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Preparing military installations for pandemic influenza through tabletop exercises
Jean Lin Otto1, Robert J Lipnick, Jose L Sanchez
1Armed Forces Health Surveillance Center, Silver Spring, MD 20910, USA.
Military Medicine
|January 30, 2010
Summary
Department of Defense (DoD) pandemic influenza preparedness improved, with many installations creating or revising plans and conducting exercises. Competing priorities and resource limitations remain key barriers to effective installation-level pandemic response.
Area of Science:
- Public Health Emergency Preparedness
- Infectious Disease Outbreak Response
- Military Health System Readiness
Background:
- Effective Department of Defense (DoD) pandemic influenza response hinges on well-developed installation-level plans.
- Previous exercises highlighted the need for enhanced preparedness across Tri-Service installations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the impact of a "train-the-trainer" pandemic influenza tabletop exercise on installation-level preparedness.
- To identify barriers and facilitators to conducting pandemic influenza exercises within the DoD.
Main Methods:
- A half-day "train-the-trainer" tabletop exercise was conducted for Public Health Emergency Officers (PHEOs).
- A 6-month follow-up survey assessed plan development and exercise execution at participants' installations (N=50).
Main Results:
- 68% of installations created or revised pandemic influenza plans post-exercise.
- 44% of installations conducted a pandemic influenza exercise within 6 months.
- Competing priorities, time, personnel, and budget were primary barriers.
Conclusions:
- The "train-the-trainer" approach positively influenced pandemic influenza plan development and exercise execution.
- Addressing identified barriers is crucial for enhancing installation-level pandemic influenza readiness and response capabilities.
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