A Longitudinal Study of the Impact of an Emergency Preparedness Curriculum

Objective. We conducted a longitudinal study to evaluate the impact of a curriculum designed to develop competency in emergency preparedness among public health professionals. Methods. At six and 12 months following completion of one or more courses in the areas of emergency preparedness, response, and recovery, or in food protection, course participants were contacted and asked to identify if their participation allowed them to develop targeted competencies, identify important knowledge or skills they had acquired, provide examples of application of learning, and describe the impact of changes. Over five years, 36 sets of data were collected. Results. The response rate of those who responded at either six or 12 months, or for both time periods, was 63%. At both six and 12 months, those who responded agreed that the learning activity helped them develop the competency associated with it in the curriculum plan. Respondents described multiple applications of learning and reported the development of reflective and systems-thinking abilities. Conclusions. The results provide compelling evidence that learners do develop competencies that impact their work activities as a result of competency-based educational programming and are able to apply these competencies in their work and organizational activities.