A study of emergency medical service personnel and law enforcement official willingness to respond to disasters

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to measure the self-reported willingness to respond (WTR) to 12 disaster scenarios for Louisiana based Law Enforcement Officials (LEO) and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel. The study analyzed the demographic traits, facilitators, barriers, and potential incentives to determine which variables had a significant influence on WTR. The overall WTR of Louisiana EMS and LEO personnel was 69.9%. The WTR decreased as perceived threat increased. Traits found in those responders who were more willing to respond were males, under 44 years old, no children, military veterans, with prior disaster experience, with less than 5 years experience, and those whose significant other does not have a disaster response role. The statistically significant influences on WTR were fear of working an unfamiliar role, concern for family, self-safety, feeling well-prepared to respond, duty to colleagues, and increasing the frequency of training. Findings from this study provide insights into interventions for improving EMS and LEO workers' willingness to respond to duty.