Exercising and Improving Preparedness
of At-Risk Populations

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Tips for Exercising and Improving Preparedness of At-Risk Populations

• Include at-risk individuals, service providers, and/or advocates in exercise planning, implementation, and evaluation.


• Include specific objectives related to at-risk groups in all exercises. Topic areas that might be especially relevant to at-risk groups are: transportation, evacuation, communication, medical staff and supplies, and isolation and quarantine (ASTHO).


• Keep exercises manageable by choosing one aspect of emergency planning or response to focus on.


• Pool resources and conduct regional exercises with neighboring counties.


• Consider conducting tabletop exercises at church recreation halls or other sites that serve at-risk groups to promote involvement by those groups.


• Send an educational test message through your county's reverse 9-1-1 system. By talking with group representatives or making home visits, determine whether a random sample of at-risk individuals received the message.


• Talk with representatives of at-risk groups after actual emergencies to determine how well the county responded to those groups. This can be done informally or during an after-action conference.

Recommended Planning Activities from ASTHO

• View Recommended Planning Activities (PDF) for exercising and improving preparedness of at-risk populations.

Excerpted from: At-Risk Populations and Pandemic Influenza: Planning Guidance for State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local Health Departments.