Bioterrorism and the college campus: Student perceptions of emergency preparedness
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2009.0004Keywords:
emergency planning, bioterrorism education, college studentsAbstract
Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine the current perceptions of college students in regard to the emergency management of bioterrorism.
Design: University students enrolled in Community Health courses were recruited to participate in a paper or online survey to determine their perceptions regarding likelihood of a bioterrorist attack, preparedness of the university, and preparedness of the students.
Participants: Of the 309 students recruited, 265 (85.9 percent) participated in the survey.
Interventions: Data from the surveys were entered into an SPSS dataset for analysis.
Main outcome measure: Perceived preparedness of the university for a bioterrorism emergency.
Results: Students perceived that there was a low likelihood of a bioterrorist attack at the university. Only 17.6 percent of the students felt that the university was prepared for a large-scale emergency and only 24.1 percent felt that the students were prepared. One third of the students did not know that the university had policies in place for a bioterrorist attack and 88.3 percent did not know where to go for information in the event of a bioterrorist attack. Only 9.2 percent had visited the campus emergency planning Web site.
Conclusions: Effort must be made by universities to determine the appropriate amount of education to the students regarding emergency preparedness based on the cost-benefit to the university and the student body. Suggestions from students included a mandatory workshop for incoming freshman, involvement of campus emergency planning with student organizations, and increased marketing of the campus emergency Web site.
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