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Vulnerable Populations in Hospital and Health Care Emergency Preparedness Planning: A Comprehensive Framework for Inclusion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2016

Debra Kreisberg*
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Colorado School of Public Health; University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado USA Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado USA
Deborah S.K. Thomas
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Denver, Denver, Colorado USA
Morgan Valley
Affiliation:
Department of Psychology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado USA
Shannon Newell
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, VA Eastern Colorado Health Care System, Denver, Colorado USA
Enessa Janes
Affiliation:
Michael Baker International, Lakewood, Colorado USA
Charles Little
Affiliation:
Department of Emergency Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado USA
*
Correspondence: Debra Kreisberg, PhD Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Colorado School of Public Health Mail Stop B119 13001 East 17th Place Aurora, Colorado 80045 USA E-mail: Debra.kreisberg@ucdenver.edu

Abstract

Introduction

As attention to emergency preparedness becomes a critical element of health care facility operations planning, efforts to recognize and integrate the needs of vulnerable populations in a comprehensive manner have lagged. This not only results in decreased levels of equitable service, but also affects the functioning of the health care system in disasters. While this report emphasizes the United States context, the concepts and approaches apply beyond this setting.

Objective

This report: (1) describes a conceptual framework that provides a model for the inclusion of vulnerable populations into integrated health care and public health preparedness; and (2) applies this model to a pilot study.

Methods

The framework is derived from literature, hospital regulatory policy, and health care standards, laying out the communication and relational interfaces that must occur at the systems, organizational, and community levels for a successful multi-level health care systems response that is inclusive of diverse populations explicitly. The pilot study illustrates the application of key elements of the framework, using a four-pronged approach that incorporates both quantitative and qualitative methods for deriving information that can inform hospital and health facility preparedness planning.

Conclusions

The conceptual framework and model, applied to a pilot project, guide expanded work that ultimately can result in methodologically robust approaches to comprehensively incorporating vulnerable populations into the fabric of hospital disaster preparedness at levels from local to national, thus supporting best practices for a community resilience approach to disaster preparedness.

KreisbergD , ThomasDSK , ValleyM , NewellS , JanesE , LittleC . Vulnerable Populations in Hospital and Health Care Emergency Preparedness Planning: A Comprehensive Framework for Inclusion. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2016;31(2):211–219.

Type
Special Reports
Copyright
© World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine 2016 

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