Assessment of Physician Preparedness and Response Capacity to Bioterrorism or Other Public Health Emergency Events in a Major Metropolitan Area

Background: The role of physicians in the detection, reporting, and response to infectious disease outbreaks, anomalous biologic events, or other public health emergencies is critical to the community's safety. Objective/Method: In an effort to assess the level of preparedness of local physicians to respond to such events, the City of Fort Worth Public Health Department, the Fort Worth/Tarrant County Health Authority, and the Tarrant County Medical Society collaborated in designing and administering a cross-sectional study in spring 2006. Results: The results serve as a baseline of the local clinical community's preparedness, with 91% of local physicians reporting their knowledge as "fair-poor," 80% desiring more information, and 83% favoring more training opportunities. Conclusion: Information obtained through this assessment is used to help cultivate educational interventions that will enhance the participation, integration, and mobilization of clinicians in the event of a community emergency.