BACKGROUND:
The California Department of Health Services, Immunization Branch developed trainings and a statewide exercise to test local health department (LHD) communications capabilities, develop their community outreach capacity, support public preparedness, and promote respiratory hygiene. These trainings and exercise also strengthen outreach programs for vaccine-preventable diseases.

OBJECTIVE:
The purpose of this exercise was to test a jurisdiction's ability to communicate by postings or other message delivery systems in case there is a need to get public health orders or guidance into the community rapidly. Community outreach efforts will be essential in the event of a production or logistical delay in vaccine or prophylaxis supplies for response to an emergency, such as a bioterrorism or pandemic flu event. The exercise was designed to build LHD capacity and infrastructure to get health alert messages out in their communities in an emergency to supplement communication messages delivered by LHD spokespersons through the media.

METHOD:
The Immunization Branch has developed and coordinated a simultaneous multi-jurisdiction community education event on January 11, 2005. The statewide communications and training exercise was preceded by five capacity-building conference calls before the event. A follow-up conference call was held after the event.
The exercise focuses on transportation entry portals, such as airport terminals, marine ports, and train stations, within the participating jurisdictions. Volunteers will post static cling hand-washing signs in public and private areas of these transportation entry portals or other venues selected by participating local health departments.
The presentations and materials are available in the Public Health Café section at www.cdlhn.com.

RESULT:
University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health is evaluating this exercise and results will be available in spring 2004.

CONCLUSION:
About one-third of California LHDs are participating in this collaborative, coordinated exercise.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
Build communications outreach capacity of LHDs through trainings and a statewide exercise.