The Development of a Veterans Health Administration Emergency Management Research Agenda

Dobalian, Aram; Claver, Maria; Riopelle, Deborah; Wyte-Lake, Tamar; Canelo, Ismelda

doi:10.1371/currents.dis.c0c84b1b680388649227be71823e6adf

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 21 publications

(26 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…healthcare missions is to provide backup medical resources to both the military health system and to local communities following terrorist incidents and other major disasters [29]. As such, VA has responded to numerous national emergencies [30] and also provided care for non-Veterans during such events [30][31][32][33]. Nevertheless, we found that 57-70% of VA employees would like more training to improve their level of preparedness for a disaster, with the highest proportion of employees reporting the need for training related to epidemics and manmade disasters compared to natural disasters.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Most U.S. studies on workforce preparedness have a narrow scope, focusing primarily on perceptions of clinical staff in a single hospital and for one type of disaster. In contrast, this study compares the perceptions of workplace disaster preparedness among both clinical and non-clinical staff at all U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities nationwide for three types of disasters (natural, epidemic/pandemic, and manmade). Methods The VA Preparedness Survey used a stratified simple random, web-based survey (fielded from October through December 2018) of all employees at VA medical facilities. We conducted bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses to compare the sociodemographic characteristics and perceptions of disaster preparedness between clinical and non-clinical VA staff. Results The study population included 4026 VA employees (2488 clinicians and 1538 non-clinicians). Overall, VA staff were less confident in their medical facility’s ability to respond to epidemic/pandemics and manmade disasters. Depending on the type of disaster, clinical staff, compared to non-clinical staff, were less likely to be confident in their VA medical facility’s ability to respond to natural disasters (OR:0.78, 95% CI:0.67–0.93, p < 0.01), pandemics (OR:0.82, 95% CI:0.70–0.96, p < 0.05), and manmade disasters (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.63–0.86, p < 0.001). On the other hand, clinicians, compared to non-clinicians, were 1.45 to 1.78 more likely to perceive their role in disaster response to be important (natural OR:1.57, 95% CI:1.32–1.87; pandemic OR:1.78, 95% CI:1.51–2.10; manmade: OR:1.45; 95% CI: 1.23–1.71; p’s < 0.001), and 1.27 to 1.29 more likely to want additional trainings to prepare for all three types of disasters (natural OR:1.29, 95% CI:1.10–1.51; pandemic OR:1.27, 95% CI:1.08–1.49; manmade OR:1.29; 95% CI:1.09–1.52; p’s < 0.01). Clinicians were more likely to be women, younger, and more educated (p’s < 0.001) than non-clinicians. Compared to clinicians, non-clinical staff had been employed longer with the VA (p < 0.025) and were more likely to have served in the U.S. Armed Forces (p < 0.001). Conclusions These findings suggest both a desire and a need for additional training, particularly for clinicians, and with a focus on epidemics/pandemics and manmade disasters. Training programs should underscore the importance of non-clinical roles when responding to disasters.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

2020

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In November 2009, the White House issued the National Strategy for Countering Biological Threats to manage the risks from naturally occurring and deliberately introduced diseases. The US biosurveillance system has tried to encompass human-, animal-, and plantrelated health for a "full-spectrum type threat" (Dobalian et al, 2017;Koenig, 2003). More than 4,000 surveillance sites in more than 30 major US cities have been established with an international biosurveillance network that impacts at least 92 countries (Larkins et al, 2020;Russell et al, 2011).…”

Section: Type IImentioning

confidence: 99%

Surveillance of emerging infectious diseases for biosecurity

Hao

Liu

Shen

et al. 2022

Sci. China Life Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Emerging infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, continue to pose significant threats to human beings and their surroundings. In addition, biological warfare, bioterrorism, biological accidents, and harmful consequences arising from dual-use biotechnology also pose a challenge for global biosecurity. Improving the early surveillance capabilities is necessary for building a common biosecurity shield for the global community of health for all. Furthermore, surveillance could provide early warning and situational awareness of biosecurity risks. However, current surveillance systems face enormous challenges, including technical shortages, fragmented management, and limited international cooperation. Detecting emerging biological risks caused by unknown or novel pathogens is of particular concern. Surveillance systems must be enhanced to effectively mitigate biosecurity risks. Thus, a global strategy of meaningful cooperation based on efficient integration of surveillance at all levels, including interdisciplinary integration of techniques and interdepartmental integration for effective management, is urgently needed. In this paper, we review the biosecurity risks by analyzing potential factors at all levels globally. In addition to describing biosecurity risks and their impact on global security, we also focus on analyzing the challenges to traditional surveillance and propose suggestions on how to integrate current technologies and resources to conduct effective global surveillance. Supporting Information The supporting information is available online at The supporting information is available online at 10.1007/s11427-021-2071-x. The supporting materials are published as submitted, without typesetting or editing. The responsibility for scientific accuracy and content remains entirely with the authors.

show abstract

The Development of a Veterans Health Administration Emergency Management Research Agenda

Cited by 2 publications

References 21 publications

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Workforce preparedness for disasters: perceptions of clinical and non-clinical staff at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

Surveillance of emerging infectious diseases for biosecurity

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About