Friday, July 24, 2009
1 in 6 public health workers would stay home during a pandemic
One in six public health workers would stay home during a pandemic flu outbreak regardless of its severity, according to a survey by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The key to getting workers to show up was that they believed their role would have a positive outcome on the crisis.
Overall, 16% of 1,835 public health workers in Minnesota, Ohio and West Virginia said they would not report regardless of the severity of the outbreak, with the key factor being how important an employee felt his or her job is.
Public health workers who were concerned about a pandemic, confident that they could fulfill their response roles and that their roles would have a meaningful impact on the situation were 31 times more likely to come to work in an emergency. Workers whose perception of the threat was low but who strongly believed in the efficacy of their job were 18 times more likely to say they would come to work. Full results are online.
Researchers want to apply this information in ways to encourage more workers to show up. The first step is to better educate public health workers about their role in an emergency and then motivate them with an understanding of why this role makes a difference. Downplaying the potential threats won't work because "A sense of threat is an important component in the worker's motivation to prepare for the event and to respond to it."
By the way, current findings are better than the 2005 study, in which more than 40% of public health employees said they would stay home during a pandemic.
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
2:31 PM
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