Evaluating the effectiveness of an emergency preparedness training programme for public health staff in China.

The post training measurement was conducted at the end of the last day of training. For the follow-up test, the participants were mailed a copy of the survey, with a self-addressed return envelope, 12 months after the training had been completed.Most data were reported as scores. Frequency and confidence scores were derived for each domain by participants’ responses to the frequency questions and the self-efficacy questions. Repeated-measures analysis of variance was used to test differences between pre-test, post-test and follow-up test. The data from semi-structured interviews were categorized independently by three authors using the triangulation method, and the individual results of the analysis were compared and discussed until consensus was reached. All results were expressed as mean standard deviation. Data were analysed by one-way analysis of variance using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for Windows, Version 12.0 (SPSS. Inc., Chicago, IL, USA).

Training, Questionnaire and semi structured interviews

Public health emergency competencies: public health science knowledge, emergency management knowledge, emergency analytical assessment skills.

Seventy-eight trainees from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 18 cities in Hubei participated in the emergency preparedness training programme in 2005. Two participants did not complete their training and were not part of the evaluation (n ¼ 76). Trainers were selected based on their expertise in the field of public health emergency response, related training programmes and their involvement in continuous consultations on health service programmes, both  educational and promotional. Trainers came from the MOH, WHO, Chinese CDC, Health Department of Hubei Province, Fudan University, Wuhan University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Various training methods were used: case studies, workshops, tutorials, seminars, group discussions, role playing, drilling, fieldwork

The analysis was limited to staff who were primarily engaged in disease monitoring and control, and epidemiological investigations in the CDCIt was not possible to fully determine which changes were due to the emergency preparedness training programme and which were the result of other factors

The emergency preparedness training improved the knowledge levels and increased attitudinal and behavioural intention scores for emergency preparedness. The results at follow-up showed that the knowledge levels and attitudinal/behavioural intention scores of participants decreased slightly (P40.05) compared with levels immediately after training (Po0.01). However, there was a significant increase compared with before training (Po0.01). Moreover, more than 80% of participants reported that the training process and resources were scientific and feasible.

Paper states, that ethical approval is not required.

The purpose of this research was to evaluate an emergency preparedness training programme and to develop a participatory training approach for emergency response.