Develop and Test a Tool for Training Research Responders in Emergency Operations

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 DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The United States government has invested billions of dollars to develop effective disaster preparedness and response strategies. Missing from ongoing disaster operations is the ability to collect data and conduct research in real time in order to better inform ongoing response and recovery efforts as well as future events. Although much of disaster preparedness training has focused on first responders, and some training for second responders, little is yet available to train Research Responders (RRs). The Disaster Research Response Project (DR2), developed by NIEHS in collaboration with the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is charged with providing readily available data collection tools and response protocols as well as a response network of trained research responders familiar with those tools. TREO--Training Research Responders for Emergency Operations is an innovative online learning product that specifically addresses how RRs can be integrated into disaster operations. Researchers can use the tool at their convenience -- either in advance or as just-in-time training before deployment into a disaster area. For our Phase I effort, in depth interviews will guide the development of TREO, followed by usability testing of the prototype as well as a pre- and post-assessment of RR knowledge gains at the conclusion of training and three months later. We also suggest conducting demonstrations for other emergency response personnel to provide an indication of the applicability of TREO's game-like environment to meet the training needs of other responder populations. This tool will contribute to shifting the paradigm of how novel training technologies can drive disaster preparedness by using virtual worlds to teach RRs how to integrate safely and productively into any type of disaster operation. The potential for commercial application of TREO goes well beyond the NIEHS network of RRs to include schools offering disaster management curricula, public or private research organizations, independent researchers, and state and local agencies that may conduct or contract for research on natural or intentional disasters.