title: Hawaii physician and nurse bioterrorism preparedness survey.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Physicians and nurses are integral components of the public health bioterrorism surveillance system. However, most published bioterrorism preparedness surveys focus on gathering information related to self-assessed knowledge or perceived needs and abilities.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  A survey of physicians and nurses in Hawaii was conducted to assess objective knowledge regarding bioterrorism agents and diseases and perceived response readiness for a bioterrorism event.
  
  
  METHODS
  During June and July 2004, an anonymous survey was mailed up to three times to a random sample of all licensed physicians and nurses residing in Hawaii.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate was 45% (115 of 255) for physicians and 53% (146 of 278) for nurses. Previous bioterrorism preparedness training associated significantly with knowledge-based test performance in both groups. Only 20% of physicians or nurses had had previous training in bioterrorism preparedness, and < 15% felt able to respond effectively to a bioterrorism event. But, > 70% expressed willingness to assist the state in the event of a bioterrorist attack.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Additional bioterrorism preparedness training should be made available through continuing education and also should become a component of both medical and nursing school curricula. It is important to provide the knowledge necessary for physicians and nurses to improve their ability to perform in the event of a bioterrorist attack.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences and Epidemiology, John A. Burns School of Medicine, University of Hawaii, Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USA. katz@hawaii.edu
authors.forename: Alan R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Katz
authors.forename: Dawn M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Nekorchuk
authors.forename: Peter S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Holck
authors.forename: Lisa A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Hendrickson
authors.forename: Allison A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Imrie
authors.forename: Paul V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Effler
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D023482:Bioterrorism; D004189:Disaster Planning; D005260:Female; D006254:Hawaii; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009726:Nurses; D010820:Physicians