The Role of Public Health Nurses in Bioterrorism Preparedness

Self-Assessed Emergency Readiness and Training Needs of Nurses in Rural Texas

“…Research suggests that nurses play an integral role in the early detection and timely management of biological agents (Gershon, Gemson, Qureshi, & McCollum, 2004; Steed, Howe, Pruitt, & Sherrill, 2004; Veenema & Tõke, 2006; Wisniewski, Dennik‐Champion, & Peltier, 2004). Although challenges and task priorities differ across practice settings (e.g., schools, hospitals, health departments), and patient populations (e.g., children, pregnant women), it is commonly agreed that nurses must be involved in advanced planning and education in order to successfully fulfill their expected role in the case of a bioterrorist event (Akins, Williams, Silenas, & Edwards, 2005; DNA Board of Directors, 2004; Evers & Puzniak, 2005; Ferguson, 2002; James, 2005; Mondy, Cardenas, & Avila, 2003; Veenema, 2003).…”

“…However, despite the general consensus regarding the role of nurses in bioterrorism response, the literature indicates that they lack both readiness to respond and confidence in responding effectively, possibly due to the absence of relevant content in their formal education curricula (Akins et al, 2005; Polivka et al, 2008; Weiner, Irwin, Trangenstein, & Gordon, 2005). All nurses, including public health nurses, are in need of competency‐based training for emergency preparedness (Polivka et al, 2008).…”

“…Despite these efforts, the literature indicates that nursing education does not properly address emergency planning and response (Polivka et al, 2008; Weiner et al, 2005). In addition, according to Akins et al (2005), nurses lack both the readiness and the confidence to respond in as effective a manner as optimally envisioned (Akins et al, 2005). Although there have been recent efforts to integrate bioterrorism content into basic nursing curricula (Markenson, DiMaggio, & Redlener, 2005; Polivka et al, 2008), the lack of bioterrorism preparedness among nurses persists and must be addressed (Akins et al, 2005; DNA Board of Directors, 2004; Evers & Puzniak, 2005; Ferguson, 2002; James, 2005; Mondy et al, 2003; Veenema, 2003).…”

The Impact of Federal Bioterrorism Funding Programs on Local Health Department Preparedness Activities

“…This study found that agency preparedness was hampered by a lack of staff resources for planning and coordinating preparedness, and that these agencies were reluctant to add staff due to a lack of permanent funding (Brown, Brown, Cope, Randall, & Rauf, 2002). Similar results, particularly regarding the issue of sustainable funding, were found in a study of preparedness and public health nurses (Akins, Williams, Silenas, & Edwards, 2005). Likewise, the implementation of homeland security initiatives in US cities with populations greater than 30,000 found that overall funding levels, administrative capacity, and leadership are critical to success, and that federal efforts might best be focused on developing local administrative and leadership capacity to sustain such programs (Gerber, Cohen, & Stewart, 2007).…”

Major incidents in rural areas: managing a pandemic A/H1N1/2009 cluster

“…Local staff were empowered, through existing major incident procedures, to take the steps necessary to move staff and other resource to the places required to respond to the incident. Local knowledge was essential 14 , and the experience that Dunoon-based staff brought to the incident was invaluable.…”