1: A Definition of "Just in Time" Training: What is Not in the Literature

This session will provide the participants with the necessary tools to understand when just in time training is appropriate and when it isn’t. Information is based on a series of sessions that gathered opinions and insight from over 100 disaster response professionals across Nebraska. Lessons learned from these sessions will be shared with conference attendees.

2: A National Training Model for Medical Reserve Corps

A two-hour online training program was developed, piloted, and produced for Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers to meet the MRC Core Competencies from the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. This course, which is available online and in DVD format, can be used by MRC units along with a MRC manual that complements the online training and provides MRC coordinators with a variety of activities to be used during regular local MRC meetings. This session will review the training program and provide an in-depth overview of pre- and post-assessments to date and recommendations for future training.

3: A Quasi-Experimental Study Design to Assess Hospitals’ Preparedness Improvements Over Time

The primary aim of this study was to compare the performance results of two hospital preparedness exercises held one year apart in the same emergency preparedness region of Massachusetts. The study assesses if changes in performance were detected by the evaluation instrument and if they were attributable to the incorporation of specific actions taken by the hospitals in the intervening year. The study demonstrates that a validated instrument could identify improvements in performance related to hospitals’ operations and communications capabilities during the exercises.

4: A Simulation Model of Public Health Response to Pertussis Events

This session presents a discrete event simulation model of the response of the North Carolina public health system to pertussis events, with particular emphasis on the role of the North Carolina Health Alert Network (NC-HAN). The presenters will explicitly model the information transfer between actors through the NC-HAN and examine the effect of different alerting strategies on the number of secondary infections prevented.

5: Acute Medical Needs of a Displaced Shelter Population

Persons emergently evacuated to a shelter far from their homes have specific medical issues that need to be addressed. Presenters will review Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness's (KY) experience in serving the medical needs of a shelter population evacuated from New Orleans during Hurricane Gustav.

6: After Action Reports for Outbreak Investigations: It Doesn't have to Be Painful

The best lessons are often learned from responses to real-life events. As part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement, the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control established in the fall of 2007 an evaluation mechanism for responses to investigations of outbreaks of public health significance. Components of this system included the development of a policy for the use of an incident command structure system for any outbreak, regardless of size, and the completion of an after action report (AAR) for each outbreak. This presentation will describe the development, deployment, successes and challenges, and results from two years of using AARs for infectious outbreaks of public health significance.

7: An Expanded Student Reserve Corps: Maximizing University Resources

THIS SESSION HAS BEEN CANCELED

The purpose of this poster is to detail the development of a university-based Student Reserve Corps with an expanded role and enhanced capabilities. This approach to this Student Reserve Corps is unique, as it captures the diversity of the interests and talents the student body and provides a framework to maximize their effectiveness and ability to assist not only the university community but to augment local resources in times of need.

8: Are Refugees Even More Vulnerable to Mental Illness after Experiencing a Public Disaster in Their Resettlement Country?

Disaster takes a tremendous toll on survivors' mental health. However, not much data directly indicate how refugees mentally respond to a disaster occurring in their resettlement country and how severely their already vulnerable mental health will be worsened by the event. This poster will present the evidence collected from the existing literature to suggest that compared to the other victim groups, U.S. refugees may be more traumatized and have an increased susceptibility to mental illness during a public disaster. Additional attention needs to be paid to this population's disaster mental health.

9: Assessing Household Food Insecurity for Public Health Preparedness Planning

The Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program estimated that 11.1 percent of all U.S. households experienced some type of food insecurity during the year 2007. Household food insecurity can be measured through population surveys using the U.S. Household Food Security Scale. A validated short form of the instrument exists but does not distinguish between moderate and severe hunger as with the longer version. The food insecurity status of 506 Louisville, Kentucky metro area households was determined using the six-item short form of the household food security scale. This poster session covers the method used to determine food insecurity status along with the results of the study.

10: Assessment of Training Priorities for the Texas Public Health Workforce

To prepare counties without local health departments, it is essential to assess the regional public health workforce's strengths and weaknesses and preparedness training priorities. The USA Center for Rural Public Health Preparedness at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Rural Public Health utilized an online assessment to identify these priorities. The poster will highlight the results, offering insight into public health and preparedness training needs and preferences that will assist Texas' academic partners in providing education and training activities adapted specifically for the Texas Regional DSHS offices.