1 in 6 health workers won't report in flu pandemic
Willingness to report in an emergency is strongly associated with belief in importance of one's work
"We found belief in the importance of one's work was strongly associated with a willingness to report to work in an emergency," said co-author Ran Balicer, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., senior lecturer in the Department of Epidemiology at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel, and joint editor of the Israeli Ministry of Health Pandemic Preparedness Plan. "Our results could help preparedness planners identify workforce needs and develop strategies for improving worker response."
According to the survey, public health workers who were both "concerned" about the threat posed by a pandemic, and who were "confident" that they could fulfill their response roles and have a meaningful impact on the situation, were 31 times more likely to respond to work in an emergency than those who perceived the threat low and had low levels of confidence. Workers whose perception of the threat was "low" but who strongly believed in the importance of their job were 18 times more likely to say they "would respond" compared to those in the "low threat/low efficacy" group.
The survey analysis was based on Witte's Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM), used for understanding adaptive behavior in the face of unknown risk. It examines the relative influences of perceived threat and efficacy on public health workers' response willingness to pandemic influenza. Willingness of health responders to report to duty during an influenza pandemic is a major concern given the "inevitable" nature of this threat and its associated challenges, including worldwide morbidity, mortality and social disruption," explains Dr. Balicer.
The study concludes that in the context of pandemic influenza planning, the EPPM provides a useful framework to inform nuanced understanding of baseline levels of – and gaps in – local public health workers' response willingness.
Within local health departments, "concerned and confident" employees are most likely to be willing to respond. This finding may allow public health agencies to design, implement and evaluate training programs focused on emergency response attitudes in health departments.
Organizations
Other news from the department science
Get the life science industry in your inbox
From now on, don't miss a thing: Our newsletter for biotechnology, pharma and life sciences brings you up to date every Tuesday and Thursday. The latest industry news, product highlights and innovations - compact and easy to understand in your inbox. Researched by us so you don't have to.