This collaborative research grant provides funding that will enable a better understanding of the factors that influence the attitudes and behavioral intentions of essential workers (police, fire, EMS, public health, hospital intensive care unit, and emergency department personnel, with respect to reporting to work, assuming assigned duties, and complying with infection control protocols during outbreaks of avian influenza (AI), sudden acute respiratory distress syndrome (SARS), or other infectious disease epidemics; and to identify strategies to enhance overall willingness to work during these events. The study will take place in two strategically located settings, the New York City metropolitan area and Honolulu County, HI. The project will be organized into four phases: Phase 1. a series of focus groups (one for each essential worker group/per study site) will be conducted in order to collect qualitative data regarding factors that influence readiness, ability, and willingness to report to work during an AI or SARS outbreak. The information from the focus groups will be used to inform the development and pilot testing of a survey tool; Phase 2. the survey will be administered to 3,000 essential workers (2000 from N.Y. and 1,000 from HI); Phase 3. the survey results will be analyzed and presented to a variety of personnel from the participating agencies; Phase 4. participatory action research (PAR) teams will be formed for the purpose of validating the findings and for developing strategies to address issues or barriers identified by the survey.
This study is important because the findings will provide key information that can be used to optimize essential workers' readiness, ability and willingness to report to work and perform their duties competently during an infectious disease epidemic such as AI or SARS.
