Self-assessment in the measurement of public health workforce preparedness for bioterrorism or other public health disasters.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to examine effective ways to evaluate public health workers' competence for preparedness.


METHODS
The Public Health Ready project, developed by the National Association of County and City Public Health Officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is a pilot program designed to prepare local public health agencies to respond to emergency events. Workers at a Public Health Ready site (N=265) rated their need for training and their competence in meeting generic emergency response goals. Cluster analysis of cases was conducted on the self-assessed need for training.


RESULTS
Three groups of workers emerged, differing in their overall ratings of need for training. A given worker tended to report similar needs for training across all training goals.


CONCLUSIONS
In this study, workers' ratings of need for training may reflect an overall interest in training rather than need for training in a particular area. Caution should be exercised in interpretation when generic goals and self-assessment are used to measure need for training. Future assessments of training needs may be more effective if they use objective measures of specific local plans.
Kerby
Dave S
DS
Department of Health Promotion Sciences, College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, OK 73190, USA. dave-kerby@ouhsc.edu
Brand
Michael W
MW
Johnson
David L
DL
Ghouri
Farooq S
FS
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D023482:Bioterrorism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D016000:Cluster Analysis; D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006040:Goals; D006285:Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020380:Needs Assessment / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009825:Oklahoma; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011634:Public Health / Q000193:education*; D012647:Self-Assessment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires