ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES: To investigate the views of students, support staff and academic staff at the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada on the allocation of scarce resources during an influenza pandemic to discover if there were any shared values. METHODS: A web-based questionnaire was circulated to students, support staff and academic staff asking them how they would rank the priority of eleven different groups for access to scarce resources. They were also asked to select one of seven priority access plans. RESULTS: The highest priority was given to health care workers by 89% of respondents, closely followed by emergency workers (85%). Only 12.7% of respondents gave politicians high priority. Respondents favored the "Save the most lives" priority access (39.9%) (N=5220). CONCLUSION: Current policies in place for the allocation of scarce resources during an influenza pandemic may not properly reflect the views of the general public. Further public consultation should be undertaken in order to uncover how they would allocate scarce resources.
Subject(s)
Health Care Rationing/ethics , Influenza, Human/epidemiology , Influenza, Human/prevention & control , Pandemics/prevention & control , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Alberta , Child , Child, Preschool , Disaster Planning , Female , Humans , Infant , Infant, Newborn , Influenza, Human/diagnosis , Influenza, Human/drug therapy , Male , Middle Aged , Surveys and Questionnaires , Universities , Young AdultABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: The global threat of an influenza pandemic continues to grow and thus universities have begun emergency preparedness planning. This study examined stakeholder's knowledge, risk-perception, and willingness to volunteer. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: The design of this study is a cross-sectional survey. Questionnaires were sent to 1,512 nursing students and were returned by 484, yielding a response rate of 32% for this subgroup. Nursing students may be a much-needed human resource in the event of an influenza pandemic. MEASURES: The measurement tool was a Web-based questionnaire regarding pandemic influenza designed by a subgroup of researchers on the Public Health Response Committee. RESULTS: Most nursing students (67.9%) said they were likely to volunteer in the event of a pandemic if they were able to do so. An even higher number (77.4%) said they would volunteer if provided protective garments. Overall, 70.7% of students supported the proposition that nursing students have a professional obligation to volunteer during a pandemic. Nursing students indicated that they have had a wealth of volunteer experience in the past and they would apply this service ethic to a pandemic situation. CONCLUSIONS: Emergency preparedness competencies should be integrated into existing nursing curricula and other health science programs. University administrations need to engage in planning to create protocol for recruitment, practice, and protection of volunteers.
