The Effectiveness of Two Interventions for Improving Knowledge of Emergency Preparedness Amongst Enrollees of the World Trade Center Health Registry: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Details

• Journal Article:
  International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Personal Author:
  Alper, Howard E. ; Gargano, Lisa M. ; Hamwey, Meghan K. ; Leon, Lydia F. ; Friedman, Liza
• Description:
  Natural and man-made disasters are occurring more frequently, making household emergency preparedness essential for an effective response. Enrollees of the World Trade Center Health Registry have been found to be less prepared than the US national average despite their prior disaster exposure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate and compare the effectiveness of two interventions-a mailed brochure and a structured phone call-for increasing emergency preparedness knowledge among this population. We conducted a two-arm parallel group trial between February 2019 and August 2020. Participants were Registry enrollees who completed the Wave 4 Registry (2015-2016) survey, whose primary language was English or Spanish, who lived in New York City, and who did not report being a rescue and recovery worker affiliated with FDNY or NYPD. Enrollees were randomized to receive either a brochure by mail summarizing the components of emergency preparedness or a 15 min phone call describing the same. The primary outcome measure was the number of "yes" responses to the ten-item CDC CASPER emergency preparedness questionnaire, measured at baseline and post-intervention. Enrollees were sequentially alternatively assigned to either the brochure or phone call groups. In total, 705 enrollees were assigned to the brochure (n = 353) or phone call (n = 352) groups, and a total of 702 enrollees were analyzed. The Incident Rate Ratio (IRR) for the effect of time was 1.17 (95% CI = (1.14, 1.20)) and for intervention was 1.00 (95% CI = (0.95, 1.05)) Both the brochure and phone call interventions improved knowledge of emergency preparedness from baseline to post-intervention assessment, and to the same extent.
• Subjects:
  Disaster Planning Occupational Health Safety September 11 Terrorist Attacks
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: 9/11 Disaster; Emergency Preparedness; Randomized Controlled Trials World Trade Center; WTC; Health Programs; Intervention Effectiveness; Emergency Preparedness; Information Dissemination;
• Source:
  Int J Environ Res Public Health 2025 Jul; 22(7):1082
• ISSN:
  1660-4601
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  New York ; Rhode Island ; New York City Region [OSHA] ; Boston Region [OSHA]
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  13 pdf pages
• Volume:
  22
• Issue:
  7
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071392
• Contact Point Address:
  Howard E. Alper, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, World Trade Center Health Registry, 30-30 47th Avenue, Room 414, Long Island City, New York, NY 11101, USA
• Email:
  halper@health.nyc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2025
• Performing Organization:
  New York City Health/Mental Hygiene
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20090430
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7b876309d6e1ef1157f5daafcac2a141ae2d4fb4389873e3240fc564c68525fb3e78e7bfe988d424b83d790a887cc15dc5ceb3d2c6e8940b3490a4eec827e1a0
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/258992/cdc_258992_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 524.43 KB ]