P3.062: Longitudinal Educational Program to Improve Disaster Preparedness in Pediatric Primary Care Practices

Purpose/Objectives: Despite increasing rates of natural disasters, primary care practices are often underrepresented in disaster preparedness efforts and many pediatric primary care providers feel ill-equipped to handle disasters. This pilot initiative was designed to help pediatric primary care practices gain the knowledge and resources needed to increase their disaster preparedness.

Design/Methods: This project developed a 9-month educational quality improvement program, with monthly didactic sessions, to help primary care practices improve their disaster readiness. Primary care practices were recruited through the hospital primary care quality network and providers were offered MOC Part 4 credit for completing the program. Seventeen primary care practices (pediatric, medicine-pediatrics, and family medicine) were enrolled, and fourteen practices completed the program. Using REDCap electronic data entry, practices completed a needs assessment, and baseline and monthly environmental disaster preparedness surveys. Practices rated their disaster preparedness using a 4-point scale (1 Not started, 2 In Progress, 3 Completely implemented, 4 Completely implemented and successfully tested). The aim of this program was for 85% of practices to increase pediatric disaster readiness scores to 3 or 4 in four required domains and at least one Tier 1 and two Tier 2 domains (Table 1) within 9 months. Disaster planning subject matter experts led monthly virtual learning sessions. Sessions covered disaster preparedness overview and regional disaster resources, office operations disaster planning, supporting children and youth with special healthcare needs (CYSHCN) in disasters (including a family panel session), communication strategies, sustaining operations in a disaster, and psychological support after a disaster. The process measure was the monthly environmental scan completion rate, and the outcome measure was the proportion of practices reaching the goal preparedness scores threshold.

Results: Baseline responses at the start of the program indicate practices had either not started or were in progress for most disaster preparedness activities. After 7 months in the program the practices’ average pediatric disaster readiness scores increased with multiple domains being completely implemented, or implemented and tested (Table 1, Figure 1). The largest improvements were made in forming disaster preparedness teams, identifying public health and emergency agencies contacts, and vaccine storage and safety. Practices made limited progress in disaster preparedness for CYSHCN noting challenges in developing a registry of CYSHCN that could be used to educate before and offer assistance during a disaster.

Conclusion/Discussion: An ambulatory disaster preparedness QI program with virtual collaborative learning sessions is an effective way for primary care practices to improve their disaster preparedness. Future programs would benefit from increased practice support to incorporate disaster planning into WCC visits, and assistance with registry development for CYSHCN to increase disaster readiness for these high-risk patients.