Are Emergency Responders Willing and Able to Help?

A study of 5,000 healthcare-based emergency responders including doctors, nurses and emergency room technicians has uncovered some alarming facts. For example, many hospitals have no idea if their workers would able to respond to an emergency situation (trained to an emergency response plan). Additionally, few hospitals could predict if their staff would be willing to respond to an specific emergency situation.

According to researcher Robyn Gershon, MHS, DRPH, a professor at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University, a surprising number of responders said they would not be able or willing to respond to certain emergencies. The emergency situation most feared by the responders interviewed? SARS, said Gershon.

FACTORS LIMITING RESPONDERS' ABILITY AND WILLINGNESS
TO RESPOND IN EMERGENCIES

Ability to respond limited by	Willingness to respond limited by
Transportation - 32%	Fear for family - 47%
Care of children - 30%	Fear for self - 30%
Care of elderly relatives - 11%	Fear for own health - 13%
Pet care - 5%	Personal health - 5%

RESPONDERS ABILITY AND WILLINGNESS TO RESPOND
TO SPECIFIC EMERGENCIES*

Ability to respond to specific emergencies	Willingness to respond to specific emergencies
82% able to respond to an explosion	85% willing to respond to an explosion
80% able to respond to a fire	84% willing to respond to a fire
48% able to respond to a snowstorm	80% willing respond to a snowstorm
> 66% able to respond to chemical event	> 66% willing respond to a chemical event
> 50% able to respond to radiation event	> 50% willing respond to a radiation event
< 50% able to respond to medical emergency involving SARS	< 50% willing respond to medical emergency involving SARS

*The more knowledge responders had about biological terror incidents, the less willing they were to respond. The more they heard about the side effects of the smallpox vaccination, the less willing they were to take it.

See full story by Sandy Smith with Penton Media, Inc.