Applying a Behavioral Model Framework for Disaster Recovery Research in Local Public Health Agencies: A Conceptual Approach.
The local public health agency (LPHA) workforce is at the center of the public health emergency preparedness system and is integral to locally driven disaster recovery efforts. Throughout the disaster recovery period, LPHAs have a primary responsibility for community health and are responsible for a large number of health services. In the face of decreasing preparedness funding and increasing frequency and severity of disasters, LPHAs continue to provide essential disaster life cycle services to their communities. However, little is known about the confidence that LPHA workers have in performing disaster recovery-related duties. To date, there is no widely used instrument to measure LPHA workers' sense of efficacy, nor is there an educational intervention designed specifically to bolster disaster recovery-phase efficacy perceptions. Here, we describe the important role of the LPHA workforce in disaster recovery and the operational- and efficacy-related research gaps inherent in today's disaster recovery practices. We then propose a behavioral framework that can be used to examine LPHA workers' disaster recovery perceptions and suggest a research agenda to enhance LPHA workforce disaster recovery efficacy through an evidence-informed educational intervention.
1The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine,Inc,Bethesda,Maryland.
Lauren
L
Walsh
3Cecil County Health Department,Elkton,Maryland.
Stephanie
S
Garrity
4Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health,Department of Health Policy and Management,Baltimore,Maryland.
Lainie
L
Rutkow
5Department of Biostatistics,Baltimore,Maryland.
Carol B
CB
Thompson
1The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine,Inc,Bethesda,Maryland.
Kandra
K
Strauss-Riggs
1The Henry M. Jackson Foundation for the Advancement of Military Medicine,Inc,Bethesda,Maryland.
Brian A
BA
Altman
1National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health,Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences,Rockville,Maryland.
Kenneth
K
Schor
6Department of Environmental Health Sciences,Baltimore,Maryland.
Daniel J
DJ
Barnett
D004189:Disaster Planning / Q000379:methods*; D004190:Disasters; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D012107:Research Design