Program Briefing Presentation

Dahna Batts, MD, FACEP

CAPT, US Public Health Service

Healthcare Preparedness Activity

Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response

June 2016

StopAnthrax™ Pilot Test

StopAnthraxTM: Anthrax MCMs Text Messaging Project

 Office of  Public  Health  Preparedness  and  Response

Division  of  State and Local Readiness

 

Overview

• Healthcare Preparedness Activity (HPA) vision and mission 

• StopAnthraxTM  

• • About the program 

  • Jurisdictional Pilot Test Using Cipro Healthy Adult Protocol 

• Next steps 

 

• Vision: healthcare systems effectively preparing for and responding to emergencies 

• Mission: to support public health, healthcare, and emergency management working together to safely deliver the right care at the right time and in the right place 

• • Produce tools and guidance http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/healthcare  

  • Coordinate and liaise with public and private partners 

  • Conduct workshops, stakeholder meetings, and exercises 

Healthcare Preparedness Activity

 

About the Program

 

• StopAnthrax™ is a set of text messaging protocols for Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) medical countermeasures (MCMs) that would be dispensed during an anthrax incident 

• Consists of text messages for adults, including pregnant women and parents for 4 anthrax MCMs 

• • Amoxicillin (amox) 

  • Ciprofloxacin (cipro) 

  • Doxycycline (doxy) 

  • Anthrax Vaccine Adsorbed (AVA) 

StopAnthraxTM Text Messaging Program

 

• CDC plans to activate StopAnthraxTM in a major anthrax incident 

• StopAnthraxTM is designed to:  

• • Encourage MCM adherence 

  • Encourage users to report adverse events to existing FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS)and Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS) systems  

  • Direct users to seek medical attention for anthrax or MCM-related adverse event symptoms 

  • Provide relevant (e.g., population specific) health education 

StopAnthraxTM

 

• Stand-alone, bidirectional program 

• Intended for adults who receive anthrax MCMs from points of dispensing (PODs)  

• Assumes they are not sharing their cell phone or medication 

• Provides text messages to users for up to 60 days 

StopAnthraxTM (continued)

 

• Four major types of text messages: 

• • Education  

  • Adverse event reporting 

  • Adverse event feedback 

  • Medication reminder 

StopAnthraxTM Components

 

Jurisdictional Pilot Test using Cipro Healthy Adult Protocol

 

Purpose and Objectives

• Purpose of the pilot test is to gather user feedback on the StopAnthrax™ program 

• Objectives 

• 1. 1.Identify potential issues or barriers to enrolling in StopAnthrax™ from a participant as well as local health department perspective 

  2. 2.Identify potential issues or barriers to participating in StopAnthrax™ from a user's perspective 

  3. 3.Collect opinions on StopAnthrax™ messaging 

 

What to Expect

• When you go through the POD, you will see posters and other materials encouraging you to enroll in StopAnthrax™ 

• • Enrollment in the pilot test is voluntary 

  • Message and data rates may apply 

• If you enroll, you will receive text messages for up to 10 days 

  • You may receive an average of 10 messages per day 

  • You can opt-out at any time 

• At the end of the pilot test, you will have an opportunity to provide feedback about your experience 

  • Feedback is optional and all responses will be anonymous 

 

Security

• All information collected for the purpose of this pilot test will not be shared 

• • This includes your phone number 

• At the completion of the pilot test, we will delete all phone numbers from our records 

• If you provide feedback at the end of the test, your responses will not be tied to your phone number 

 

How to Enroll

• Text "ANTHRAX" to the number designated on the posters and enrollment cards displayed at the POD 

• Answer 4 short enrollment questions 

• • Once completed, you will be enrolled in the pilot test 

 

How to Respond

• Participate as if you were taking Cipro for anthrax 

• Some messages may ask if you are experiencing side effects from your medication or if you have changed antibiotics 

• • Respond to these messages however you choose 

• Some messages may direct you to call phone numbers or visit websites  

  • This is not part of the pilot test 

  • Please ignore these directions and do not call these numbers or visit these websites 

 

How to Provide Feedback

• You will receive a message at the end of the pilot test with a link to an online survey consisting of 14 questions about your experience 

• The survey will be open to the first 660 respondents 

• All feedback will be anonymous 

 

Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response

Division of State and Local Readiness

Questions?