Self-Assessment in the Measurement of Public Health Workforce Preparedness for Bioterrorism or other Public Health Disasters

Has bioterrorism preparedness improved public health?

In anticipation of future terrorist attacks, the nation has been focused on emergency preparedness, including threats to public health and the ability of communities to respond to them. The Center for Studying Health System Change's (HSC) recent site visits to 12 nationally representative communities found early benefits to public health due to heightened attention to bioterrorism preparedness:...

The role of public health nurses in bioterrorism preparedness.

BACKGROUND Public health nurses have a central function in the public health system. Nurses conduct disease surveillance, which is an important first step in recognizing diseases caused by bioterrorist agents. Unfortunately, the current public health infrastructure and expectations for public health nurses are not clearly defined and therefore pose serious difficulties for conducting disease su...

The challenge of training a public health workforce in bioterrorism preparedness.

Fear of Bioterrorism and Implications for Public Health Preparedness

After the human anthrax cases and exposures in 2001, the Illinois Department of Public Health received an increasing number of environmental and human samples (1,496 environmental submissions, all negative for Bacillus anthracis). These data demonstrate increased volume of submissions to a public health laboratory resulting from fear of bioterrorism.

State preparedness for bioterrorism and public health emergencies.

The nation's ability to prepare for and respond to an infectious disease or bioterrorist attack rests largely in states' public health systems. Early federal efforts to provide funding to help states and localities build their infrastructure have led to a great deal of activity in this area. Evaluations of progress in preparedness show both successes and shortcomings, and assessments of whether...