(A325) Educational and Technical Considerations of Veterinary Personnel Involved in Animal Welfare during Disasters

Abstract

Training and education of healthcare and government workers has long been accepted as integral to disaster preparedness, although, up until recently, veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals have not participated in such practices. It is well documented that when disasters occur, there are dramatic increases in the occurrence and spread of zoonotic diseases, significant contamination of food, water and soil, and reductions in food supply for both humans and animals. These effects reflect the interdependence of humans, animals and their environment, and the importance of managing animal health and welfare after such disasters. Currently, animal welfare emergency management (AWEM) is neither evidence-based nor standardized. Most veterinary schools do not include AWEM in their curriculum, even though AWEM is an essential part of the veterinary professions obligations to both animals and humans. With this gap identified, research was undertaken to derive educational competencies and objectives in criteria-based preparedness and responses that were relevant to veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals involved in AWEM. The results have been used to inform the development of Animal Emergency Response training for inclusion in both veterinary and veterinary paraprofessional curriculums. A systematic evidence-based consensus building method was used to derive the educational competences and objectives. This included the following steps: (1) review of peer-reviewed literature on relevant content areas and educational theory; (2)a review of existing competences and training objectives within other sectors involved in disaster management; (3) a survey of international experts and responders which produced qualitative and (4) quantative results development of competencies and testable objectives. The qualitative results showed that veterinarians and veterinary paraprofessionals require core competencies in all three groups and the four basic components of disaster management: mitigation, preparedness, response/emergency relief and recovery. A curriculum should cover all animals, companion, production and wild.