Terrorism-preparedness training for non-clinical hospital workers: Tailoring content and presentation to meet workers' needs

Craig D. Thorne, Marc Oliver, Mohamed Al-Ibrahim, Patricia W. Gucer, Melissa A. McDiarmid

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

11 Scopus citations

Abstract

Clinicians have been the primary focus of health care worker training in response to the 2001 terrorist and anthrax attacks. However, many nonclinical hospital workers also are critical in providing medical care during any large-scale emergency. We designed a training program, guided by focus groups, to provide them with information to recognize unusual events and to protect themselves. We compared four different training methods: workbook, video, lecture, and a small-group discussion. One hundred and ninety-one workers participated. After the training, they were more confident in their employer's preparedness to respond to a terrorist attack but specific knowledge did not change substantially. Fortunately, the self-directed workbook (the more economical and least disruptive method) was as effective as the other methods. Our experience may be useful to others who are planning terrorism-preparedness training programs.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)668-676
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine
Volume46
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2004
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health
  • Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis

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