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Evaluating Pandemic Influenza Preparedness: The Contribution of an Online Short Course to Local Health Department Preparedness in North Carolina
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| Presenter(s):
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| Molly McKnight Lynch,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
mlynch@rti.org
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| Richard Rosselli,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
rrosselli@unc.edu
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| Kristina Simeonsson,
East Carolina State University,
kristina.simeonsson@ncmail.net
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| Mary Davis,
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,
mvdavis@email.unc.edu
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| Abstract:
Measuring the contribution of training programs to increased community preparedness is difficult because criteria for preparedness often lack definition. A pilot online course on pandemic influenza was offered to North Carolina local health department staff in fall 2006. The evaluation, guided by the RAND public health preparedness logic model, linked course activities to participant functional capabilities, which are actions public health workers would take during a pandemic response. Evaluation measures included a retrospective pre-test/post-test design that measured participant confidence to perform eight key functional capabilities and pre- and post-course knowledge assessments.
Thirty-seven participants representing 36 health departments completed the course. Evaluation results revealed a significant increase in participant knowledge. Participant confidence to perform specific functional capabilities related to a pandemic response significantly increased for all eight measured capabilities. Nearly two-thirds of course completers plan to modify their pandemic influenza response plans based on information learned in the course.
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Emergency Preparedness for Hospital Clinicians: Multi-state Evaluation for Online Modules
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| Presenter(s):
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| Elizabeth Ablah,
University of Kansas School of Medicine,
eablah@kumc.edu
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| Leslie Horn,
Columbia University,
lah2110@columbia.edu
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| Kristine Gebbie,
Columbia University,
kmg24@columbia.edu
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| Abstract:
Six online modules were developed by the New York Consortium for Emergency Preparedness Continuing Education to train hospital clinicians in various aspects of emergency response based on their roles within their clinical setting. Evaluation of the new modules included a competency-based online evaluation of the modules’ contents and an automatically generated and distributed three-month follow up evaluation. Participants registered electronically, providing basic information utilized to determine the evaluation tools they complete. Based on registration information, participants from a pilot state were directed to an identical 10-item knowledge based pre-test and post-test; an evaluation was completed by all participants upon finishing a module. E-mail addresses collected at registration facilitated the dissemination of follow-up evaluations. Utilization of registration data to tailor evaluations to participants’ characteristics enables evaluators to simultaneously evaluate multiple aspects of a single program and streamlines follow-up evaluations.
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