Ebola Response: A study of the Psychosocial Factors of Preparedness among Commissioned Corps Officers of the United States Public Health Service

Abstract

The purpose of the cross-sectional study was to explore the relationships between occupational and general-self efficacy, and perceived preparedness among Commissioned Corps officers in the United States Public Health Service (Commissioned Corps). Commissioned Corps officers fight to protect the United States from diseases and care for the survivors of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. Commissioned Corps officers play a vital role in the fight to protect the United States from diseases and care for the survivors of natural disasters and terrorist attacks. The Commissioned Corps provided healthcare services in Liberia during the 2014 Ebola crisis that underscored the challenges of emerging diseases in a globalized community. It is imperative that these health professionals maintain a high level of self-efficacy and feel confident in their overall preparedness training as they respond to public health emergencies. Materials and Methods: This study used assessment instruments derived from Albert Bandura's concept of self-efficacy to analyze the occupational and general self-efficacy, and perceived preparedness levels of health services officers in the Commissioned Corps. 82 Commissioned Corps officers completed the assessment survey. To date, no study has examined the relationship between these constructs in this population. Results: There was a statistically significant relationship between feeling confident in one's Commissioned Corps training and perceived preparedness (rs = 0.55, p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study reflects the training perceptions and self-beliefs of Commissioned Corps officers, fills an important gap in the empirical research in this population, and advances previous investigations, which suffered from an underrepresentation of female service members.