Impact of an Education Intervention on Missouri K-12 School Disaster and Biological Event Preparedness.

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS ® ) 21.0t-test

Missouri Association of School Nurses (MASN) members were e-mailed a survey link in fall 2013 (ie, preintervention), links to online education modules (ie, intervention) in late fall, and a postintervention survey link in spring, 2014. School biological event readiness was measured using 35 indicators, for a possible score range of 0-35. A paired t-test compared pre- to postintervention preparedness scores.

School biological event readiness

We used a pre- and postintervention methodology to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention on school emergency management plans at the start and end of the 2013-2014 school year. Missouri Association of School Nurses members were e-mailed a link to an online survey in the fall of 2013 (ie, preintervention), sent links to online education modules (ie, intervention) in late fall, 2013, and e-mailed a link to a second online survey in spring of 2014 (ie, postintervention). The online surveys were administered through Qualtrics® (an online survey platform). Follow-up recruitment e-mails were distributed 2 and 4weeks after each initial e-mail to maximize response rates. Nurses were told that completion of the online survey(s) and/or intervention implied consent to participate in the study.

Data retrieved from online surveys. (pre and postsurvey

The purpose

A total of 133 school nurses (33.6% response rate) completed a survey; 35.3% of those (N=47) completed both preand postintervention survey that could be matched. Pre- and postintervention preparedness scores ranged from 5 to 28.5 (x=13.3) and 6.5 to 25 (x=14.8), respectively. Postintervention scores were significantly higher than preintervention scores for those who watched at least 1 module (t=-2.3, p<.05).The education intervention was effective at improving school preparedness, though the impact was small. The education intervention needs to be reassessed, especially in regard to providing a longer intervention period.

The Saint Louis University Institutional Review Board approved this study (protocol # 23654).

disaster preparedness of schoolsbioterrorism, infectious diseases, and pandemics.A 2011 nationwide school pandemic preparedness study found schools to be deficient. We examined the impact of a school nurse educational intervention aimed at improving K-12 school biological event preparedness.