2012 Reports

Assessing the Reliability and Validity of the Evacuation Support Decision Tool

Park, Yoon Soo; Abramson, David M.; Levin, Karen

This study examines the reliability and validity of the Evacuation Decision Support Tool (EDST). The EDST is designed to provide healthcare facilities, emergency managers, and other agencies with a systematic process with which to evaluate and guide “evacuation” versus “shelter in place” decision making for a variety of “all hazards” situations. The EDST is comprised of 7 items that assess “threat” and 9 items that measure “consequences” of a situation. The tool was designed to provide users with a decision on whether to remain, prepare, or evacuate from a healthcare facility. To date, there has not been a study that examined psychometric properties of any evacuation decision tool, including the EDST.