Implementation of an Awareness Level Training to Prepare the Workforce for Future Infectious Disease Outbreaks.

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Occupational Safety and Health
• Infectious Disease Epidemiology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted critical gaps in workforce preparedness for infectious disease outbreaks.
• Effective training is essential to equip employees with knowledge for emergency response and maintaining health and safety.

Purpose of the Study:

• To create and evaluate an awareness-level training program focused on infectious disease outbreaks.
• To assess the impact of training on worker knowledge regarding emergency preparedness, health, and safety.

Main Methods:

• A cohort of 292 participants underwent instructor-led, synchronous online training modules covering vaccine awareness, disease transmission, pandemic awareness, and workplace controls.
• Pre- and post-training surveys were administered to measure changes in knowledge across five key areas.
• Chi-square analyses were employed to examine relationships between predictors and knowledge enhancement.

Main Results:

• Overall knowledge increased from 80.9% pre-training to 92.7% post-training.
• Participants from small businesses, those with less work experience, and individuals in non-healthcare roles showed initial deficits but improved significantly in disease transmission and prevention knowledge.
• All participants demonstrated enhanced understanding of workplace safeguards to prevent occupational injuries and illnesses.

Conclusions:

• The evaluated training program effectively improved employee knowledge of safe work practices and pandemic preparedness.
• Continued evaluation of preparedness training is recommended to ensure workforce readiness for future infectious disease outbreaks and pandemics.