The Northwest Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (NWPERRC) will contribute to the improvement of public health emergency preparedness and response systems by conducting research on communicating important information for emergencies. The six Northwest states present tremendous diversity of populations and a wide range of recent and potential emergencies. The individual research projects of the NWPERRC are complementary and interrelated aspects of a common theme: how best to reach essential or vulnerable audiences, specifically health care providers and vulnerable populations, with critical information in emergency situations. The projects apply diverse quantitative and qualitative research methodologies from other disciplines to these public health system questions. The three research projects are: Project 1: Effective Emergency Communications with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Populations. This project focuses on identification of barriers to using phone-based emergency communication and response systems to reach Limited English Proficiency communities;Project 2: A Randomized Trial of Communication Methods Between Public Health and Health Care Providers. This project focuses on the best ways to reach diverse groups of health care providers with information for emergency preparedness;and Project 3: SMS Text Messaging for Public Health Emergencies. This project focuses on the feasibility of using text messaging for reaching diverse populations with persuasive messages for emergency preparedness. Research sites include Seattle-King County, Kitsap County (WA), five counties of South Central Washington, and Montana. Populations included in the research are a wide range of health care providers: Spanish-speaking, Mandarin-speaking speaking, Native American, deaf/hard of hearing;urban, rural and frontier. Through pilot projects and expansions of the primary three projects, the research will include additional states and localities, and tribal and community organizations of the six Northwest states. The NWPERRC draws upon the extensive research resources of the University of Washington, which is widely recognized for its breadth of research and for its interdisciplinary research.
