Emergency preparedness is a healthcare issue: COVID-19 pandemic's influence on attitudes and behaviors among a national sample of parents.
Gary Glauberman, Gregory Zimet, Alexandra Michel and 1 others
PMID 37080118WHAT IT FOUND
Parents described stocking masks, meds and supplies, talking with children about plans, and viewing vaccines as emergency preparedness after the pandemic.
Most wanted providers to discuss preparedness.
Key findings
01Parents described stocking food, cleaning supplies, medications, masks, and PPE after pandemic shortages.
02Forty-three parents said emergency preparedness was a healthcare issue, and forty-three said obtaining vaccinations should be part of emergency preparedness.
03Fifty parents said they would want emergency preparedness information from healthcare providers.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The sample was a convenience sample of online parents, mostly female, White, college-educated, and insured, so it may not represent families without internet access, English reading, or adolescents. Participants were parents of adolescents only because the study was part of a larger project on adolescent vaccines, so findings may not apply to parents of younger children. The online text format may have limited discussion and excluded people less comfortable with computers. The study reports stated attitudes and behaviors, not observed preparedness, health outcomes, or the effect of provider advice.
Declared interests
This work was supported in part by a research grant from the Investigator-Initiated Studies Program of Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. The authors declared no known competing financial interests or personal relationships. Participants were recruited and paid by a market research company.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that healthcare provider counselling increases emergency preparedness or vaccine uptake. The study reports parents' stated attitudes and behaviors from a convenience sample, not outcomes.