Study of rural preparedness for bioterrorism underway in North Central Florida and the Panhandle

Little attention has been given to preparing residents and health-care providers in America’s sparsely populated areas for possible bioterrorist acts, even though experts warn the risks such incidents would pose to human health appear equally great in rural and urban areas.

Now researchers with the University of Florida College of Health Professions plan to help fill that gap through a two-year federally funded project to evaluate bioterrorism preparedness and health needs in rural North Central Florida and the Panhandle. The study is funded by an $889,000 grant from the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

The evidence obtained from the study will serve as the basis for models and tools that will be recommended to policy makers and health-care providers in order to improve bioterrorism preparedness in health systems across the nation.

“Close to 65 million people in the United States live in rural communities and have limited resources when it comes to health care,” said Aram Dobalian, who directs the study, which began last month.

“Nowadays, there isn’t much distinction between urban and rural areas as far as potential bioterrorist hazards are concerned,” said Dobalian, an assistant professor in the department of health services administration. “Trains carrying cargo travel through urban and rural areas, and chemical plants may be located in small towns as well as big cities.

“Problems can be worse in some areas where there may be only one physician available to treat people from a large region,” he added. “We aim to assess existing resources and response mechanisms in both rural and neighboring urban communities to meet anticipated health-care needs arising from bioterrorist events, and to examine how urban health professionals can serve supportive roles in rural areas.”

Dobalian said the study will encompass about 40 selected sites and involve in-person interviews with people who run community health centers, public health departments and primary care clinics or hospitals, as well as with individual health professionals and those who work in schools, churches, long-term care facilities, home health agencies and other organizations. Researchers will seek to determine what rural health-care providers have already done to prepare for bioterrorism involving radiological, chemical or biological agents, and how seriously they view potential threats. They also will assess where rural residents go for health-care services.

In addition to promoting preparedness for bioterrorism and other public health emergencies, the UF study is aimed at assessing long-term health-care needs, including treatment for chronic physical ailments, rehabilitative care and mental health services. Researchers will pay particular attention to the health-care needs of the most vulnerable rural residents, including women, children, and frail elders.

“We also will develop educational programs for health-care providers concerning important aspects of mental health care, since comparatively less attention has been paid to the mental health needs of rural communities in the wake of catastrophic events,” Dobalian added. “One critical aspect of bioterrorism involves terrorizing people — potentially over an extended time — and that contributes to greater needs for mental health services as well as the attendant impact on chronic physical ailments. Thus, having health-care providers prepared to care for individuals who experience such problems must be considered a top priority in the recovery of rural communities from bioterrorist events.”