NORTHWEST PREPAREDNESS AND EMERGENCY RESPONSE RESEARCH CENTER

描述(由申请人提供)：西北准备和应急研究中心(NWPERRC)将通过开展关于传达紧急情况的重要信息的研究，为改进公共卫生应急准备和响应系统做出贡献。西北部的六个州呈现出巨大的人口多样性和广泛的最近和潜在的紧急情况。NWPERRC的各个研究项目是一个共同主题的相辅相成和相互关联的方面：如何最好地接触到基本或弱势受众，特别是医疗保健提供者和弱势群体，在紧急情况下提供关键信息。这些项目将其他学科的各种定量和定性研究方法应用到这些公共卫生系统问题上。这三个研究项目是：项目1：有限英语水平(LEP)人群的有效紧急通信。该项目的重点是确定使用电话应急通信和反应系统接触英语水平有限的社区的障碍；项目2：公共卫生和卫生保健提供者之间通信方法的随机试验。该项目侧重于以最佳方式向不同的卫生保健提供者群体提供应急准备信息；以及项目3：突发公共卫生事件短信。该项目的重点是利用短信向不同人群传递具有说服力的应急准备信息的可行性。研究地点包括西雅图-金县、基特萨普县(华盛顿州)、华盛顿州中南部的五个县和蒙大拿州。研究包括的人群包括各种各样的医疗保健提供者：说西班牙语的、说普通话的、美洲原住民、聋人/重听人；城市、农村和边疆。通过试点项目和主要三个项目的扩展，研究将包括更多的州和地方，以及西北六个州的部落和社区组织。NWPERRC利用了华盛顿大学广泛的研究资源，该大学以其研究的广度和跨学科的研究而被广泛认可。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The Northwest Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (NWPERRC) will contribute to the improvement of public health emergency preparedness and response systems by conducting research on communicating important information for emergencies. The six Northwest states present tremendous diversity of populations and a wide range of recent and potential emergencies. The individual research projects of the NWPERRC are complementary and interrelated aspects of a common theme: how best to reach essential or vulnerable audiences, specifically health care providers and vulnerable populations, with critical information in emergency situations. The projects apply diverse quantitative and qualitative research methodologies from other disciplines to these public health system questions. The three research projects are: Project 1: Effective Emergency Communications with Limited English Proficiency (LEP) Populations. This project focuses on identification of barriers to using phone-based emergency communication and response systems to reach Limited English Proficiency communities; Project 2: A Randomized Trial of Communication Methods Between Public Health and Health Care Providers. This project focuses on the best ways to reach diverse groups of health care providers with information for emergency preparedness; and Project 3: SMS Text Messaging for Public Health Emergencies. This project focuses on the feasibility of using text messaging for reaching diverse populations with persuasive messages for emergency preparedness. Research sites include Seattle-King County, Kitsap County (WA), five counties of South Central Washington, and Montana. Populations included in the research are a wide range of health care providers: Spanish-speaking, Mandarin-speaking speaking, Native American, deaf/hard of hearing; urban, rural and frontier. Through pilot projects and expansions of the primary three projects, the research will include additional states and localities, and tribal and community organizations of the six Northwest states. The NWPERRC draws upon the extensive research resources of the University of Washington, which is widely recognized for its breadth of research and for its interdisciplinary research.