The purpose of this study was to investigate the awareness, prevalence of engagement, interest level, roles, perceptions, and training of rehabilitation therapists in the disaster management cycle.
A sample of convenience (obtained from licensure records) consisting of 1,597 rehabilitation practitioners (PT, OT, SLP), currently licensed to practice in the US, completed a survey adapted from the Practitioner Disaster Management Questionnaire.
The questionnaire was comprised of yes/no and multiple-response questions pertaining to familiarity, involvement, training, levels of interest, and likelihood of participation.
Descriptive analysis was used to explore roles, training, involvement and exposure. A Spearman correlation was conducted between training experience (through academic courses, continuing education, organizations (Medical Reserve Corp, Red Cross), and therapists familiarity with and the likelihood of responding to disasters.
Overall, participants identified as female, white, non-Hispanic and in the 41-55 age range.
PT’s and OT’s believed they have a role in disaster management but reported little familiarity, little professional experience, and little to no training in the disaster management stages. Most did not know who to contact to volunteer in a disaster situation. Spearman correlation revealed a small positive correlation between training and likelihood of responding to a disaster.
SLP’s were unfamiliar with what roles they play in the disaster management cycle and have not had adequate training; yet feel they could provide important contributions to the interdisciplinary disaster management team.
All the rehabilitation professionals lacked training about disaster management and their defined roles. Similar to interdisciplinary teams found in clinical practice, OT’s, SLP’s and PT’s need training and education about their roles to form teams to holistically address the needs of clients in disaster management. The positive correlation between training and likelihood of responding suggests that therapists who receive training are more likely to engage in the disaster management process and increase the strength of the responding team.
This is a wake-up call to educators to provide knowledge of disaster management in training new practitioners, continuing education providers to offer disaster management training to practicing therapists, and all rehabilitation therapists need to be involved in the health and welfare of people and communities they live in and around the world.
interprofessional team
humanitarian response
