Health Care Workers’ Ability and Willingness to Report to Duty During Catastrophic Disasters

A survey of more than 6,400 healthcare workers (HCW) in New York City revealed that “in terms of willingness, HCWs were most willing to report during a snow storm (80%), MCI (86%), and environmental disaster (84%) and least willing during a SARS outbreak (48%), radiological event (57%), smallpox epidemic (61%), and chemical event (68%).” Barriers included childcare, elder care, and pet care, but the authors noted that many barriers were also open to interventions.