Disaster Preparedness Training Needs of Healthcare Workers at the US Department of Veterans Affairs.

Training healthcare workers in disaster preparedness has been shown to increase their willingness and ability to report to work during disasters. Little is known, however, about the relation between sociodemographic, household, and workforce characteristics and the desire for such training. Accordingly, this study aimed to assess healthcare workers' desire for additional workforce preparedness training, and the determinants that influence the need for such training, for three types of disasters (natural, pandemic, manmade). The US Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Preparedness Survey was a random, anonymous, Web-based questionnaire fielded nationwide (October-December 2018). Multivariate, logistic regression analyses were conducted. In total, 4026 VA employees, clinical and nonclinical, responded. A total of 61% of respondents wanted additional training for natural, 63% for pandemic, and 68% for manmade disasters. VA supervisors (natural: odds ratio [OR] 1.28, pandemic: OR 1.33, manmade: OR 1.25, Identifying which factors encourage participation in disaster preparedness training can help hospitals and other healthcare providers create targeted training and educational materials to better prepare all hospital staff for future disasters.