Assessing the integration of health center and community emergency preparedness and response planning.

Background: To assess the state of health center integration into community preparedness, we undertook a national study of linkages between health centers and the emergency preparedness and response planning initiatives in their communities. The key objectives of this project were to gain a better understanding of existing linkages in a nationally representative sample of health centers, and identify health center demographic and experience factors that were associated with strong linkages.

Methods: The objectives of the study were to gain a baseline understanding of existing health center linkages to community emergency preparedness and response systems and to identify factors that were associated with strong linkages. A 60-item questionnaire was mailed to the population of health centers supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration's Bureau of Primary Health Care in February 2005. Results were aggregated and a chi square analysis identified factors associated with stronger linkages.

Results: Overall performance on study-defined indicators of strong linkages was low: 34% had completed a hazard vulnerability analysis in collaboration with the community emergency management agency, 30% had their role documented in the community plan, and 24% participated in community-wide exercises. Stronger linkages were associated with experience responding to a disaster and a perception of high risk for experiencing a disaster.

Conclusions: The potential for health centers to participate in an integrated response is not fully realized, and their absence from community-based planning leaves an already vulnerable population at greater risk. Community planners should be encouraged to include health centers in planning and response and centers should receive more targeted resources for community integration.