Exploring the Nontechnical Competencies for On-scene Public Health Responders in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Emergencies: A Qualitative Study

Hu, Xuejun; Chen, Huoliang; Yu, Min

Abstracts Objectives The purpose of this study was to define and delineate specific nontechnical competencies for first-line public health responders in Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) emergencies in China. Study design A qualitative study was conducted in China involving interviews with key informants in the field of health response to CBRN disasters. Methods One-on-one in-depth interviews were carried out with 20 participants, including expert members of National Medical Response Teams for CBRN Disasters, officials at emergency management authorities, and scholars of academic institutions related to CBRN emergency. Interviews were recorded with audio equipment, transcribed and coded into codable passages according to grounded theory with NVivo software. Themes were identified within the transcriptions by using thematic analysis. Results 159 codable passages were produced. Eight domains of nontechnical core competencies were identified: (1) situation awareness, (2) communication skills, (3) collaboration, (4) resource management, (5) task management, (6) cultural competency, (7) austere environment skills, and (8) physical stamina. Conclusions The study identified a variety of competencies for on-scene public health responders in CBRN emergencies. The findings of this study could specifically benefit development of strategy and improvement of content of education and training. Further research that involves input from the disaster response community at large are needed for the validation of these competencies.