Games, simulations, and learning in emergency preparedness: a review of the literature.

Between 2007 and 2011, a comprehensive review of the literature was conducted to identify the usefulness of educational games and simulations in developing and evaluating the competency of public health professionals to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies. This article presents an overview of the literature related to the use of games and simulations in education and training, summarizes key findings, identifies key features of gaming simulation design for educational effectiveness, and suggests that use of these emerging teaching and learning strategies be considered in the development of a comprehensive approach for creating and evaluating competency.

A longitudinal study of the impact of an emergency preparedness curriculum.

Objective: We conducted a longitudinal study to evaluate the impact of a curriculum designed to develop competency in emergency preparedness among public health professionals.

Methods: At six and 12 months following completion of one or more courses in the areas of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery, or in food protection, course participants were contacted and asked to identify if their participation allowed them to develop targeted competencies, identify important knowledge or skills they had acquired, provide examples of application of learning, and describe the impact of changes. Over five years, 36 sets of data were collected.

Lifelong learning for public health practice education: a model curriculum for bioterrorism and emergency readiness.

In 2002, the University of Minnesota School of Public Health (UMNSPH) adopted an approach that supports basic, advanced, and continuing education curricula to train current and future public health workers. This model for lifelong learning for public health practice education allows for the integration of competency domains from the Council on Linkages Between Academia and Public Health Practice's core public health workforce competency levels and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Bioterrorism and Emergency Readiness Competencies. This article describes how UMNSPH has implemented the model through coordination with state planning efforts and needs assessments in the tristate region of Minnesota, North Dakota, and Wisconsin.