Usefulness of simulated cases for assessing pandemic influenza preparedness plans

Abstract

To evaluate compliance with preparedness plans, actors simulating avian influenza attended various hospital emergency departments and public health centres during the last quarter of 2007. Most centres (89%) did not respond correctly. The useful information obtained was sent to the medical and administrative staff who were responsible for the preparedness plans. Awareness of these errors and their rectification can lead to improvements in the response to any case of influenza with pandemic potential and in the capacity to combat any other emergent or re-emergent community infection.

Factors affecting preparedness and capacity to manage pandemic influenza: perceptions of healthcare managers

“…Inclusion of preparedness evaluations Introduction Pandemic influenza poses a major threat to global public health.1 It can quickly cause high morbidity and mortality, overwhelm healthcare facilities, affect the economy, and lead to widespread public anxiety.2 Hospitals are therefore required to develop and sustain capability to respond to such pandemics.3,4 Studying the effectiveness of various in terventions is essential in order to assure preparedness for future pandemics. 5 Key elements identified as enhancing pandemic pre paredness and improving staff compliance include assimila tion of national plans,1,5-7 risk communication,8 public health education,9,10 establishment of personal protective gear stockpiles, coordination and information sharing between relevant stakeholders,11 and implementation of training and exercise programmes. 12 During a pandemic, healthcare workers are an essential component of the response.13 It is crucial to understand their perceptions about the effectiveness of implemented m ea sures, and the degree to which these measures protect them and enhance the preparedness of the healthcare system.13 Achieving trust increases staff motivation and willingness to participate actively in the response,14-16 while inadequate information may lead to non-compliance with the recom mendations of governing authorities, as was seen in the low rates of vaccination against influenza A/H1N1 among medical teams in most countries.…”

Assessment of Hospital Emergency Department Response to Potentially Infectious Diseases Using Unannounced Mystery Patient Drills—New York City, 2016

“…Simulated patient exercises have been demonstrated to be effective tools to evaluate hospital emergency plans, 6 and studies have validated their use for testing health care system preparedness for communicable diseases of public health concern, including Ebola, avian influenza, inhalation anthrax, and smallpox. [6][7][8][9][10] To our knowledge, this is the first report describing the use of unannounced mystery patient drills to test ED preparedness for MERS Volume 71, no. 1 : January 2018…”

Assessment of Hospital Emergency Department Response to Potentially Infectious Diseases Using Unannounced Mystery Patient Drills — New York City, 2016

“…Simulated patient exercises have been demonstrated to be effective tools to evaluate hospital emergency plans (6), and studies have validated their use for testing health care system preparedness for communicable diseases of public health concern, including Ebola, avian influenza, inhalation anthrax, and smallpox (6)(7)(8)(9)(10). This is the first report describing the use of unannounced mystery patient drills to test ED preparedness for MERS and measles.…”

“…This is the first report describing the use of unannounced mystery patient drills to test ED preparedness for MERS and measles. Whereas other studies have described specific infection-control interventions, such as patient masking (7), isolation (9), and risk-factor screening (8), this study is unique in its use of drills to capture both key temporal measures and staff member compliance with multiple infection control practices.…”