Past Research Project: NC Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center

Background

The North Carolina Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (NCPERRC) was one of nine centers at schools of public health funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) from 2008 to 2014 to strengthen and improve public health preparedness capacity through systems and services research. Housed at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, the Center engaged researchers from many disciplines and North Carolina practice partners in four main research as well as pilot projects. Dr. Edward Baker served as the Center’s principal investigator, and the team of researchers was drawn from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. The NCPERRC advisory group, called the Synergy & Translation Committee, had representation from the NC Association of Local Health Directors, senior staff from the NC Division of Public Health, and research consultants from the University of Kentucky as well as UNC-Chapel Hill.

The four primary NCPERRC research projects studied North Carolina public health systems that can or may play a role in preparedness and response capacity, including:

• Health department accreditation
• Surveillance systems
• Regional preparedness teams
• Health alert network
• Vulnerable populations

The field of Public Health Systems and Services Research (PHSSR) informs the work of all the Center’s projects. PHSSR examines the organization, financing, and delivery of public health services at local, state and national levels and the impact of these activities on population health. (Mays GP, Halverson PK, and Scutchfield FD. Behind the curve? What we know and need to learn from public health systems research.  J Public Health Manag Pract. 2003;9:179-82.) This type of research relies on methodologies and expertise from a variety to disciplines. The NCPERRC project teams included researchers from epidemiology, industrial and systems engineering, library and information science, health behavior, city and regional planning, health policy and administration, and other fields.  Additional PHSSR information at the University of Kentucky Center for Public Health Systems & Services Research.

The contributions of our research collaborators were recognized from the Center’s beginning.  The Synergy & Translation Committee adopted a pledge to research collaborators: “When we request your participation in one of our research studies, we make the following pledge to you.  We will coordinate our requests for information to ensure that there is no duplication of requested information; be considerate of your time and priorities; acknowledge your contribution to our research by recognizing your organization (to maintain your confidentiality); and share our research findings with you.”

Research briefs

Research Briefs are short descriptions of research findings and the implications for practice for an audience of public health practitioners in North Carolina and nationwide. Created by NCPERRC researchers during or immediately after research was completed, many of the research briefs were disseminated prior to publication of the findings in a peer-reviewed journal or conference. Here are the Research Briefs prepared by each NCPERRC project:

Accreditation and Public Health Preparedness

• Trends in Preparedness Capacity: Results from the Local Health Department Preparedness Capacity Survey
• Local Health Department Preparedness Capacities Survey: Introduction & Preliminary Results
• H1N1 After Action Review: Local Health Departments in North Carolina
• Local Public Health Department Accreditation Associated with Preparedness Response
• Preparedness Capacity Survey Custom Reports: Usage by Local Health Departments

Public Health Surveillance Systems

• Having the cake and eating it too: Improved surveillance outcomes and decreased costs associated with electronic reportable disease surveillance system in North Carolina, 2010
• Electronic laboratory reporting improves surveillance processing at local and state health departments
• Evaluation of Syndromic Surveillance Data Use for Communicable Disease Control Practice in North Carolina, 2009; Summary of Report of Findings to North Carolina Division of Public Health
• Local Health Department Electronic Disease Surveillance: Best Practices and Costs, North Carolina, 2010
• Local Surveillance Practice and Implications for Public Health Accreditation: The North Carolina Example

Regionalization of Public Health Preparedness Workforce Infrastructure

• Support and Services Provided by Public Health Regional Surveillance Teams (PHRSTs) to Local Health Departments in North Carolina
• Addressing Public Health Issues with Social Network Analysis
• How the Hospital-Based Public Health Epidemiologist Program Benefits Local Health Departments
• Services Provided by Regional Preparedness and Response Teams in North Carolina and Virginia
• Vulnerable & At-Risk Populations Resource Guide: Introducing a new tool for preparedness planning

Engineering the North Carolina Health Alert Network

• Utilizing systems engineering models to enhance collaboration and vaccination clinic efficiency
• Analyzing North Carolina’s Health Alert Network
• Simulating a public health emergency: A case study of the 2004 North Carolina State Fair E. Coli O157 outbreak

Expansion of the Vulnerable & At-Risk Populations Resource Guide

• Vulnerable & At-Risk Populations Resource Guide: Introducing a new tool for preparedness planning

Bibliography

Over the 6 years of NCPERRC research, 166 publications, presentations and posters were disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and conferences. View the complete NCPERRC bibliography.

This research was carried out by the North Carolina Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (NCPERRC) which is part of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and was supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Grant 1PO1 TP 000296. The contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.