PRDA - N:Assessment - word

Attachment N: PHEP Assessment Instrument (Word Version)

Form approved

OMB No. 0920-0879

Expiration date: 04/30/2017

Survey Welcome and Background

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has contracted with NORC at the University of Chicago (NORC) to conduct a survey of state, territorial and local health departments to identify which areas of public health and emergency response, need research to validate, improve and better inform programmatic and policy decisions. The questions in the survey are aligned with several of the CDC Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning that were previously identified as priorities by CDC and Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement grantees. We ask you to review each question in the survey and determine to what extent the question addresses an issue where a stronger evidence base could advance PHPR practice in your health department.

We ask that your health department’s Director of Public Health Preparedness or a designee with direct knowledge of preparedness activities complete this survey. If your health department does not employ a Preparedness Director, please designate a staff person who has direct knowledge and/or primary responsibility for preparedness activities to complete the survey. Included within this survey are questions about epidemiological investigation and public health laboratory testing (if applicable). Please consult with the appropriate staff within these departments to complete these sections of the survey.

We appreciate you taking the time to complete this survey. This survey is estimated to take 30 minutes to complete. Your responses will help CDC to better understand the research needs of health departments related to public health emergency preparedness and response. Your participation is voluntary, and you may skip questions or stop the survey at any time without any adverse consequences. Data from the survey will be shared with CDC, but will not be linked to the identity of a particular respondent or organization. For more information about this survey, please contact Michael Meit at [email protected].

Public reporting burden of this collection of information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response, including the time for reviewing the instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspects of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to CDC/ATSDR Information Collection Review Office, 1600 Clifton Rd, NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, GA 30333; ATTN: PRA (0920-0879).

SECTION 1: Background

Instructions: These questions should be completed by the Preparedness Director or a designee at your health department with primary responsibility for or direct knowledge of your health department’s preparedness activities.

1. Job Title: _______________

2. Are there staff at your health department who currently participate in research activities related to public health emergency preparedness? (NOTE: Research activities use systematic procedures to collect or develop new information that contributes to generalizable knowledge and improves public health practice. This does not include activities related to cooperative agreement reporting (e.g., CPG assessments) conducting exercises, hotwashes and after-action reports.)

   1. Yes

   2. No

   3. Don’t Know

3. Does your health department collaborate with any of the following entities to design, conduct, analyze or interpret results from research activities (as defined above) related to public health emergency preparedness and response? Please select all that apply.

1. State health department(s) (other than your own)

2. Local health department(s) (other than your own)

3. Territorial health department(s) (other than your own)

4. Schools of public health and/or programs of public health

5. Other universities or colleges (aside from schools and/or programs of public health)

6. Public health institutes (PHIs)

7. Community-based organizations

8. State associations of county and city health officials (SACCHOs)

9. Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers (PERRCs)

10. Practice-Based Research Networks (PBRNs)

11. Clinical health care system or hospital

12. None of these

13. Others (please specify): ______________

4. Does your health department allocate any funding received for public health preparedness to support research activities?

   1. Yes

   2. No

   3. Don’t Know

5. Please rate the extent to which you are personally familiar with the existing research and literature on public health emergency preparedness and response.

   1. Not at all familiar

   2. Slightly familiar

   3. Somewhat familiar

   4. Moderately familiar

   5. Extremely familiar

6. Would you like more information/training on existing research and literature on public health emergency preparedness and response?

   1. Yes

   2. No

   3. (Optional) If yes, please describe: _________

SECTION 2: Topics in Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response

Instructions: Below we present a list of questions about PHPR activities. The questions map to several of the CDC Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning that were previously identified as priorities by CDC and PHEP grantees. Please read each question and determine to what extent the question addresses an area of public health and emergency response that needs research to validate, improve and better inform programmatic and policy decisions. For the purposes of this survey, we define “important” as: The extent to which the question addresses an area of PHPR practice that is a problem, and would deliver the best initial return on investment if research was conducted to build the evidence base addressing that issue. If you are unsure about a question’s importance, select Don’t Know. If the topic does not apply to your health department’s PHEP activities, select N/A.

Part A: Biosurveillance

Capability 13: Public Health Surveillance and Epidemiological Investigation

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
What are the processes for scaling up or modifying pre-existing surveillance systems to handle new demands during response to incidents?
What processes and protocols are needed to guide inter-state and inter-jurisdictional epidemiological investigation?
What are the barriers and/or challenges to inter-state and inter-jurisdictional investigation?
What data sharing and data use practices support surveillance and ensure privacy, confidentiality, and security?
Can social media be used in surveillance to track the stages of response and recovery?
How do social media contribute to situational awareness about public health emergencies?
How are social media used to communicate with the public about availability of resources?

14. Are there other questions or topics related to public health surveillance and epidemiological investigation that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

15. If yes, please specify: _______________

Part B: Community Resilience

Capability 1: Community Preparedness

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
What are the strategies and approaches for conducting fiscally feasible jurisdictional risk assessments (JRAs) in states or localities with low population and/or limited funding?
What are appropriate methods and procedures for identifying and mapping “at-risk” populations?
What components constitute an effective planning group (e.g., key sectors, effective structures, and best roles and responsibilities)?

19. Are there other questions or topics related to community preparedness that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

20. If yes, please specify: _______________

Part C: Countermeasures and Mitigation

Capability 8: Medical Countermeasures Dispensing

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
Are hardware and software systems (e.g., Inventory Management and Tracking System (IMATS)) effective for inventory management?
What are the strategies for ensuring accountability in warehouse management (e.g., inventory and record-keeping)?
What are the impacts of personnel turnover on the dispensing medical countermeasures, and what strategies mitigate those impacts?
What are the methods for ensuring continuity of services in medical countermeasure dispensing (e.g., addressing supply chain disruptions)?
What guidelines are appropriate and/or useful for medications and materiels handling, including: Relabeling medications and materiels? Repackaging bulk medications and materiels? Working with repackaging companies?
What guidelines are appropriate and/or useful for apportionment of medical countermeasures (e.g., guidance for resource allocation)?

27. Are there other questions or topics related to medical countermeasure dispensing that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

28. If yes, please specify: _______________

Capability 9: Medical Materiel Management and Distribution

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
What are the appropriate strategies for improving distribution and minimizing waste of personal protective equipment (PPE) during a patient surge?
To what extent do issues (i.e., shipping bottlenecks) interfere with the acquisition of medical materiel (e.g., from federal to state, territorial, and local governments) and what are effective strategies for addressing them?
What is the impact (e.g., economic and/or system impact) of personal protective equipment (PPE) waste?
What are the appropriate strategies for distributing medical materiel during specific situations (e.g., priority tiers for distribution to subpopulations)?
What guidelines ensure appropriate cold chain storage (e.g., receiving bulk and individual materiel, storing at FDA regulations, monitoring devices, packaging, and transport)?

34. Are there other questions or topics related to medical materiel management and distribution that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

35. If yes, please specify: _______________

Capability 14: Responder Safety and Health

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
What types of screening programs exist for responder safety and health (e.g., pre/post screens) and what are their characteristics (e.g., when they occur and for what incidents)?
How are responders’ health issues tracked following incident responses?
What are the safety and personal protective equipment (PPE) needs of responders?

39. Are there other questions or topics related to responder safety and health that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

40. If yes, please specify: _______________

Part D: Incident Management

Capability 3: Emergency Operations Coordination

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
What communication methods are used during a response and which are the most effective?
How are e-mail communications used during an event or incident (e.g., who uses “cc all” and “reply all,” and to what extent is vital information communicated via e-mail)?
What are the responses for which the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) is activated or not activated, and for which of responses should it have been activated?

44. Are there other questions or topics related to emergency operations coordination that are important areas where additional information is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

45. If yes, please specify: _______________

Part E: Information Management

Capability 4: Emergency Public Information and Warning

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
How are decision matrices for scalable Joint Information Center (JIC) operations developed, including: decision points, activation points, and communication processes for organizations and incident-specific responses?

47. Are there other questions or topics related to emergency public information and warning that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

48. If yes, please specify: _______________

Capability 6: Information Sharing

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
What information sharing systems are used by public health agencies to exchange health-related information and situational awareness data and what are their characteristics, including quality, interoperability, and barriers to implementation?
What are the existing rules, data standards, and data elements for information sharing systems (e.g., Public Health Information Network), and what additional rules and standards should be developed?
What legal barriers exist for using information sharing systems (e.g., HIPAA privacy and disclosures, confidentiality, sharing information on special populations (i.e., those with functional needs), and sharing information with other states and localities)?
How can information sharing systems be adapted to handle surge-related information needs?

53. Are there other questions or topics related to information sharing that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

54. If yes, please specify: _______________

Part F: Surge Management

Capability 10: Medical Surge

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
What types of strategies and/or systems (e.g., coalitions, standards of care, regional planning) can be used to facilitate collaboration across agencies that support medical surge and mass care to prepare for surge?

56. Are there other questions or topics related to medical surge that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

57. If yes, please specify: _______________

Capability 15: Volunteer Management

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
What practices and procedures can be used to engage, register, and track volunteers before, during, and after public health incidents?
What procedures can be used to train and credential volunteers to support incident response?

60. Are there other questions or topics related to volunteer management that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

61. If yes, please specify: _______________

Part G: Cross-Cutting Preparedness Topics

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
How can pediatric support and expertise (e.g., to address the needs of children) be developed and provided across PHPR topic areas?
Does using Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) for inter-agency and inter-state collaboration impact the time required to obtain assets during disaster response, and what are important characteristics of MOUs (e.g., formal versus informal, letters of agreement, and identification of lead agencies)?
What are the important components of MOUS for disaster response (e.g., procedures for transferring laboratory specimens)?
To what extent does public health collaborate with other entities in an emergency, including health care systems and/or community organizations (e.g., universities or faith-based, community-based, or private organizations)?
What administrative processes must public health agencies have in place to ensure that assets can be quickly acquired?
How can staff turnover impact performance and sustainability during a response?
What is the impact of PHEP director leadership variables (e.g., experience, background, and training) on response system performance and sustainability?
What are the appropriate methods for developing demobilization plans in public health preparedness (e.g., should there be individual plans for each PHEP capability, or a cross-cutting plan for all capabilities)?
What are the trigger points for deactivation of demobilization plans (i.e., recovery) following a response?

71. Are there questions or topics related to other PHEP capabilities (e.g., Capability 2 – Community Recovery, Capability 11 – Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions, Capability 5 – Fatality Management, or Capability 7 – Mass Care) that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

1. Yes

2. No

72. If yes, please specify: _______________

73. Does your local health department conduct laboratory activities?

    1. Yes

    2. No

[If yes, continue to Part H, Question #74. If no, end survey.]

Part H: Public Health Laboratory

Capability 12: Public Health Laboratory Testing

To what extent is each question below an important area where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?	Not at all important 1	Slightly important 2	Moderately important 3	Very important 4	Extremely important 5	Don’t Know --	N/A --
How is laboratory performance affected by the different procedures and practices of lab networks in communicating test results?
How is laboratory performance affected by the interoperability of reporting systems between states (i.e., LRN-C laboratories)?
How is laboratory performance affected by the technologies used to convey test results (e.g., central lines, third party systems, Blackberry communications)?
What strategies best expedite laboratory analysis in surge situations?

78. Are there other questions or topics related to public health laboratory performance that are important areas where additional knowledge is needed to advance PHPR practice in your health department?

    1. Yes

    2. No

79. If yes, please specify: _______________

Survey Conclusion

Thank you for participating in this survey.

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