NEHA June 2023 Journal of Environmental Health

ADVANCEMENT OF THE PRACTICE

cally about the outbreak scenario. On a scale of 1–5 (1 = poor and 5 = excellent), 83% rated their overall event experience as 4 or 5, 90% rated it as better or a lot better than expected, and none rated it as worse than expected. In an open-ended question about the pre- sentations that attendees enjoyed the most, the outbreak scenario was mentioned by two respondents. In another open-ended question about the presentations that attendees enjoyed the least, the outbreak scenario was mentioned by four respondents, with comments that the outbreak was “a little disjointed” and “too drawn out.” Additionally, in response to the question about topics for future conferences, one respondent asked for more information on infection control and epidemiology and one asked for more on pathogen outbreaks. There was also one request to “definitely have some sort of outbreak scenario” included again at a future event. Our experience of implementing an unfold- ing outbreak scenario, supported by discus- sion rooms and associated questions, sug- gests this kind of activity has several benefits: 1) the scenario gives conference attendees an opportunity to engage with each other and problem solve, while reinforcing some important epidemiological concepts and 2) it provides the opportunity for attendees to net- work and make useful connections with oth- ers who they might not otherwise meet. The scenario also potentially increased the length and quality of attendee engagement with the virtual conference overall, but it is diŒcult to judge how well this objective was achieved in this situation. Discussion, Limitations, and Potential Improvements Making support resources easy to find and access is essential, as it allows those who attend virtual meetings intermittently— rather than for the complete program—to engage fully. The outbreak scenario informa- tion was accessible in a folder in the confer- ence Resource Gallery, where information in the form of injects was built up over time and attendees could catch up on any information they had missed during the conference. Hav- ing information delivered in installments, however, relied heavily on the attendee being able to find previously released information to follow along with the investigation fully. Some attendees highlighted connectivity as

FIGURE 1

Number of Attendees Who Attempted to Answer the Outbreak Questions From the Scenario

100

90

85

80

70

60

57

52

52

51

50

46

45

40

37

30

25

20

10

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Question #

an issue, although this problem appeared to relate to individuals’ internet connectivity rather than the platform itself. We believe it is important to make scenar- ios about outbreak investigations relevant, presented at a suitable level, and with fea- tures that make each scenario believable and authentic. We tried to ensure authenticity by working with our local public health agen- cies to adapt a typical example designed for training purposes and present the questions at a level typically asked in CDC introduc- tory outbreak investigation exercises. We assumed most attendees would be familiar with this type of content, as it is covered in environmental health undergraduate or graduate training. One or two attendees commented that they found the scenario quite easy. Attendees who found the con- tent diŒcult might have struggled with the installment nature of the content delivered or might not have experienced similar exer- cises before. In the usual outbreak investigation case studies we run, discussions are a way for attendees of various levels of experience to

contribute and learn from each other. Con- ference feedback suggested some attendees enjoyed the breakout sessions ošered in the conference, but that the quality of the expe- rience and degree of participation varied. It would be useful to learn more about the level of value added by the breakout rooms in the evaluation of any future events. Reflecting on attendee experience and feedback, we considered what an individual expects to gain from attending a confer- ence as opposed to a university course or workshop. While attendees should expect to learn something from a conference, it is pos- sible this expectation would dišer compared with attendees participating in more of a classroom learning environment. It is pos- sible that we pushed the boundaries of what would normally be expected from a con- ference by delivering an outbreak scenario in this manner. As we did not specifically ask attendees about the outbreak scenario content and process, it is diŒcult to fully evaluate their experience with the scenario. Advance knowledge that there would be a scenario, including breakout rooms where

22

Volume 85 • Number 10

Powered by