Public health communication with frontline clinicians during the first wave of the 2009 influenza pandemic

Details

• Alternative Title:
  J Public Health Manag Pract
• Personal Author:
  Staes, Catherine J. ; Wuthrich, Amyanne ; Gesteland, Per ; Allison, Mandy A. ; Leecaster, Molly ; Shakib, Julie H. ; Carter, Marjorie E. ; Mallin, Brittany M. ; Mottice, Susan ; Rolfs, Robert ; Pavia, Andrew T. ; Wallace, Brent ; Gundlapalli, Adi V. ; Samore, Matthew ; Byington, Carrie L.
• Description:
  Context
  
  During public health emergencies, office-based frontline clinicians are critical partners in the detection, treatment, and control of disease. Communication between public health authorities and frontline clinicians is critical, yet public health agencies, medical societies, and healthcare delivery organizations have all called for improvements.
  
  Objectives
  
  Describe communication processes between public health and frontline clinicians during the first wave of the 2009 novel influenza A (H1N1) pandemic; assess clinicians’ use of and knowledge about public health guidance; and assess clinicians’ perceptions and preferences about communication during a public health emergency.
  
  Design and Methods
  
  During the first wave of the pandemic, we performed a process analysis and surveyed 509 office-based primary care providers in Utah.
  
  Setting and Participants
  
  Public health and healthcare leaders from major agencies involved in emergency response in Utah and office-based primary care providers located throughout Utah.
  
  Main Outcome Measure(s)
  
  Communication process and information flow, distribution of emails, proportion of clinicians that accessed key websites at least weekly, clinicians’ knowledge about recent guidance and perception about email load, primary information sources, and qualitative findings from clinician feedback.
  
  Results
  
  The process analysis revealed redundant activities and messaging. The 141 survey respondents (28%) received information from a variety of sources: 68% received information from state public health; almost 100% received information from healthcare organizations. Only 1/3 visited a state public health or institutional website frequently enough (at least weekly) to obtain updated guidance. Clinicians were knowledgeable about guidance that did not change during the first wave; however, correct knowledge was lower after guidance changed. Clinicians felt overwhelmed by email volume, preferred a single institutional email for clinical guidance, and suggested new information be concise and clearly identified.
  
  Conclusion
  
  Communication between public health, healthcare organizations, and clinicians was redundant, overwhelming, and can be enhanced considering clinician preferences and institutional communication channels.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Adult Child Electronic Mail Emergencies Female Health Planning Guidelines Health Surveys Humans Influenza, Human Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype Interdisciplinary Communication Male Medical Informatics Medical Staff Models, Organizational Pandemics Point-of-Care Systems Pregnancy Public Health Administration Risk Assessment

  More +
• Source:
  J Public Health Manag Pract. 17(1):36-44.
• Pubmed ID:
  21135659
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC3070179
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  8P01HK000030/HK/PHITPO CDC HHS/United States ; K08 HS018538-01/HS/AHRQ HHS/United States ; K24 HD047249/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States ; K24 HD047249-01A1/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States ; K24-HD047249/HD/NICHD NIH HHS/United States ; U 54 AI-065357/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States ; U54 AI065357/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States ; U54 AI065357-01/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States ; UL1 RR025764/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States ; UL1 RR025764-01/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States ; UL1-RR025764/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States
• Place as Subject:
  Utah
• Volume:
  17
• Issue:
  1
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:81cb4e0a484f25eb346523b073e53bb6b0f6a342e42ce0d628e80c50a959c325
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/33189/cdc_33189_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 371.26 KB ]