Given the current and developing situation in Dallas, where two health workers have become infected with Ebola while caring for a patient, it is reasonable to ask if health workers might decide to call in sick for a few months until this whole highly infectious often fatal disease thing blows over. Daniel Barnett, of the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, has looked into health workers\u2019 unwillingness to report to work when there is a potential for infectious-disease transmission to themselves and their family members.<\/p>\n
The health workers I know tend to run into burning buildings or jump into frozen lakes and such to rescue people, so I can\u2019t see that happening. Apparently it has been an issue in Spain and in West Africa. I can\u2019t explain Spain, but things are so dismal in West Africa that it is not at all unexpected. But what about in the US?<\/p>\n
So far there doesn\u2019t seem to be an issue according to Barnett\u2019s research, but he cautions that continued willingness to work with Ebola patients here is not assured. In an earlier study, Barnett and colleagues found that one-third of workers at a large U.S. urban medical center would be unwilling to respond to a severe infectious disease outbreak.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn individual\u2019s personal perception of the importance of his or her work during the response phase and his or her sense of confidence in performing this role effectively, are among the most powerful determinants of willingness to respond,\u201d notes Dr. Barnett. \u201cOur research also suggests that familiarizing health responders with laws and policies designed to protect their wellbeing in an emergent infectious disease event is important for bolstering response willingness,\u201d Barnett adds.<\/p>\n
Barnet notes that for training to be effective it must provide clear guidance on infection control protocols and instill a clear understanding of outbreak response duties. I asked him about the domestic side of this, about training of health workers regarding in relation to thier behavior or decision making when they are off duty. This seems to have arisen as an issue with the second Ebola-infected worker in Dallas, who took an air flight after starting a fever (if reports are accurate) and before diagnosis as having the disease.<\/p>\n
\u201cPreparedness and response trainings on emergent infectious diseases need to cover not only work-related protocols,\u201d he told me, \u201cbut also address behavioral elements outside of the healthcare setting in the interest of public health. To date, there’s essentially been no research or ‘environmental scan’ on the extent to which such trainings actually encompass behaviors and practices outside of the health care workplace. However, this type of training on precautionary measures outside the workplace is essential. It needs to be imbedded into trainings and harmonized across healthcare institutions to ensure consistency.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Given the current and developing situation in Dallas, where two health workers have become infected with Ebola while caring for a patient, it is reasonable to ask if health workers might decide to call in sick for a few months until this whole highly infectious often fatal disease thing blows over. Daniel Barnett, of the … Continue reading Research Suggests Healthcare Workers Could Balk At Treating Ebola Patients<\/span>