Ebola Response: A study of the Psychosocial Factors of Preparedness Among Commissioned Corps Officers of the United States Public Health Service

Jeffery L Sumter; Jill Roberts; Adrienne Goodrich-Doctor; Thomas J Mason

doi:10.1093/milmed/usz018

Ebola Response: A study of the Psychosocial Factors of Preparedness Among Commissioned Corps Officers of the United States Public Health Service

Mil Med. 2019 Oct 1;184(9-10):e502-e508. doi: 10.1093/milmed/usz018.

Authors

Jeffery L Sumter¹, Jill Roberts², Adrienne Goodrich-Doctor³, Thomas J Mason⁴

Affiliations

¹ Commissioned Corps of the United Stated Public Health Service (USPHS), Department of Global Health, University of South Florida, College of Public Health, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL.
² Department of Global Health, University of South Florida, University of South Florida, College of Public Health, Global Health, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL.
³ Commissioned Corps of the United Stated Public Health Service, 5001 Campus Drive, College Park, MD.
⁴ Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of South Florida, College of Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Tampa, FL.

PMID: 31141152
DOI: 10.1093/milmed/usz018

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of the cross-sectional study was to explore the relationships between occupational and general-self efficacy, and perceived preparedness among Commissioned Corps officers in the United States Public Health Service (Commissioned Corps). Commissioned Corps officers fight to protect the United States from diseases and care for the survivors of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Commissioned Corps officers play a vital role in the fight to protect the United States from diseases and care for the survivors of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The Commissioned Corps provided healthcare services in Liberia during the 2014 Ebola crisis that underscored the challenges of emerging diseases in a globalized community. It is imperative that these health professionals maintain a high level of self-efficacy and feel confident in their overall preparedness training as they respond to public health emergencies.

Materials and methods: This study used assessment instruments derived from Albert Bandura's concept of self-efficacy to analyze the occupational and general self-efficacy, and perceived preparedness levels of health services officers in the Commissioned Corps. 82 Commissioned Corps officers completed the assessment survey. To date, no study has examined the relationship between these constructs in this population.

Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between feeling confident in one's Commissioned Corps training and perceived preparedness (rs = 0.55, p < 0.001).

Conclusion: This study reflects the training perceptions and self-beliefs of Commissioned Corps officers, fills an important gap in the empirical research in this population, and advances previous investigations, which suffered from an underrepresentation of female service members.

Keywords: Commissioned Corps; Deployment; Ebola; Preparedness; Public Health Service; Self-efficacy; Training.

MeSH terms

Adult
Cross-Sectional Studies
Disease Outbreaks*
Female
Health Personnel / psychology*
Health Personnel / statistics & numerical data
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / complications
Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / psychology
Humans
Linear Models
Male
Psychology*
United States
United States Public Health Service / organization & administration
United States Public Health Service / statistics & numerical data