefs, and intentions to care for SARS patients among Korean clinical nurses: an application of theory of planned behavior. Taehan Kanho Hakhoe Chi. 2006;36(4):596-603. doi: 10.4040/jkan.2006.36.4.596.Google ScholarPubMed
Balicer, RD, Barnett, DJ, Thompson, CB, et al. Characterizing hospital workers’ willingness to report to duty in an influenza pandemic through threat- and efficacy-based assessment. BMC Public Health. 2010;10:436.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gee, S, Skovdal, M. The role of risk perception in willingness to respond to the 2014-2016 West African Ebola outbreak: a qualitative study of international health care workers. Glob Health Res Policy. 2017;2:21. doi: 10.1186/s41256-017-0042-y.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dionne, G, Desjardins, D, Lebeau, M, et al. Health care workers’ risk perceptions and willingness to report for work during an influenza pandemic. Risks. 2018;6(1):8. doi: 10.3390/risks6010008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tzeng, WC, Feng, HP, Cheng, WT, et al. Readiness of hospital nurses for disaster responses in Taiwan: a cross-sectional study. Nurse Educ Today. 2016;47:37-42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stergachis, A, Garberson, L, Lien, O, et al. Health care workers ability and willingness to report to work during public health emergencies. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2011;5(04):300-308.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ma, X, He, Z, Wang, Y, et al. Knowledge and attitudes of healthcare workers in Chinese intensive care units regarding 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic. BMC Infect Dis. 2011;11(1):24-31.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lau, JT, Fung, KS, Wong, TW, et al. SARS transmission among hospital workers in Hong Kong. Emerg Infect Dis. 2004;10(2):280-286. doi: 10.3201/eid1002.030534.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Basta, NE, Edwards, SE, Schulte, J. Assessing public health department employees’ willingness to report to work during an influenza pandemic. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2009;15(5):375-383. https://doi.org/10.1097/PHH.0b013e3181a391e2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dobalian, A, Balut, MD, Der-Martirosian, C. Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. BMC Public Health. 2020;20(1):1501.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Shrestha, SS, Swerdlow, DL, Borse, RH, et al. Estimating the burden of 2009 pandemic influenza A (H1N1) in the United States (April 2009–April 2010). Clin Infect Dis. 2011;52(Suppl 1):S75-S82. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciq012.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, WW, Shay, DK, Weintraub, E, et al. Influenza-associated hospitalizations in the United States. J Am Med Assoc. 2004;292(11):1333-1340. doi: 10.1001/jama.292.11.1333.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sepkowitz, KA, Eisenberg, L. Occupational deaths among healthcare workers. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005;11(7):1003-1008. doi: 10.3201/eid1107.041038.Google ScholarPubMed
Smith, EC, Burkle, FM Jr, Holman, PF, et al. Lessons from the front lines: the prehospital experience of the 2009 novel H1N1 outbreak in Victoria, Australia. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2009;3(Suppl 2):S154-S159. doi: 10.1097/DMP.0b013e3181be8250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organization. Health worker Ebola infectious in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone – a preliminary report. 2015. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/171823/WHO_EVD_SDS_REPORT_2015.1_eng.pdf;jsessionid=226D021129D34962E7DE610B445608C2?sequence=1. Accessed June 2, 2021.Google Scholar
Lurie, K, Dausey, DJ, Knighton, T, et al. Community planning for pandemic influenza: lessons from the VA health care system. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2008;2(4):251-257.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dobalian, A, Callis, R, Davey, VJ. Evolution of the Veterans Health Administration’s role in emergency management since September 11, 2001. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2011;5(Suppl 2):S182-S184.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Claver, M, Friedman, D, Dobalian, A, et al. The role of Veterans Affairs in Emergency Management: a systematic literature review. Version 2. PLoS Curr. 2012;4. doi: 10.1371/198d344bc40a75f927c9bc5024279815.Google Scholar
Bossert, WH, Dobalian, A. VA’s involvement in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2011;5(Suppl 2):S167.Google ScholarPubMed
Dobalian, A, Claver, M, Fickel, JJ. Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Department of Veterans Affairs: a conceptual model for understanding the evacuation of nursing homes. Gerontology. 2010;56(6):581-588.Google ScholarPubMed
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs: COVID-19 pandemic response. Updated weekly report: May 26–June, 2020. https://www.va.gov/health/docs/VA_COVID_Response.pdf. Accessed June 2, 2021.Google Scholar
National Nurses United. Survey of nation’s frontline registered nurses shows hospitals unprepared for COVID-19. March 5, 2020. https://www.nationalnursesunited.org/press/survey-nations-frontline-registered-nurses-shows-hospitals-unprepared-covid-19. Accessed June 2, 2021.Google Scholar
Blessman, J, Skupski, J, Jamil, M, et al. Barriers to at-home-preparedness in public health employees: implications for disaster preparedness training. J Occup Environ Med. 2007;49:318-326.Google ScholarPubMed
Levac, J, Toal-Sullivan, D, Sullivan, TL. Household emergency preparedness: a literature review. J Community Health. 2012;37(3):725-733.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Heslin, KC, Gin, JL, Afable, MK, et al. Personal medication preparedness among veteran and nonveteran men and women in the California population. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2013;28(4):359-366.Google ScholarPubMed
Der-Martirosian, C, Strine, T, Atia, M, et al. General household emergency preparedness: a comparison between veterans and nonveterans. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2014;29(2):1-7.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McCormick, LC, Pevear, J, Rucks, AC, Ginter, PM. The effects of the April 2011 tornado outbreak on personal preparedness in Jefferson County, Alabama. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2014;20(4):424-431.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed