DOH SURVEY TO ASSESS EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS OF KAUAʻI HOUSEHOLDS

LĪHUʻE, Hawaiʻi - The Hawaiʻi Department of Health (DOH) Kauaʻi District Health Office will conduct a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) survey in June, to assess the emergency preparedness of Kauaʻi households.

"Routine preparedness CASPERs enable the Kauaʻi District Health Office and our partners to build capacity to conduct similar rapid needs assessment surveys immediately after a disaster," said Lauren Guest, Kauaʻi acting district health officer. "This allows us to better meet our community's needs before, during and after a disaster, while also collecting valuable data to inform those efforts."

Survey teams will go door to door June 15-19 in 30 randomly selected census blocks. Seven homes within each block will be systematically selected for a total of 210 attempted household surveys. Teams include DOH staff with support from the Kauaʻi Medical Reserve Corps, the American Red Cross and the Kauaʻi Emergency Management Agency.

The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete, and participation is voluntary. All responses are confidential; no names or addresses will be collected. Selected households will be asked about emergency and evacuation plans, awareness of and concerns related to infectious diseases, as well as general health and well-being.

Team members will wear vests identifying themselves as part of the DOH survey team and will carry identification cards. Selected households may also choose to complete the survey by phone.

The CASPER survey methodology was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to rapidly assess the health and resource needs of a community following a disaster.

"We greatly appreciate Kauaʻi's support and participation in this community survey," Guest said.

This will be the ninth Department of Health CASPER survey conducted on Kauaʻi. Results will be shared with the public in a final report. Previous reports are available at https://health.hawaii.gov/kauai/Casper/.

Examples of the vests worn by DOH Survey Team

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