Emergency Management Research and People With Disabilities
A Resource Guide

April 2008

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U.S. Department of Education
Margaret Spellings
Secretary

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Tracy R. Justesen
Assistant Secretary

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Jennifer Sheehy
Delegated the authority to perform the functions of Director

April 2008

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: U.S.Department of Education, Emergency Management Research and People With Disabilities: A Resource Guide, Washington, D.C., 2008.

No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in this publication is intended or should be inferred.

This report is available on the U.S. Department of Education's Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/rschstat/research/pubs. It also is available on the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR) Web site at http://www.icdr.us, the National Center for the Dissemination of Disability Research Web site at http://www.ncddr.org/new/announcements.html and the National Rehabilitation Information Center (NARIC) Web site at http://www.naric.com/public/pubs.cfm.

On request, this publication is available in alternative formats, such as Braille, large print, audiotape or computer diskette. For more information, contact the Department's AlternateFormat Center at 202-260-0852 or 202-260-0818.

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Introduction

The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) is pleased to provide this online resource guide on emergency management research and people with disabilities. This resource guide is the culmination of cooperative efforts by NIDRR, the Department of Education, the Research Subcommittee of the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities (ICC), and the New Freedom Initiative Subcommittee of the Interagency Committee on Disability Research (ICDR).

The guide provides a listing and description of research projects funded by the federal government and nonfederal entities, research recommendations that have come out of conferences on emergency management and disability, and a bibliography of relevant research publications. Each item listed in the table of contents is a hyperlink to its location in the document. This has been done to facilitate navigation throughout the document.

Many federal agencies participated in the effort to identify research projects and conference recommendations. In all, we were able to identify 16 federally funded and four nonfederally funded research projects specific to emergency management and people with disabilities. Conference recommendations identified a multitude of knowledge gaps that need to be filled. Clearly there is a need for increased research.

It is our hope that this guide will facilitate the development and implementation of a nationwide research agenda on emergency management and people with disabilities, so that we can develop a strong evidence base about the best ways to ensure the safety and security of people with disabilities in emergency and disaster situations.

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Research Projects

Federally Funded Research

Information about specific research projects came from a variety of sources, including: the National Rehabilitation Information Center (http://www.naric.com), which catalogues NIDRR grants and provides abstracts from grant applications; other Web sites, and responses from federal partners, grantees and others to inquiries about relevant research projects (see Appendix E: Methodology for further details).

Access to Emergency Alerts for People With Disabilities

Institution: WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)

Principal Investigator: Marcia Brooks

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Technology Opportunities Program

Funding Years and Amount: Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 - FY 07. Total = $550,000.

Grant Number: 25-60-04026

Contact Information: Marcia Brooks, WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), WGBH Educational Foundation, 125 Western Ave., Boston, MA 02134

E-mail: marcia_brooks@wgbh.org

Telephone: 617-300-3431

Fax: 617-300-3431

Web sites: http://ncam.wgbh.org/alerts, and http://www.incident.com/access
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

The National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) is leading a collaborative initiative to enhance the nation's emergency warning systems to better serve people with sensory disabilities. Although emerging systems, services and products are developing a range of text and audio alert capabilities which could meet this need, most are inconsistent in terms of fully supporting appropriate modalities and accessible interfaces.

NCAM and partners have established a working group that is developing an information model and recommendations as to how message components, data preparation, transmission practices and technologies could be adapted to better serve people with disabilities. This work will result in recommended accessibility extensions to emergency system protocols, technologies and services for wired, wireless, DTV- and IP-based delivery systems. End-user testing will identify key usability factors. This work is supported by an advisory board comprising representatives from organizations serving the deaf, hard of hearing, blind and visually impaired communities.

Access to Locally Televised On-Screen Information: Auditory Messaging and Captions During Emergency Broadcasts

Institution: WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)

Principal Investigator: Geoff Freed

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Years and Amounts: FY 05 = $150,000; FY 06 = $150,000; FY 07 = $150,000

Grant Number: H133G050278

Contact Information: Mary Watkins, WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), WGBH Educational Foundation, 125 Western Ave., Boston, MA 02134

E-mail: mary_watkins@wgbh.org

Telephone: 617-300-3700

Fax: 617-300-1020

Web sites: http://ncam.wgbh.org, and http://www.naric.com/nidrr/grantees/record.cfm?pn=H133G050278
(last accessed March 28, 2009)

Although local television broadcasts serve as the primary source for emergency alerts, weather warnings, local traffic problems and school closings, much of this information remains inaccessible to people with sensory disabilities. To better serve viewers who are blind or have low vision, NCAM is researching DTV systems and procedures that will enable real-time processing and conversion of on-screen text crawls into speech output. To better serve viewers who rely on captions, NCAM is addressing display conflicts between captions and on-screen graphics by developing methods of tagging and prioritizing text and graphics messages within automated broadcast display systems.

After refining solutions in WGBH studios, NCAM will conduct a demonstration model within the newsroom facilities at the ABC network affiliate station WCVB-TV Channel 5, the flagship station of the Hearst-Argyle Television Group, located in Boston, Mass. Project guidelines and technical solutions will be immediately useful to the nation's broadcasters and will have a significant impact on broadcast procedures and future equipment capabilities.

Assessing the Impact of Hurricane Katrina on Persons With Disabilities

Institution: Research and Training Center on Independent Living, University of Kansas

Principal Investigator: Glen White

Funding Source: U. S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Year and Amount: FY 05 = $162,000

Grant Number: Supplement to H133B000500

Contact Information: Glen White, University of Kansas, Research and Training Center on Independent Living, 1000 Sunnyside Ave., Room 4089, Dole Center, Lawrence, KS66045-7555

E-mail: rtcfpil@ku.edu

Telephone: 785-864-4095; 785-864-0706 (TTY)

Fax: 785-864-5063

Web site: http://rtcil.org/products/NIDRR_FinalKatrinaReport.pdf
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

The Research and Training Center on Independent Living at the University of Kansas received from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) a one-year research grant to assess the impact of Hurricane Katrina on persons with disabilities. Specifically, the researchers and NIDRR sought to fill a void in our national understanding by documenting the experiences of staff and consumers at centers for independent living (CILs) along with those of local emergency management personnel in the Gulf Coast following Hurricane Katrina.

The research focused on understanding how persons with disabilities prepared for, reacted to, and recovered from the devastating impact of the storm in portions of the Gulf Coast most affected. In addition, this work sought to understand the roles and relationships that CILs played in all phases of the disaster, with a special emphasis on their relationship to the emergency management system.

The primary tasks of the project were to:

1. Assess the impact of Hurricane Katrina on CIL staff and consumers;
2. Identify the barriers faced by CILs and emergency management personnel in locating and assisting persons with disabilities in the affected areas and relocation centers;
3. Identify future independent living needs among CIL consumers during and after disasters; and
4. Identify resources, including training, information, equipment and facilities that CIL and emergency management personnel state as being most useful to them in the event of future large-scale emergencies.

The project's goal was to provide policy- and program-level recommendations that can be used to improve the services provided to persons with disabilities in future disasters and emergencies.

Findings from the study revealed three significant gaps in areas affecting persons with disabilities: 1) ineffective pre-disaster planning by CILs, persons with disabilities, and emergency management; 2) poorly developed pre- and post-disaster communication and information-sharing within and between these three entities; and 3) underdeveloped pre- and post-disaster coordination between these three entities and other elements of support withincommunities.

Bottom-Up Modeling of Mass Pedestrian Flows: Implications for the Effective Egress of Individuals With Disabilities

Institution: Utah State University, Center for Persons With Disabilities

Principal Investigator: Keith Christensen

Funding Source: U.S. Dept. of Education, National Institute on Disability and RehabilitationResearch

Funding Years and Amounts: FY 03 = $150,000; FY 04 = $150,000; FY 05 = $150,000

Grant Number: H133G030013

ContactInformation: Keith Christiansen, Utah State University, Center for Persons With Disabilities, 6800 Old Main Hill, Logan, UT 84322

E-mail: keithc@cpd2.usu.edu

Telephone: 435-797-3997

Fax: 435-797-7219

Web site: http://www.naric.com/nidrr/grantees/record.cfm?pn=H133G030013
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

The purpose of this research project is to improve the exit of individuals with disabilities from buildings and other settings in emergencies. The project researches the effect of the current and proposed Americans with Disabilities Act Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) for the built-environment on the egress of individuals with disabilities during the mass pedestrian flows (MPFs) triggered by health-safety events, and the effect of security-oriented design methods on the egress of individuals with disabilities during health-safety event triggered MPFs. The objective of the project is to measure the emergent behaviors of the diverse sample populations of six representative built-environments (an airport, high school, conference center, multi-story office building, federal development, and secured federal development) during simulated health-safety events. An intervention (modification of the design character of the built-environment) is applied to eliminate conditions occurring during MPFs, which adversely affect the egress of individuals with disabilities.

Emergency Preparedness Demonstration Program for DisadvantagedCommunities

Institutions: Center for Urban and Regional Studies of the University of North Carolina–ChapelHill; MDC

Principal Investigators: David Dodson, John Cooper, Philip Berke, Jim Fraser, and David Salvesen

Funding Source: Department of Homeland Security

Funding Years and Amount: FY 05 - FY 08. Total = $2 million

Grant Number: DHS-GRANTS-122304-001

Contact Information: John Cooper, MDC, 400 Silver Cedar Court, Suite 300, Chapel Hill, NC 27516; and Philip Berke, Professor of City and Regional Planning Faculty Fellow, Center for Urban & Regional Studies, University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3140

E-mail: jcooper@mdcinc.org, and pberke@unc.edu

Telephone: 919-968-4531 (Cooper, MDC) and 919-962-4765 (Berke, UNC–Chapel Hill)

Fax: 919-929-8557 (Cooper, MDC)

Web sites: http://www.planning.unc.edu/grant/fema/about.htm, and http://www.mdcinc.org
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

The purposeof this project is to identify and overcome barriers for increasing awareness of disasters and building capacity for emergency preparedness in disadvantaged minority communities in the District of Columbia, Delaware, Maryland, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia (i.e., areas that were impacted by Hurricane Isabel in 2003).

The three core objectives are to: 1) build community capacity to undertake coordinated action to develop and implement emergency preparedness plans; 2) raise awareness and knowledge levels of community residents about their potential vulnerability to harm from future disasters and the measures they can take to reduce their vulnerability; and 3) reduce community vulnerability to harm from disasters while respecting local needs.

Emergency Preparedness for Special Populations

Institution: Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health

Principal Investigator: David S. Markenson

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality

Funding Years and Amount: FY 04 – FY 06; amount not available

Grant Number: 1R13HS014556-01

Contact Information: Irwin Redlener, MD, Associate Dean and Director of National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 W 168th Street, 10th Floor, New York, NY 10032

E-mail: ir2110@columbia.edu

Telephone: 212-305-0338

Fax: 212-342-5160

Web sites: http://www.ncdp.mailman.columbia.edu, and http://crisp.cit.nih.gov/crisp/CRISP_LIB.getdoc?textkey=6813881&p_grant_num=1R13HS01455601&p_query=&ticket=24090706&p_audit_session_id=132170999&p_keywords=
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

Despite the recent attention to disaster, terrorism, and public health emergency preparedness, little attention has been given to vulnerable populations. Current efforts have focused primarily on the needs of the average adult population. Based on the preliminary work done in the Pediatric Disaster and Terrorism Preparedness: A National Consensus Conference on both content and in establishing a format for conducting this type of evidence-based consensus process, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness proposes to conduct a conference that has the purpose to address the needs of vulnerable populations in disasters, terrorism, and public health emergencies.

The two selected vulnerable populations to be addressed are children and people with disabilities. The specific goals of the conference are: 1) build a collaboration among individuals with expertise in people with disabilities, terrorism preparedness, public health, and emergency management, including disaster planning, management, and response; 2) review and summarize the existing data on the needs of people with disabilities in disasters, terrorism, and public health emergencies, including planning, preparation, and response; 3) develop consensus on the needs of people with disabilities in disasters, terrorism, and public health emergencies; 4) create a research agenda to answer knowledge gaps based on the limited data that exist on the needs of people with disabilities in disasters, terrorism, and public health emergencies; 5) review the recommendations and treatment guidelines from the Pediatric Disaster and Terrorism Preparedness National Consensus Conference for the need for revision based on new data and new governmental and nongovernmental initiatives; and 6) develop recommendations and treatment guidelines on the needs of children in disasters, terrorism, and public health emergencies in the areas identified in the prior meeting as requiring further clarification from the coalition supplemented by those with specific expertise in these areas.

The areas identified are: school preparedness; child congregate facility preparedness; sheltering needs of children; pediatric needs for public health emergency preparedness; children with special health care needs and technologically assisted children; decontamination of children; biological terrorism prophylaxis and treatment of emerging agents; and family-centered preparedness.

Emergency Preparedness Training Software With Universal Access

Institution: Vcom3D, Inc.

Principal Investigator: Amber Emery

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Year and Amount: FY 02 = $74,830

Grant Number: H133S020076

Contact Information: Amber Emery, 3452 Lake Lynda Drive, Suite 260, Orlando, FL32817

E-mail: ambere@vcom3d.com

Telephone: 407-737-7310, ext. 117

Fax: 407-737-6821

Web site: http://www.vcom3d.com
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

This project develops a Web-based software program that assists people who are deaf or hard of hearing in learning self-advocacy and survival skills for life-threatening situations. The software uses 3-D animated signing characters employing SigningAvatar technology in an interactive virtual-reality environment. Effectiveness and user acceptance is evaluated in school environments.

Evacuation Methodology and Understanding Behavior of Persons With Disabilities in Disasters: A Blueprint forEmergency Planning Solutions

Institution: West Virginia University

Principal Investigator: George Trapp (Through May 15, 2008); Brian Gerber (May 16, 2008 – end of project)

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Years and Amounts: FY 07 = $443,035; FY 08 = $449,963; FY 09 = $436,016

Grant Number: H133A070005

Contact Information: George Trapp or Brian Gerber, West Virginia University, VMC/Homeland Security Programs, P.O. Box 6270, Morgantown, WV26506.

E-mail: George.Trapp@mail.wvu.edu; Brian.Gerber@mail.wvu.edu

Telephone: George Trapp: 304-282-8629; Brian Gerber: 304-293-2614

Fax: George Trapp: 304-293-7199; Brian Gerber: 304-293-8814

This project quantifies and interprets the unique challenges of persons with disabilities and special needs during emergency/disaster evacuations in order to improve the management of such events. The Virtual Medical Campus (VMC)/Homeland Security Programs at West Virginia University and the Center for Disability and Special Needs Preparedness operated by Inclusion Research Institute are surveying people with disabilities, the elderly, emergency managers and other local service providers to understand emergency evacuation experiences and behaviors; they then will develop, pilot, and disseminate best practice guidance.

Making In-Flight Communications and Entertainment Accessible

Institution: WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM)

Principal Investigator: Larry Goldberg

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Years and Amounts: FY 05 = $150,000; FY 06 = $150,000; FY 07 = $150,000

Grant Number: H133G050254

Contact Information: Larry Goldberg, WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM), WGBH Educational Foundation, 125 Western Ave., Boston, MA 02134

E-mail: larry_goldberg@wgbh.org

Telephone: 617-300-3486

Fax: 617-300-1035

Web site: http://www.wgbh.org/ncam
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

Full-featured embedded or handheld media and communication systems are fast becoming two common services offered to travelers via next-generation, in-flight entertainment systems (IFEs). These systems offer passengers Internet connectivity and access to satellite TV and video-on-demand, and allow them to independently access up-to-date flight information on arrival times, connections, delays and gate changes. NCAM is working with the World Airlines Entertainment Association, Matsushita Avionics Systems and the National Center for Accessible Transportation at Oregon State University to develop solutions that can make IFEs accessible to people with sensory disabilities. ¹

National Organization on Disability (NOD) Emergency Preparedness Study, 2004

Institution: National Organization on Disability

Chairman: Tom Ridge

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Domestic Preparedness Training and Technical Assistance

Funding Year and Amount: FY 04 = $200,000

Grant Number: 2004-TH-TX-0003

Contact Information: Hilary Styron, National Organization on Disability, 910 Sixteenth St. N.W., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006

E-mail: StyronH@nod.org

Telephone: 202-293-5960; 202-293-5968 (TTY)
Fax: 202-293-7999

Web site: http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=1430&nodeID=1&FeatureID=1422&redirected=1&CFID=10167718&CFTOKEN=92931920
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

Commissioned by the National Organization on Disability (NOD) through a grant from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, this study surveyed emergency managers in states and in cities of all sizes to determine if officials considered the needs of people with disabilities in their emergency plans and included people with disabilities in the planning process.

The findings indicated that 69 percent had incorporated the needs of people with disabilities into their emergency plans; an additional 22 percent had a plan in development. However, of those cities that had a preparedness plan in place or in development, 50 percent did not have a special-needs registry that includes people with disabilities; 59 percent did not have plans for the pediatric population; and 76 percent did not have a paid expert aware of preparedness concerns for people with disabilities. Additionally, only 42 percent had a public awareness campaign to provide information to people with disabilities, and only 16 percent had the plan available in alternative formats.

Nobody Left Behind: Disaster Preparedness for Persons With Mobility Impairments

Institution: Research and Training Center on Independent Living, University of Kansas

Principal Investigators: Glen W. White; Michael Fox

Funding Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through the Association for Prevention Teaching and Research

Funding Years and Amount: Total funding FY 02 – FY 05. Total = $615,000

Grant Number: TS #-0840

Contact Information: Cathy Rooney, 1000 Sunnyside Ave., Dole Center, Room 4089, Lawrence, KS 66045

E-mail: catr@ku.org

Telephone: 785-864-3791

Fax: 785-864-5063

Web site: http://www2.ku.edu/~rrtcpbs/
(last accessed July 16, 2007)

The mission of this research is to investigate 30 randomly selected counties or cities in the United States that have recently experienced a natural or man-made disaster to: 1) determine if disaster plans and emergency response systems for homes, businesses and the community include the health, safety and survival needs for persons with mobility impairment; 2) identify the morbidity and mortality of persons with mobility impairments in these disasters; 3) assess any post-disaster changes to address the needs of persons with mobility impairments; and 4) develop best practices models for counties to assist in disaster plans and emergency responses to meet the needs of persons with mobility impairments to prevent injuries, save lives and assure that nobody is left behind.

Project Safe EV-AC: Safe EVacuation and ACcommodation of People With Disabilities

Institution: West Virginia University

Principal Investigator: Richard Walls

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Years and Amounts: FY 04 = $149,970; FY 05 = $149,949; FY 06 = $149,884

Grant Number: H133G040318

Contact Information: Beth Loy, West Virginia University, Job Accommodation Network (JAN), 224 Spruce St., Morgantown, WV 26506

E-mail: evac@icdi.wvu.edu

Telephone: 304-293-7186

Fax: 304-393-5407

Web sites: http://evac.icdi.wvu.edu, and http://www.naric.com/research/record.cfm?search=1&type=all&criteria=Project%20Safe%20EV-AC&phrase=no&rec=1428
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

The Project Safe EV-AC: Safe EVacuation and ACcommodation of People with Disabilities team, which includes the Job Accommodation Network (JAN) and the National Organization on Disability's Emergency Preparedness Initiative, develops high-quality, comprehensive, easy-to-use safe evacuation materials for people with disabilities. The team researches prior safe evacuation studies and training products; coordinates a network of expert and end-user adviser groups; and produces comprehensive, cost-effective, safe evacuation education and training tools using the most appropriate technology for the material.

Project Safe EV-AC targets people with disabilities and emergency responders. It uses a continuous improvement model with enhanced feedback loops to ensure that the products created are rigorously evaluated by those who use them. The end products include a final report for the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) articulating the existing gaps in knowledge and product development in the field of safe evacuation and accommodation for people with disabilities.

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center for Wireless Technologies

Institution: Georgia Institute of Technology

Principal Investigator: Helena Mitchell

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Year and Amount: FY 06 = $949,999; FY 07 = $949,999; FY 08 = $949,998;
FY 09 = $949,999; FY 10 = $949,999

Grant Number: H133E060061

Contact Information: Helena Mitchell, Georgia Institute of Technology, Center for Advanced Communications Policy, 500 Tenth Street, NW, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0620

E-mail: rerc@cacp.gatech.edu

Telephone: 404-385-4651

Fax: 404-385-0269

Web sites: http://www.wirelessrerc.org, and http://www.naric.com/research/pd/record.cfm?search=1&type=type&display=detailed&criteria=Rehabilitation%20Engineering%20Research%20Centers%20(RERCs)&rec=1671
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

The Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) for Wireless Technologies' mission is to: 1) promote equitable access to and use of wireless technologies by persons with disabilities; and 2) encourage adoption of Universal Design in future generations of wireless technologies. The RERC contains a number of research and development projects. Two development projects, "Development of Wireless Emergency Communications" and "Ensuring Access to Emergency Assistance," both focus on the area of wireless emergency communications for people with disabilities; developing wireless communication technology to be used by emergency personnel to contact individuals with disabilities, and by people with disabilities to signal the need for assistance.

Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center on TelecommunicationsAccess

Institution: University of Wisconsin/Madison

Principal Investigator: Gregg C. Vanderheiden; Judy Harkins

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Years and Amounts: FY 04 = $850,000; FY 05 = $924,988; FY 06 = $850,000;
FY 07 = $850,000; FY 08 = $850,000

Grant Number: H133E040013

Contact Information: Gregg C. Vanderheiden, University of Wisconsin/Madison,Trace Center, College of Engineering, 2107 Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706

E-mail: info@trace.wisc.edu

Telephone: 608-265-4621, 608-263-5408 (TTY)

Fax: 608-262-8848

Web sites: http://trace.wisc.edu/telrerc, and http://www.naric.com/research/pd/record.cfm?search=1&type=type&display=detailed&criteria=Rehabilitation%20Engineering%20Research%20Centers%20(RERCs)&rec=1435
(last accessed March 28, 2008).

Accessible EmergencyNotification and Communication State of the Science Conference: http://tap.gallaudet.edu/emergencycommconf.htm
(last accessed March 28, 2008).

The mission of the Telecommunications Access RERC is to advance accessibility and usability in existing and emerging telecommunications products for people with all types of disabilities. A key application of the RERC's research and development is in the area of emergency communications – both directly and through the development of telecommunication infrastructure that will support text and video in mainstream telecommunications. In 2005, one RERC project was directed specifically at identifying issues and recommendations pertaining to alerting people about possible emergencies and ensuring accessible communication in emergency or crisis situations.

The RERC's State of the Science Conference on Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication, held Nov. 2-3, 2005, resulted in 32 recommendations for research, development, evaluation and technical assistance targeted at accessible emergency communication systems; 23 recommendations for public policy; and five recommendations for information and training. (Recommendations for research are listed in the first entry of the next chapter on page 23.)

Saving Lives: Including People With Disabilities in Emergency Planning

Institution: National Council on Disability

Chairman: Lex Frieden

Funding Source: National Council on Disability

Funding Year and Amount: FY 03 – FY 04. Total = $30,000

Grant Number: Not available

Contact Information: Lex Frieden, National Council on Disability, 1331 F St. N.W., Suite 850, Washington, DC 20004

E-mail: ncd@ncd.gov

Telephone: 202-272-2004; 202-272-2074 (TTY)

Fax: 202-272-2022

Web site: http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/2005/saving_lives.htm
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

This report: 1) describes the disaster experiences of people with disabilities; 2) details the contributions and efforts of community-based organizations (CBOs); 3) examines the nascent work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Directorate of Emergency Preparedness and Response (EP&R), which includes the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and its federal, state and private sector partners as well as DHS' Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties (CRCL); and 4) touches on the ongoing work of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in specific areas that relate to issues of homeland security and emergency preparation.

While other federal agencies play important roles in this effort, efforts by the DHS and the FCC represent some of the most critical operations on behalf of Americans with disabilities. Given the nature of most disasters, general and disability-specific programs and services span many different governmental and nongovernmental organizations.

The report also examines the following broad areas:

• The disaster experiences of people with disabilities and activity limitations and how their access to disaster services could be improved;
• The disaster experiences of CBOs and how partnerships with those organizations can help people with disabilities and activity limitations; and
• How an effective, disability-related homeland security and emergency preparedness infrastructure may be developed.

The report's recommendations urge the federal government to influence its state and local government partners, as well as its community-based partners, to assume major roles in implementing key recommendations.

Sound Alert: A Centralized System Capable of Alerting People Who Are Deaf or Hearing Impaired of Critical Sounds in Their Environment

Institution: CreateAbility Concepts, Inc.

Principal Investigator: Stephen M. Sutter

Funding Source: U.S. Department of Education, National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Funding Years and Amounts: FY 07 = $250,000; FY 08 = $250,000

Grant Number: H133S060109

Contact Information: Stephen M. Sutter, CreateAbility Concepts, Inc., 5610 Crawfordsville Rd., Suite 2401, Indianapolis, IN 46224

E-mail: support@createabilityinc.com

Telephone: 317- 536-2815 or 866-210-6662

Fax: 317-536-2815

Web sites: http://www.createabilityinc.com, and http://www.naric.com/research/pd/record.cfm?search=1&type=type&display=detailed&criteria=Small%20Business%20Innovative%20Research%20(SBIR),%20Phase%20II&rec=1698
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

This research and development will result in a comprehensive system that delivers natural warning and communication mechanisms for people with hearing loss. The SoundAlert system offers a unique approach to enable individuals who are non-hearing to: 1) initiate and receive emergency communications, 2) receive alerts in the workplace or home environments on a single pocket-sized device through innovative sound discrimination techniques able to identify specific sounds with accuracy, and; 3) combine this functionality with supplementation or replacement of other alerting technologies for convenience on the same single platform. The system enables outbound and inbound communication with emergency services in response to such events as evacuation or rescue information when needed, thus alleviating a major concern of this population for their personal safety

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Nonfederally Funded Research

The Harris Poll #60: Many People Unprepared for Terrorist Attacks or Other Disasters

Institution: Harris Interactive Incorporated

Chair: Humphrey Taylor

Funding Source: Charles Stewart Mott Foundation

Funding Year and Amount: FY 01; amount not available

Grant Number: Not available

Contact Information: Tracey McNerney, Harris Interactive Public Relations, 60 Corporate Woods, Rochester, NY 14623

E-mail: TMcNerney@HarrisInteractive.com

Telephone: 585-214-7756

Fax: 585-214-7686

Web site: http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=272 and http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=1430&nodeID=1&FeatureID=507&redirected=1&CFID=3645752&CFTOKEN=81135247
(Last accessed March 28, 2008)

A Harris Interactive survey, conducted Nov. 14-20, 2001, interviewing 1,011 people by telephone, 15 percent of whom indicated they had disabilities. Results from the survey, done on behalf of the National Organization on Disability, showed that most of the country's 54 million citizens with disabilities do not feel sufficiently prepared for future crises. According to the survey:

• 58 percent of people with disabilities said they do not know whom to contact about emergency plans for their community in the event of a terrorist attack or other crisis.
• 61 percent said that they have not made plans to quickly and safely evacuate their home.
• Among those who are employed full or part time, 50 percent say no plans have been made to safely evacuate their workplace.

The surveyresults showed these percentages were higher than for those without disabilities: 51 percent reported not knowing whom to contact about community emergency plans, 58 percent said no plans were in place for evacuating home, and 44 percent said none in place for work.

December 2003 Follow-Up to the Harris Poll #60: New Poll Highlights Need for More Emergency Planning for and by People With Disabilities

Institution: Harris Interactive commissioned by the National Organization on Disability (NOD)

Chairman: Humphrey Taylor, Harris Interactive

Funding Source: Harris Interactive

Funding Year and Amount: FY 2003; amount not available

Grant Number: Not available

Contact Information: Hilary Styron, National Organization on Disability, 910 Sixteenth Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006

E-mail: StyronH@nod.org, and info@harrisinteractive.com

Telephone: 202-293-5960

Fax: 202-293-7999

Web site: http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=1430&nodeID=1&FeatureID=1245&redirected=1&CFID=7154392&CFTOKEN=44289573(last accessed March 28, 2008)

More than two years after terrorist attacks focused national attention on the importance of planning ahead for disasters, Americans with disabilities remain insufficiently prepared, and are anxious about their safety, according to a Harris Interactive survey commissioned by the National Organization on Disability (NOD).

In the event of a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other crisis, only 44 percent of people with disabilities said they knew whom to contact about emergency plans for their community. Just 39 percent had made plans to evacuate quickly and safely from their homes. These figures barely changed from Sept. 11, when Harris conducted the same survey following the terrorist attacks.

This survey found a noteworthy improvement, however, in the workplace preparedness of people with disabilities. Sixty-eight percent said that plans have been made to quickly and safely evacuate from their jobs, a dramatic increase from 45 percent in 2001.

The HarrisInteractive survey interviewed 993 people, 19 percent of whom reported having disabilities, by telephone Dec. 10-16, 2003. NOD's Emergency Preparedness Initiative will continue to monitor and report on the disability community's preparedness level.

National Report: Emergency Preparednessand Emergency Communication Access: Lessons Learned Since 9/11 and Recommendations

Institutions: Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf & Hard of Hearing Persons (NVRC); Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumer Advocacy Network

Point of Contact: Cheryl Heppner, NVRC

Funding Source: Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Persons

Funding Years and Amount: FY 01 – 04. Total = $10,000

Grant Number: Not applicable

Contact Information: Cheryl Heppner, NVRC, 3951 Pender Drive, Suite 130, Fairfax, VA 22030

E-mail: cheppner@nvrc.org

Telephone: 703-352-9055; 703-352-9056 (TTY)

Fax: 703-352-9058

Web site: http://www.nad.org/site/pp.asp?c=foINKQMBF&b=264081
(last accessed March 28, 2008)

This national report calls attention to serious weaknesses in the nation's emergency preparedness infrastructure that compromise the safety and security of 28 million Americans who are deaf or hard of hearing. It identifies priorities for remedying the problem and makes recommendations on how to build a national network of support for individuals with hearing loss in the event of an emergency.

NOD/Harris Survey on Emergency Preparedness: Workplace Preparedness of People With Disabilities Down Personal Preparedness on the Rise

Institution: Harris Interactive Commissioned by the National Organization on Disability (NOD)

Chairman: Humphrey Taylor, Harris Interactive

Funding Source: Multiple private sources

Funding Year and Amount: FY 2005; amount not available

Grant Number: Not available

Contact Information: Hilary Styron, National Organization on Disability, 910 Sixteenth Street, NW, 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006

E-mail: StyronH@nod.org, and info@harrisinteractive.com

Telephone: 202-293-5960

Fax: 202-293-7999

Web site: http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=page.viewPage&pageID=1430&nodeID=1&FeatureID=1562&redirected=1&CFID=25124092&CFTOKEN=37905663 and
http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Feature.showFeature&FeatureID=1474(last accessed March 28, 2008)

Four monthsafter hurricanes Katrina and Rita ravaged the Gulf Coast and almost five years after Sept. 11, emergency preparedness in the workplace is on the decline, but personal preparedness for people with disabilities is on the rise, according to this Harris Interactive survey commissioned by the NOD's Emergency Preparedness Initiative. Furthermore, the disabled community has yet to experience the comparable decrease in their anxiety levels about their own personal safety that the population without disabilities has experienced.

This survey also reports a marked decrease in workplace preparedness for people with disabilities. Survey results reveal that 57 percent of people with disabilities indicate that they have a workplace plan, a figure that is down from 68 percent in 2003.

This telephone survey was conducted by Harris Interactive among a national cross-section of 1,001 adults aged 18 or over from Dec. 15 - 18, 2005. The sample size for adults with disabilities is 161 and for adults without disabilities is 829.

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Research Recommendations from Conferences on Emergency Management and People With Disabilities

This section lists conferences on emergency management and people with disabilities that took place from 2003 through 2005, and it includes recommendations for research that were formulated and discussed at these meetings. All recommendations are reprinted verbatim from conference records.

Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication: State of the Science Conference

The research recommendations below are from the conference report, Accessible Emergency Notification and Communication: Research and Policy Recommendations, Pages 6-11. The full report is available at http://tap.gallaudet.edu/EmergencyCommConf.htm (last accessed March 28, 2008)

Recommendations for Research

Accessibility of Mainstream Personal Technologies Used for Communications and Information

• R-1. Development of techniques to make mainstream technologies used for notification and communication usable by people with disabilities, including inability to use without vision, lack of text communication features and phone complexity. Technology accessibility affects the ability of people with disabilities to be notified of important information prior to and during an emergency and during recovery; and to engage in emergency communications. If the basic technologies are not accessible, then emergency and recovery messages will be missed and people will be prevented from communicating in order to seek help or give help to others.
• R-2. Inclusion of disability access in research on next generation emergency notification technologies. Researchers that are specializing in projects on emergency communications have an obligation to coordinate with researchers working on the broader accessibility issues, as sometimes these two will overlap.
• R-3. Development of accessible communications devices for persons who are deaf-blind. At our conference, the limitations in accessibility of current technology vis-à-vis deaf-blind persons were a particular concern. Most in this group have visual and hearing impairments that prevent them from being able to use television, radio or cell phones. Thus they cannot use typical visual or auditory warning and communication devices. This group is growing in size as the U.S. population ages.

Research, Development, Evaluation, and Technical Assistance Targeted at Accessible Emergency Communication Systems

• R-4. Conduct a systems engineering analysis to determine:
  • Needs regarding emergency communications, including coverage at various times of day and for various types of emergency situations.
  • Capabilities assessment, including evaluation of performance under load.
  • Requirements analysis and assumptions, including requirements matrix (specifications which can be realized in solutions/ products).
  • Long-term solutions and not merely incremental approaches.
• R-5. Assess accessibility of current and proposed/planned emergency notification and communications, particularly during situations where people with disabilities are disproportionately vulnerable to missing alerts or information, and target research and standards development there. Some examples of situations where individuals with disabilities would be particularly vulnerable in emergencies:
  • while driving if unable to listen to radio or call 9-1-1;
  • while sleeping if unable to hear alerting sounds;
  • while out in a public place if unable to see what others are doing or hear what they are saying;
  • in a power outage if dependent mainly or solely on a computer for communications and information;
  • in any situation if deaf-blind.
• R-6. Gather information using regional expertise of both consumers and emergency management personnel, in successfully providing accessible and timely communications during various types of emergencies. Document best practices and recommend models for federal, state and local governments to follow.
• R-7. Sponsor participation of accessibility technical experts in emergency communications standards and guideline development, and in industry and government advisory groups. Examples:
  • wireless technology consortia developing specifications for location-basednotification
  • government's integrated Public Alert and Warning System (iPAWS)
  • 9-1-1 government/industry partnerships addressing technology migration
• R-8. Development of methods to apply advanced technologies such as intelligent agents to automatically ensure emergency information generated in one formatis available in all formats. Such technologies could also be applied to simplify complex messages to reduce cognitive load.
• R-9. Conduct lab and field tests of promising technologies for improved accessibility of emergency communications, working with partners in the public and private sectors and involving people with disabilities. In particular, assessments need to be made to determine the extent to which the various methods of information delivery being considered in projects being coordinated by FEMA as well as local governments' systems, will achieve accessibility.

Government to Individual Communications and Broadcast Coverage of Emergencies

• R-10. Research the concept of streaming text over radio data channels to deliver emergency text messages through radio displays. Radio is frequently depended upon by the public for emergency and recovery information, particularly when driving or when there is an extended power outage. Radio is inaccessible to people who are deaf and some who are hard of hearing.
• R-11. Develop technology for conversion of text-based information to auditory information, such as text displayed on television screens during emergencies (e.g., school closing information and local telephone numbers to call for help). (Note: This area of research is being funded by NIDRR through a Field Initiated Research grant to WGBH.)
• R-12. Assess commercial products that perform emergency telephone notification functions ("reverse 9-1-1") against a list of accessibility features needed for people with disabilities and publish the information in an accessible format on the web and promote its availability to local and state governments, professional associations, industry trade associations, and disability organizations.
• R-13. Determine the most effective way of making EAS television alerts accessible to people who are blind. Current methods provide only an audio alert squawk, and not spoken information, when the television distributor sends the message in text only. The audio alert is sometimes accompanied by a spoken direction to tune to another channel, but the emergency information is not necessarily provided on that other channel. (Note: This issue is being considered by the FCC at this time, although no research is being carried out. Policy recommendations regarding the EAS can be found in the next section of this report.)
• R-14. Evaluate speech recognition technology for the specific application of automatically and accurately transcribing audio messages when spoken announcements are made, e.g., in public places such as airports and for automated telephone notification systems. If the additional step of separately typing in messages is required during an emergency, there is a greater likelihood that it will not happen and a text version will not be sent.
• R-15. Address technical problems in timeliness of message delivery, spam filters terminating emergency messages, and other issues that can affect whether people with disabilities obtain emergency information. Although these problems are shared by non-disabled people, mobile e-mail is more relied upon by people with hearing disabilities than those without disabilities.
• R-16. Research liability issues with non-emergency service providers that are in the path between the alerting organization and the public. Examples: wireless carriers, other servers of information. Liability issues may hamper the ability of local governments to work with carriers to provide highly localized alerts (e.g., chemical spill, road closure) to wireless users. If legal barriers would present problems, these would need to be addressed.
• R-17. If national and satellite radio takes over much of the broadcast radio market–research techniques for getting local alerts while listening to national/satellite radio. Radio is often the first place people who are blind will seek information. Competition from national radio sources may change the marketplace for radio. The accessibility implication is that local emergency information may be harder to come by via radio.
• R-18. Research use of streaming video (to mobile devices that can support video) for sign language alert and recovery information.
• R-19. Assess accessibility of NOAA Weather Radios on the market to people with visual disabilities including deaf-blind persons.

Individual to Government Communication

• R-20. Study technologies and operational procedures for network security and control during emergencies that can hamper access to useful technologies such as video and text. For example, e-mail alerts are already losing effectiveness due to spam control procedures and a lack of priority setting for e-mail. Video and instant messaging often disallowed or blocked by firewalls in many organizations. Recommend solutions to these problems.
• R-21. Build in accessibility to planned changes in 9-1-1 architectures. The migration of the nation's Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) to packet-switched technologies is a wonderful opportunity for better accessibility but if accessibility concerns are not considered, it could be a missed opportunity. In this endeavor, NIDRR could coordinate and perhaps co-fund projects with the U.S. Department of Transportation, which has been designated the point agency for the development and testing of next-generation technology for 9-1-1.) PSAPs need to be able to receive voice, data or video transmissions in real-time, and then be able to pass along the information received to specific emergency responder networks. Technology coordination is needed so that accessibility occurs shoulder to shoulder with upgrades to 9-1-1, without repeated changes to PSAP requirements overtime.
• R-22. Study methods for TTY functionality in wireless PDAs and other methods that may be short-term solutions to E9-1-1 access with mobile location finding and coverage equal to that of voice users. The TTY devices on the market are quite large and not really mobile devices, so they are not being used by deaf people. In contrast, wireless PDAs using Internet-based services are widely used. Companies should build TTY functionality into phone devices that have QWERTY keyboards so that direct calls to 9-1-1 are possible without any specialized equipment. The networks already support TTY; this is a last step to achieving direct 9-1-1 access in the shortterm.
• R-23. Study and demonstrate options and issues for relay services' handling of 9-1-1 calls. Research in this area could provide informed decisions for call handling in the future and may enable improved handling of relayed calls to 9-1-1. Recent FCC rules indicate that new forms of relay services will soon be required to handle 9-1-1 calls. Research investment is needed to move this area ahead quickly, as many text users have abandoned the PSTN and TTY due to the availability of text and video over broadband. IP-based and video relay centers need to be able to determine the correct PSAP, based on the caller's locations, and be capable of exchanging information with PSAPs. IP-based forms of speech-to-speech relay service and CapTel are forthcoming; these also will need to be compatible with 9-1-1. Tests of this concept, as well as one-step calling might include the use of one or more specialized relay centers for routing and relaying these calls.
• R-24. Demonstrate and evaluate methods of connection and call handling to 9-1-1 using IP text and IP-based relay services. For direct calling to 9-1-1 by people who cannot use the voice phone, continued support of standard, reliable and interoperable real-time text communication will be needed. However, the antiquated TTY technology of the PSTN should not be perpetuated in new systems that operate over IP networks.

Individual to Individual Communications (including residential situations and communications within facilities and campuses)

• R-25. Research effective and accessible methods of communicating egress or shelter instructions in buildings and building complexes. There are basically two situations: one in which the person being alerted has some relationship to the building, such as an employee or a student, and the building management can to some degree control the situation; and one in which people are transient, such as stores, restaurants, rail stations, or airports. One concern is that with terrorism and biohazard incidents more of a threat, we do not have ways to communicate the specifics of what people with disabilities need to do in an emergency: exit, shelter in place, move to another area, etc. Another concern is that, even for routine egress, better use of technology could be made to signal the direction to exit if a person cannot see as a result of blindness or smoke in the building.
• R-26. Study and evaluate technologies for finding people with hearing and/or speech disabilities in a collapsed structure or other rescue situation where speech and hearing would routinely be used to communicate between rescuer and rescuee—for example, after an earthquake or bomb detonation.
• R-27. Study methods of awakening people with hearing disabilities while sleeping. Recent research involving awakening people from sleep indicates that guidelines for accessibility are inadequate for awakening a large percentage of people who cannot hear or cannot hear well. Further study should include additional signals (such as low or variable frequency sounds); and specific products and technologies should be evaluated against these requirements. The possibility that some persons could sleep through vibrations or other signals after habituation should be studied. Guidelines may need to be changed as a result of this research.
• R-28. Improve alerting interfaces; Implement standard connections in emergency systems for external flashing/loud audio/vibrating device. Develop and transfer to the private sector a portable vibrating alerting device with standard connector and battery backup. This simple type of device would permit people who cannot be alerted by an auditory signal to move from location to location and plug in a vibrating device to analarm.
• R-29. Study human factors issues related to audio alerting and hard of hearing people while awake. For example, people who have progressive hearing loss and who may not be attuned to seeking visual information, due to age or late onset of disability. What are the most effective forms of audio alerts?
• R-30. Study human factors issues around alerting people who are deaf-blind. Deaf-blind people are not served by most technologies that are on the market. Special attention needs to be paid to emergency communications access for people who are deaf-blind, and for whom most communications technologies are inaccessible.
• R-31. Study information needs and communication specific to certain disability groups and identify effective practices for peer-oriented communications and help. Networking and self-help within disability groups has been an important recovery tool during severe and widespread disasters such as hurricanes Katrina and Rita. What specialized emergency information is needed by people with various disabilities in an emergency? How and by whom does such information get produced now and how should it be produced in the future? How can such information best be delivered? What role should non-profit relief organizations have, and how can they coordinate and work with disability-specific groups? Should institutions serving specific groups effectively (e.g., state schools for deaf children) have official roles asshelters?
• R-32. Demonstrate and test the use of IVR (Interactive Voice Response—telephone menus) to make emergency information on the web more accessible to people when not in the presence of a computer or smartphone, and to make the information more easily and universally accessible to people who are blind. For example, a blind person could dial a phone number, listen to a list of categories and chose the topic of interest to receive more information.

Conference on Emergency Preparedness for People With Disabilities

Sponsored by the National Capitol Region with the support of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and in partnership with the National Organization on Disability Held at the Hyatt Regency–Crystal City, Arlington, Va., on Sept. 22-24, 2004.

The conference was dedicated specifically to the systems-level examination of disability and emergency preparedness and represented a cumulative effort by several individuals, organizations and agencies to highlight aspects of their projects that each were already working on individually.

While the conference report does not include a compilation of research recommendations, it lists key concepts that came up repeatedly during the conference. Because they are pertinent to the development of a research agenda on emergency preparedness and people with disabilities, they are reprinted below. The full Conference on Emergency Preparedness for People With Disabilities: Conference Report is available at: http://www.nod.org/epiconference2004 (last accessed March 28, 2008). Excerpts below are from Pages 3-4 of this online report.

• 1. Including disability issues in disaster drills enables the capture of lessons-learned, which become criteria for improvement. People with disabilities must be permitted on the exercise design teams, as well as participants in the drills, and/or as evaluators of the drill. In addition to the preplanning of disaster drills, people with disabilities should be included in the after-action evaluation and reporting on that drill. Tested measures around disabilities must get past the "victim" model and beyond a medical nexus in order to reflect the freedom of participation in all levels and activities of society that people with disabilities are guaranteed in this nation. Further, the improvements made as a result of the lessons-learned, must be tied into future funding evaluation and award merits to foster continued positive change.
• 2. Recognize that local performance measures will lead to accountability. Require special needs issues to be mandated parts of grant applications for funding, requests for proposals (RFPs), and even extended to the negotiated language in service contracts with vendors. The concern with this is that without the proper guidance from experts, the actual RFP language will not be such as to solicit the proper outcomes in replies. Without expert involvement in the review process, inappropriate, or at the very least inconsistent, awards will be granted.
• 3. A debate over terminology still exists in both the emergency and disability communities as to the use of a generalized term like "special needs". But until a resolution emerges with consensus, careful definition of terms and planning assumptions must be commonplace. Data collection for validation is important and is often tied to funding but the presentation of educated and defensible assumptions, as not to delay the planning process, should be accepted once clearly articulated as such.
• 4. Beyond the merit of data collection, hard research is desperately needed in this area of disability and emergency. Apparently research would impact use criteria and standards for equipment developed for people with disabilities and emergency application. Research would also validate funding opportunities, as mentioned above, by identifying the potential impact if preemptive actions are not enabled. And finally research would ensure the codification of rules and regulations by demonstrating that legislation must keep up with the ever-changing new technology platforms used by both the emergency and disability communities.
• 5. There must be designated simple and common access areas to share information about funding and research opportunities, and learning opportunities, etc. so to break down the prevalent paradigm of working within our own spheres. Without such ability to share information and knowledge across all involved disciplines, duplicative efforts will continue, solutions will be long to replicate, and safety results will be delayed to the intended audiences.

Considerations in Emergency Preparedness: A Two-Track Conference

This conference had two tracks: one on pediatrics and one on people with disabilities. The research recommendations below are from the track pertaining to people with disabilities. The conference report Emergency Preparedness: Addressing the Needs of People With Disabilities, Page 39. The full report is available at http://www.ncdp.mailman.columbia.edu/files/DISABILITIES.pdf
(last accessed March 28, 2008).

Research Priorities:

• 14.1 Evaluate effectiveness of community-based "special needs registries" or REVERSE 911® systems.
• 14.2 Evaluate effectiveness of evacuation messages for people with disabilities, including analysis of how messages are understood and of modality and messagingtechniques.
• 14.3 Evaluate effective activation of local transportation networks to serve individuals with special needs before, during, and after an emergency or disaster, including the willingness of these individuals to report to duty after a disaster.
• 14.4 Evaluate effectiveness in cross-training disability and emergency preparedness communities.
• 14.5 Determine factors that affect caregivers and medical professionals' willingness and ability to report to work during times of disaster.
• 14.6 Consider the advantages, disadvantages, and unintended consequences of developing segregated versus unsegregated sheltering systems.
• 14.7 Determine relationship between standing orders for patient care in EMS settings, including and especially for adults and children with disabilities, and health outcomes during a disaster.
• 14.8 Evaluate EMS readiness to care for people with disabilities, including the surge capability of EMS to respond with appropriate equipment and knowledge to the needs of people with disabilities.
• 14.9 Quantify the benefit of telehealth for people with disabilities in providing instruction and health care to homebound individuals before, during, and in recoveryperiods.

Product Research and Development Needs:

• 14.10 Emergency evacuation devices including elevator systems that operate during emergency situations, wheelchairs that climb up or down stairs and portable ventilators for use during power outages.
• 14.11 Considerations on the use of elevators for building evacuation when the integrity of the system is intact and it is reasonably safe to do so (e.g., "hardening" of a dedicated elevator and/or bank, as well as a protocol for its use).
• 14.12 Decontamination protocol and equipment for adaptive technology for people with disabilities, as well as for people who have physical limitations that prevent them from either walking or lying on a backboard for decontamination, or for people with service animals.

Emergency Evacuation of People With Physical Disabilities From Buildings

Conference presenters and attendees exchanged information and ideas during panel presentations and breakout sessions. Among the 85 presenters and participants were: federal employees involved in emergency preparedness; first responders and emergency management personnel; building and life safety code practitioners; manufacturers of evacuation devices; people with disabilities who have used evacuation devices; and leading researchers in mobility devices, human factors and egress modeling.

Listed below are the researchrecommendations, by category, issued in Emergency Evacuation of People With Physical Disabilities From Buildings: 2004 Conference Proceedings, Pages 47-53.One category of recommendations ("Cross-Train People with Disabilities as Emergency Responders") is not listed as research recommendations. However, we include it here because it is pertinent to the development of a research agenda on emergency preparedness and disability. The full report is available at: http://www.icdr.us/documents/pwd-emergency-evac.pdf. (lastaccessed March 28, 2008).

Buildings: Design, Codes and Construction

Recommendations for research:

• Find a safe way to use elevators in existing buildings by occupants inemergencies.
• Member agencies of the ICDR should fund the development of guidelines for emergency plans for all occupancies and building types.
• Member agencies of the ICDR should fund research on effective means of communicating emergency information that is communicated to everyone, including people who are deaf or hard of hearing.

Emergency Management and First Responders

Recommendations for Research:

• Identify the best strategies for keeping people with disabilities safe during an emergency event.
• Appropriate provisions for people with disabilities need to be tested.
• Identify the best way to communicate with people with disabilities during anemergency.
• Identify strategies for coordination of the dynamics of simultaneous evacuations of individuals and groups.
• Address the specific issues of people with multiple disabilities.
• Identify gaps (disconnects) between planners, responders and occupants.
• Find out how many first responder personnel it takes to complete a rescue (need for better data and times).

Tools and Model-Building

Recommendations for Research:

• Identify an agreed upon set of experimental studies and needed data to improve themodels.
• Involve many different fields and organizations under coordination and leadership from appropriate groups (e.g., disaster research centers).
• Set up funding in three phases, beginning at $250,000, and working up to $1 million. This would lead to more comprehensive, substantiated and effective decisions by all parties in a position to influence outcomes.

Lessons Learned—Literature Review and Syntheses

Recommendations for Research:

• Collect fromrepository of lessons learned: after-action reports, civil rights complaints, anecdotal evidence from disability communities, and syntheses of nationally and internationally published studies that are cross incident.
• Use a team composed of cross-disability groups, first responders and the U.S.Department of Justice and start the funding amount at $5 million. Lessons learned are translated into effective practice and cross-training material.

Data Before and During Events

Recommendations for Research:

• Develop data collection points for a response profile for first responders as they arrive at a facility for disasters:
  • Anticipateresource needs for a response based on who will be there (the number and composition of occupants, including people with disabilities).
  • While on-site, employ effective procedures to assess the evacuation of people with disabilities that has occurred thus far, and determine who might be leftbehind.
  • Track the impact of the disaster on people with disabilities, first responders andothers.

Cross-Train People With Disabilities as Emergency Responders

Other recommendations:

Design a four-hour curriculum to be included in training to orient fire and rescue personnel to special needs.

• Two hours in class studying:
  • A list of disabilities: physical, visual, cognitive, psychiatric, and deaf and hard-of-hearing; and
  • The demography of disabilities: residential or commercial.
• Time considerations:
  • Assessment;
  • Rescue;
  • Fire; and
  • Additional resources (i.e., rescuers and treatment).
• Assistive technology: raise the awareness for first responders of the importance and value of these tools:
  • Assistance to service animals;
  • Wheelchairs; and
  • Computers.
• Two-hour hands-on training to cover:
  • Equipment information;
  • Backboard transfer methods;
  • Surface issues;
  • Manpower; and
  • Lifting techniques.
• Design a two-hour course presented to the disability community titled "Response, Rescue and Treatment.#34;
  • Qualify the individuals;
  • Include information as to how first responders operate;
  • Include best practices;
  • Work through advocacy organizations; and
  • For each case (i.e., hotels, libraries, etc.), state that training and applicability may vary.

Current State of Research of Evacuation Equipment and Mobility Devices

Recommendations for Research:

• The ICDR should develop and coordinate a federal strategy for the development of technical standards for evacuation devices and a program to develop and provide consumer information on evacuation devices and standards. RESNA develops voluntary standards for wheeled mobility devices and could be an interested partner.
• Supportthe federal development, implementation and maintenance of a consumer database on evacuation technology. Include the development of technical and performance standards for several types of devices in collaboration with industry, RESNA and the FDA.
• Provide comprehensive consumer information on device usability from a single federal source. Comprehensive and comparable information on the characteristics, use and performance of evacuation devices—including stair, building and operator requirements—is not currently available to assist consumers and procurement staff with the purchase of appropriate devices. Some devices are currently regulated by the FDA, but most are not.

Conference attendees estimated that a budget of $3.5 million over seven years for standards development and an additional $4 million dollars for consumer information would be needed. It was anticipated that the industry would maintain the consumer database once it was developed.

During the conference, a wide range of device types were identified:

• Rigid sleds, stretchers and chairs used by emergency responders;
• Transfer-to devices operated by responders or workplace volunteers;
• Emerging aftermarket technologies that could transform an individual mobility device into a stair-descending evacuation device, for use with or without assistance; and
• Portable elevator and lift technologies.

Human Factors and Egress Modeling

Recommendations for Research:

• The United States needs better evacuation models that can model elements that influence behaviors during evacuations. To identify actual behaviors, certain datasets are needed, including multiple sets, hazards and scenarios.
  • Quantitative, qualitative and video data, especially in the stairs (group behavior first hand); and
  • Occupancy specific data, not just building specific data.
    • What about tunnel evacuations?
• It is important to understand people's responses to their environments (i.e., fire, debris, etc.) It is also important to understand and model groups and emerging leaders (in addition to first responders), especially people with disabilities.
  • In emergencies, most people give up their individual agendas.
  • Consider counter flow of traffic—people encountering evacuation devices inside the stairwells—and how this affects stair movement.
  • Simulate a broader range of disabilities
  • Consider the effect and response of ongoing communication—utilize ongoing decision-making as new information on the behavior of the occupants becomes available.
  • Consider behavior of occupants in different types of hazards (e.g., occupants evacuating while wearing chemical masks.)
  • Implement/utilize models that take into account the actual decision-making process of people with disabilities during an evacuation.
  • Study data on evacuation and relocation.
  • Foster an awareness of one's surroundings—people do not often think while walking into a building, "What will I do if an emergency occurs?"
• There is a need to fill the gaps between the factors (independent variables and predictors, such as people running frantically in certain incidences) that affect egress decisions and the trainers or decision makers that design the plan.
  • It is essential to bring research to practice.
  • Research exists from different disciplines. How can planners use this data to create a model? What about decision-making analysis models (a collection of past data on decision-making in emergencies put into a usable model for plan-makers)?
  • Data are needed from other disciplines, bringing them together during emergencies.
  • Data are needed on the number of hours of training necessary for occupants to provide a successful response (following proper procedures during drills and actual evacuations). How many hours of training (education) are necessary for occupants to retain emergency procedure information?
  • Multiple-test scenarios and an understanding of the knowledge gained and retained from each hour of training are needed.
• Emergency planning: What factors influence emergency preparedness?
  • Best practice checklist for evacuation, specifically of people with disabilities.
    • Improve plans for federal buildings
  • Can we rely on the national preparedness standard NFPA 1600, which is a template listing questions to answer when developing a plan?
    • Not necessarily required for buildings as of yet.
• What does emergency planning have to do with human factors modeling?
  • How people respond is a result of the information that they obtain or receive during an emergency.
  • The information is affected by a specific warning system.
  • Should a warning system and corresponding information be part of an evacuation plan?
  • What should the system entail?

Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters and Terrorism: A National Consensus Conference

Sponsored by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health.
Held at the Wyndham Hotel, Washington, D.C., on Feb. 10-12, 2003.

The goals of this national conference were to: 1) build collaboration among individuals with expertise in all areas of pediatric care as well as in emergency management; 2) review and summarize the existing data on the needs of children in disasters; 3) develop a consensus on the needs of children in disasters; and 4) create a research agenda to address knowledge gaps.

The following excerpted recommendations were largely based on expert opinion due to the limited amount of pediatric research currently available. They offer a proposed research agenda and a description of funding needs for terrorism and disaster preparedness efforts for children.

The recommendations below are from Pediatric Preparedness for Disasters and Terrorism: ANational Consensus Conference (Page 19). The full report is available at: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/children/pdf/working/execsumm03.pdf(last accessed March 28, 2008).

Emergency Preparednes

Children With Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN)

• Incorporateconsiderations for CSHCN in all disaster and terrorism planning at the national, state and local levels (e.g., water, dialysis and medication).
• Identify all CSHCN to ensure each child has a medical home, adequate medical coverage and support mechanisms before a disaster or terrorist event.
• Ensure that all CSHCN are considered in emergency preparedness plans of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
• Develop mechanisms for identification of and community planning for children with increased vulnerability in disasters, including CSHCN and their families, at the national, state and local levels.
• Provide federal, state and local government funding for emergency preparedness planning and implementation of services to meet the needs of CSHCN. This funding must be timely, immediately accessible and of sufficient duration.
• Explore, within government agencies, development of nontraditional, community-based support systems for CSHCN and their families (e.g., independent living centers, faith-based groups and parent-based groups).
• Mandate continuity of operations and mutual aid planning among community health facilities to address disaster and terrorist events for pediatric populations, including CSHCN.

Workshop on Building Occupant Movement During Fire Emergencies

Building and Fire Research Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology
United Technologies Research Center.
Held at the National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, Md., on June10-11, 2004.

This workshop on occupant behavior and movement during building emergencies was organized in response to renewed interest in how buildings should be evacuated during fires after Sept.11,2001; and it provided a forum for the exchange of experiences among the fire and non-fire communities working on emergency egress.

The research recommendations below are from the conference report Workshop on Building Occupancy During Fire Emergencies, June 10-11, 2004, National Institute of Standards and Technology (Pages 15, 55, 62, and 98). The full report is available at: http://fire.nist.gov/bfrlpubs/fire05/PDF/f05023.pdf(last accessed March 28, 2008).

[Below is from Page 15]

Protected Elevators for Egress and Access During Fires in Tall Buildings

Development of Operating Procedures

Prior research and recent advancescan address all of the technology issues identified as critical to the safe and reliable operation of elevators during fires. The remaining piece is the development of operating procedures for access, egress, and rescue of the disabled that are sensitive to the human factors issues and to the need for these activities to occur simultaneously in tall buildings. Thus the systems must be designed and used such that they do not interfere with all these uses.

[Below is from Page 55]

4 Data Needs for Predictive Building Movement Models

The usefulness of a model-based predictive capability is heavily dependent on an understanding of its accuracy and limits of applicability. However, the current situation is such that small amounts of data exist and that they are not generally available to groups studying this topic. Additional experimental data gathering efforts are needed in order to quantify current and future egress predictive capabilities. Areas of interest may include pre-evacuation timing and behavior, disabled occupant responses to fires, exhaustion on stairs and interaction of occupants and building systems with the environment of the event.

[Below is from Page 62]

Available Data and Input into Models

Research Needs

In order to better understand human behavior in fire, to enhance the effectiveness and completeness of evacuation models, and to provide better information for the users of evacuations model, additional study is needed in a range of areas.

The areas of study involve the need for more data on all the time components of behavior, particularly those that are not a simple matter of speed and distance; data on the variability of those time components; and data or models on the factors driving behavior choices and the variability in time to perform certain actions. Some of the more specific areas are listed and described here:

• movement capabilities of a wide cross-section of society: how much do we know about variations in movement capability by age or by walking impairment?
• evacuation of disabledpeople: how are wheelchair users expected to evacuate and how long with that take; how might their evacuation impact the overall evacuation flow?

[Below is from Page 97]

5 Workshop Summary

5.2 Specific Needs Obtained From Workshop Participants

There is a need to include the impacts of human behavior in predictive models. Currently used evacuation models lack certain behavioral aspects of an evacuation, including group behavior and accurate representation of the disabled population.

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