National Consensus Panel on Emergency Preparedness and Cultural Diversity

On June 11, 2008, the National Consensus Panel on Emergency Preparedness and Cultural Diversity issued the nation’s first blueprint for integrating racially and ethnically diverse communities into emergency preparedness. An initiative of both the Drexel University School of Public Health’s Center for Health Equality, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Minority Health, the National Consensus Panel is comprised of a unique and leading group of national, state and local organizations who came together for the first time to define a unified set of priorities for preparing and responding to culturally diverse communities in public health emergencies. On this page you will find a summary of the Purpose and Work of the National Consensus Panel, as well as links to the National Consensus Statement, Guiding Principles, June 11, 2008 Press Release, and National Consensus Panel Member List.

LINK TO KEY RESOURCES

National Consensus Statement
Guiding Principles
Press Release (June 11, 2008)
National Consensus Panel Member List (Note: Signatory organizations are marked with an asterisk (*))

BACKGROUND

Purpose of National Consensus Panel:

Prior to this Panel, and as evidenced by the tragedy surrounding Hurricane Katrina, no concerted effort had occurred at the national level to explicitly understand and incorporate the unique needs of racial/ethnic minorities in preparedness plans and actions. Thus, this initiative brought together for the first time individuals with a range of expertise, authority and responsibility for preparing and responding to diverse communities to discuss and jointly develop a cohesive set of priorities for integrating racial/ethnic, immigrant and limited English proficient (LEP) populations into emergency preparedness planning and implementation. The Panel’s core objectives are: (1) to develop a national consensus statement that would raise the awareness of the importance and urgency of incorporating diverse communities in preparedness and highlight the priorities for achieving this; (2) to develop guiding principles to provide key players and sectors with general direction on how to effectively integrate diverse communities into preparedness planning and action; (3) to develop sector-specific recommendations on effectively incorporating needs of diverse communities in preparedness; and (4) to provide general guidance on what would consist of promising and best practices.

Composition of National Consensus Panel:

The National Consensus Panel is comprised of individuals from 34 organizations representing a cross-section of: multiple federal, state and local government agencies; emergency preparedness and management organizations; professional associations representing medicine, public health and health care; health care quality organizations; experts in the fields of preparedness, risk communication, and cultural competence; and representatives of racial/ethnic, immigrant and LEP communities across the nation. Click here to view National Consensus Panel Members.

Process for Reaching Consensus and Developing the Statement:

The National Consensus Panel convened for its first day and a half meeting on September 10-11 2007, focusing on the first two objectives—i.e., developing a National Consensus Statement and related Guiding Principles. The Nominal Group Technique (NGT) was utilized to identify a core and unified set of “actions and processes” for integrating diverse populations into emergency preparedness. Key findings from NGT formed the foundation of the National Consensus Statement. Click here to view the First Panel Meeting’s Agenda.

Organizations that have formally Endorsed the Statement: 

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through its Office of Minority Health, formally approved the National Consensus Statement. The statement also received formal signoff from 26 of the major national organizations, state/local agencies and community representatives on the National Consensus Panel. Click here to view National Consensus Panel Members and Signatories.

Purpose of Release of National Consensus Statement and Guiding Principles:

The intent of the release of the National Consensus Statement is to raise the awareness of the critical need and urgency of integrating racially and ethnically diverse communities into public health emergency preparedness as well as to provide cohesion around the priorities and core objectives for achieving this. We anticipate that the release of this statement, along with its preamble and guiding principles, will initiate and further a dialogue among key constituents and provide initial guidance for implementation and action steps for preparing and responding to minority communities. Click here to view the National Consensus Statement and Guiding Principles.

Intended Audience of Statement and Guiding Principles:

Our intent is to disseminate the National Consensus Statement broadly across the nation. To this end, our target audience will include: National Consensus Panel members and their constituents; federal, state, tribal and local agencies; private for-profit and not-for-profit organizations; academic centers for preparedness (e.g., CDC’s CPHPs); emergency planners, managers and first responders; healthcare providers, in particular emergency physicians and nurses; and advocacy groups and policymakers.

Application of National Consensus Statement and Guiding Principles:

The following are examples of how the National Consensus Statement and guiding principles can be applied across agencies and organizations at the national, state and local levels.

• Reviewing organizational and programmatic policies to consider the extent to which they take into account the principles embedded in the statement and guiding principles;
• Initiating a dialogue among sectors, agencies and communities across the nation and creating partnerships to address a core, unified set of priorities;
• Providing a road map for directly engaging and involving communities in developing effective preparedness plans;
• Providing general direction and guidance on integrating minorities in critical preparedness areas –e.g., training/education, measurement/evaluation, risk communication.

For further information, please contact:

Dennis P. Andrulis, PhD, MPH
Project Director, National Consensus Panel
Director, Center for Health Equality
Associate Dean for Research, Drexel School of Public Health
dpa28@drexel.edu

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