Participatory Mapping to Identify and Support at-Risk Populations in Emergency Preparedness

Attachment 1: Interview Guide Form approved

OMB 0920-1154

Exp. 1/31/2020

Project Title: Participatory mapping to identify and support at-risk populations in emergency preparedness

Interview guide – March 15, 2017

Elena Savoia, MD, MPH

Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

[email protected]

Interview Guide for Community Leaders

In this project, the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Emergency Preparedness Research, Evaluation & Practice Program seeks to engage community leaders who can provide information on local vulnerabilities, potential risks across segments of the population, and available assets in the community. This information will be used to enhance the ability of local practitioners and policy makers to apply effective methods at identifying vulnerable and at-risk populations and increase the ability of these populations to prepare for, withstand, and recover from public health emergencies and disasters.

Your participation is voluntary. Your participation in this process will entail becoming familiar with our research and completing an interview of approximately 60 minutes in length. You are free to skip any questions that you do not feel comfortable answering. With your permission, the interviews will be tape-recorded to facilitate collection of information, and later transcribed for analysis. None of the information will be reported in any way that will permit you to be identified. De-identified interview transcripts will be stored on the principal investigator’s and senior manager’s encrypted computer to keep the data secure. If you choose to participate, you may change your mind and leave the study at any time. Refusal to participate or discontinuing your participation will involve no penalty or loss of benefits to which you are otherwise entitled. We do not anticipate any reasonably foreseeable risks/discomforts to the prospective participants. There are no direct benefits to participating in the study. However, we believe the results of this study will help us improve and develop tools that will reduce the emergency management system burden associated with preparedness efforts and have a concrete impact on the response to public health emergencies.

This research has been reviewed by Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health's Institutional Review Board. If you wish to speak with someone from the IRB, please contact the Office of Human Research Administration (OHRA) at 617-432-2157 (or toll-free at 1-866-606-0573) or 90 Smith Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02120 for any of the following:

• If your questions, concerns, or complaints are not being answered by the research team,

• If you cannot reach the research team,

• If you want to talk to someone besides the research team,

• If you have questions about your rights as a research participant, or

• If you want to get information or provide input about this research.

Your signature below indicates you have read the information and you have agreed to participate in the project. Alternatively, a response to the invitation by e-mail will be the proof of consent to participate. Your oral consent will also be recorded at the beginning of the phone interview.

If you have any questions please contact the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health Principal Investigator Dr. Elena Savoia via phone: 617-384-9055 or e-mail: [email protected]

Thank you

Statement of Consent

With full knowledge of all foregoing, I agree, of my own free will, to participate in this study.

____ YES ___ NO

I agree to have my interview tape recorded.

____ YES ___ NO

I agree to the use of anonymous quotations in any thesis or publication that comes of this research.

____ YES ___ NO

Participant’s Name (please print) ________________________________________

Participant’s Signature _____________________________________ Date __________________

We are interested in understanding what are the needs of your community during an emergency situation (for e.g. severe flash floods/ a nuclear risk situation), and available local-level resources and strengths of the community to address such needs.

1. Please tell us about your community [interviewer will prompt with suggested characteristics such as geographic area, socio-economic status, educational levels, general health, key cultural aspect and values].

PERSONAL PREPAREDNESS

2. Did you ever have a conversation with your family/ friends/ neighbors about being prepared for a public health emergency situation (interviewer will prompt with locally appropriate examples of emergency situations)?

• If yes, can you describe who initiated the conversation and what did you talk about?

• If not, do you think it will be a useful conversation and who would be the most credible and adequate person to initiate it in your family and network of friends? And what about at the community level - who would be the most credible and adequate person? [interviewer will prompt to explain why]

3. During emergency situations it is recommended to have enough food, water and other supplies needed for each household to survive for 3 days. Do you think your household has such supplies?

• If yes, please tell us how such supply looks like for your household (Interviewer will prompt as needed suggesting a list of possible items: water (1 gallon/person/day); non-perishable food; prescription medicines; battery-operated radio; flashlight with extra batteries)

• If no, what do you think you might need for 3 days?

• Do you believe the majority of households in your community have such supply? If not why?

4. Can you think of a situation in which members of your community are educated on specific issues that people may not pay attention to on a daily basis? Who is in charge of that education and how does it unfold?

5. Have you ever participated in a disaster preparedness program or registered with a (emergency) responding agency?

EVACUATION AND ACCESS TO A SHELTER

6. Do you know where the nearest emergency shelter to your home is located?

• If yes, is the location good for you and household?

• If no, what would be a good location for you and the members of your household?

• Do you think people in your community know about this location? Or would they prefer to go somewhere else if needed?

7. In case of a public health emergency that requires you to leave your home, can you (and members of your household) reach that emergency shelter on your own without any help?

• If not, then do you know someone or an organization that could help you to get to the shelter?

• What do you think would be the main difficulty for people in your community to leave their house and go to the shelter, what would hold them back? and what would they need to go?

8. What would members of your household need to carry with them in case they need to leave the house for a long period of time? what are your expectations at a shelter? (interviewer will prompt suggesting essential supplies/ medicines you or your family may need)?

9. Can you think of a situation in which members of your community came together to provide transportation or assistance to people in need within the community? Can you provide examples?

COMMUNICATION

10. Have you ever received information on how to prepare for an emergency? If Yes from what agency/person or channel (radio, TV, etc)

11. Did you ever experience an emergency situation that required you to search for medical or logistical assistance? If yes, which is the main agency/ organization/ or association that has supported you during a past emergency? What about in difficult times? (Interviewer will prompt in thinking about any private or government agencies or local businesses or other organizations)

12. What channels of communication do you and members of your community use on a daily basis? And what about during emergency situations?

13. Can you think of a situation in your community in which information is passed by person to person in a rapid and effective manner? (i.e. deaths in the community, celebrations, etc.) can you describe how such information is channeled and shared?

TRUST AND COMPLIANCE

14. What organization or person in your community would you trust (such that you would act upon their guidance):

• to prepare you for a public health emergency ?

• to receive support (i.e. with transportation, medications, food, etc.) in an emergency situation?

15. Can you think of a situation in your community in which trust is built to achieve a specific objective? Can you describe what works and what does not work in this trust building process? [i.e. elections, provision of care, relation with police, etc.]

CONCLUDING INTERVIEW

16. What else do you think may be important to consider to prepare your community for a public health emergency situation?

Public reporting burden of this collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing 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 aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden to CDC/ATSDR Reports Clearance Officer; 1600 Clifton Road NE, MS D-74, Atlanta, Georgia 30333; ATTN: PRA (0920-1154).