Are pharmacists willing to work in disasters?

Elizabeth M Mccourt,Judith A Singleton,Kaitlyn E Watson,Lisa M Nissen,Vivienne Tippett

doi:10.1071/ah20120

Abstract

The recent Australian bushfires and the global COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the critical need for ensuring health workforce capacity during disasters. National, state and local disaster response plans assume that health professionals are prepared and willing to respond to disasters. However, the literature suggests that, depending on the disaster, health professionals may not be as willing as we may expect. This hesitancy potentially leads to critical gaps in health services delivery during and following disasters.

Highlights

The recent Australian bushfires and the global COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the critical need for ensuring health workforce capacity during disasters
We conducted an Australia-wide 13-question online survey to determine the willingness of the pharmacy workforce to respond to a disaster and the factors affecting that willingness (Queensland University of Technology Human Research Ethics Committee Approval no. 1700000682)
This research provides the first insight into pharmacists’ willingness to work in a disaster in an Australian context. It suggests that most pharmacists may be willing to work during or following a disaster. This idea is supported by recent media coverage of pharmacists responding to the Australian bushfires and during the COVID-19 pandemic.[5,6,7,8]

Summary

Introduction

The recent Australian bushfires and the global COVID-19 pandemic have highlighted the critical need for ensuring health workforce capacity during disasters. Are pharmacists willing to work in disasters? McCourt 1,2,3,5,* BPharm, GradCertIntPuHlth, PhD, Academic Research Manager, Senior Clinical Pharmacist, Sessional Academic Kaitlyn E.

Results

Conclusion