Online assessment follow-up

CDC NATIONAL HEALTH SECURITY PREPAREDNESS INDEX

ONLINE ASSESSMENT FOLLOW-UP PROTOCOL

Prepared For:

U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Contract # 75D30118C03568 00001

Utility of the National Health Security Preparedness Index for Public Health Preparedness

Prepared by:

University of Kentucky

University of Colorado

University of California-Los Angeles

New York University

Version Date:

March 31, 2020

Name
Title
Organization
Address

Dear [name]:

Several weeks ago we invited your participation in a national online assessment about health security and preparedness in your [state or local jurisdiction], and in particular about your perspectives regarding the National Health Security Preparedness Index (Index) and its relevance to public health preparedness. We have not yet received your response. Your participation is very important for obtaining meaning results, and therefore we are extending the deadline by 2 additional weeks to [date] in order to allow for your participation. More information about the assessment is provided in detail below. You may access the online assessment here: [url].

Who is conducting the assessment?

This assessment is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and conducted by the University of Kentucky in partnership with the University of Colorado, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), New York University, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).

What am I being asked to do?

You are receiving this invitation because you have been identified as having responsibility for at least some public health emergency preparedness activities in your [state, territory or local jurisdiction]. We hope you will be willing to complete the following online assessment. Participation in the assessment is voluntary. You can skip any question you do not wish to answer, you may discontinue and resume completing the survey at any time, and you may complete the survey at work or outside of work. The assessment will require a total of approximately 52 minutes to complete, and requires no advanced preparation time. For your convenience, you do not need to complete the entire assessment in one session. You can discontinue the assessment at any time and resume completion of the assessment later. The assessment online portal will remain open for 4 weeks.

Why conduct this assessment?

The Index was developed to provide a mechanism for measuring how capabilities for health security vary across the U.S., how they change over time, and how they can be strengthened for community benefit. The purpose of this survey is to better understand state and local public health preparedness needs, and identify strategies for improving utility and use of the Index for public health practitioners such as yourself.

Who is conducting this assessment?

This assessment is funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and conducted by the University of Kentucky in partnership with the University of Colorado, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), New York University, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO).

What if I do not want to participate?

If you do not wish to participate in this assessment or you would like more information, you can indicate this by replying to this email [email address], by clicking on the web link [web URL] or by contacting the study team by phone at [phone number]. Again, you may opt out or discontinue survey participation at any time.

What if someone else in my organization would be better to participate?

If you would like someone else in your organization to respond on behalf of your organization, you can indicate this by replying to this email [email address], by clicking on the web link [web URL] or by contacting the study team by phone at [phone number].

What will I receive for participating?

Once the data are collected and analyzed, the study team will distribute a summary of findings to all interested study participants. Study findings will also directly inform efforts to improve utility of the Index for public health emergency preparedness. Additionally, your documented participation in this study may qualify as evidence of participation in quality improvement activities for the purposes of national public health agency accreditation. Finally, your participation will generate insight about public health preparedness capabilities that will be helpful to the larger field of public health practice.

Security of Responses

Your responses will be kept as secure as possible. Online assessment links are unique to each public health agency for the purposes of tracking response rates and linking assessment data with existing publicly available data sources. Only aggregated data will be reported to individuals outside the study team. Assessment data will be maintained in locked offices on password-protected computers and will not be accessible to anyone other than authorized and trained administrative and technical staff of the study team.

Contact Information

Thank you for your time. If you have any questions concerning the survey, please contact the principal investigator, Dr. Glen Mays, PhD, at [email] or [phone]

Sincerely,

[signature]

Glen Mays, PhD, MPH
Principal Investigator
Professor and Chair
Department of Health Systems, Management and Policy
University of Colorado School of Public Health

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