Question Design

1
Study of risk factors regarding the application
of remote public health monitors Nicholas
Paulson, Spencer Garland Department of
Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk,
Virginia
Example survey questions are boxed like this.
Introduction The project is to assess the use
of Health Monitors designed for disaster victims
in shelters or quarantine situations. A
multi-sensor Band on the wrist can remotely
monitor heart rates, movement, body heat, and
fluids to determine different stages of
infections. The Bands can assist in monitoring an
affected population to measure how quickly and if
a disease is spreading. A supply of Bands could
be preemptively provided to target populations
such as military bases, factories, airlines,
hotels, reservations, or high risk civic areas.
The Band could also be made available for
on-the-spot distribution by rescue personnel, to
areas not previously supplied with bands. In the
event of a natural disaster and/or terrorist
attack, the band will assist by providing a means
to monitor a confined population and minimize the
spread of disease. However, success of the band
depends on the publics choice to utilize the
monitor.
Predicted Area(s) of High Risk Predicted Area(s) of High Risk Predicted Area(s) of High Risk  
Altruism Civil Liberties Resistance Resistance
Type of Location Military Base X
Type of Location Hotel X X X X
Type of Location Airline X
Type of Location Factory X X X
Type of Location Quakers X

• Sample Populations
• Ideal samples will be drawn from facilities with
  large day-to-day populations, such as
• a military base
• an airline
• or a large factory
• Survey questions will be tailored to fit the type
  of population i.e. managerial staff members and
  officers, general employees, or travelers/hotel
  guests.
• These samples would be largely non-random but,
  for example, if a large hotel allowed us to
  survey guests it would be possible to draw a
  semi-random population.

THE BAND
(None/Some/Most/All) of my employees would
consider being required to wear this Band an
infringement on their rights.
Figure 1

• Question Design
• Survey questions are primarily designed to assess
  the following three risk factors
• Risk of Civil Liberties - is defined as the
  individuals sacrifice of the right to free
  choice, privacy, and/or peace of mind. This is
  the most obvious risk factor because of the
  simple nature of the quarantining process and the
  Band which transmits personal data to a governing
  body.
• Altruism - is defined as magnanimous concern for
  the welfare of those around the individual. This
  is a key area of risk because compliance with the
  quarantining process requires a concern for the
  people surrounding the individual, but
  overzealous groups may completely ignore the
  effects of other risk factors in their efforts
  force a certain outcome.

What Risks? Should the need to quarantine a
group of individuals arise there may be some
people who would refuse to wear the Band. These
same people may resist being quarantined to begin
with Use of the Health Monitor is intended to
ease the quarantining process both for organizers
and victims. Such a Band may represent a more
reliable and/or trustworthy emergency procedure
thereby increasing willingness to
participate However, there may also be some
who perceive the Health Monitor as a violation of
their privacy. Without any input from the user,
the Band transmits physiological data about that
user, automatically and wirelessly, to an unknown
location. It is easy to see how this useful
device could exacerbate an already anxious
situation.
Conclusions Based on the quantification of
the results in relation to the risk matrix,
strategies to improve cost benefits during
community emergencies will be proposed.
Strategies can include marketing and education to
engage the community as the beneficiaries.
It is reasonable to forcibly quarantine a group
of people during a potentially deadly outbreak.
T/F

• Predicted Results
• A potential risk matrix has been constructed
  (Figure 1), it identifies the primary factor(s)
  for five hypothetical sample sources
• Military Base- Due to the highly organizational
  nature of the military, it is predicted that
  altruism amongst the soldiers would not be a
  problem, nor would the decision to implement use
  of Health Monitors be resisted. However, should
  a civilian population be mingled in with
  military personnel, clashing perception of Civil
  Liberty may cause problems during an emergency
  therefore Civil Liberties has been Xd.
• Hotel- A quarantine situation at a large hotel
  would undoubtedly involve its guests. It would
  be difficult to gain consent from such a large
  and varied population, thereby infringing on the
  rights of many people a non contiguous
  population would also be assumed to have a low
  level of concern for one another, making altruism
  a risk also due to the vast differences in
  interests, purpose for staying at said hotel, and
  myriad other factors, general resistance against
  the authority to quarantine is expected.
• Airline- Results here are predicted to somewhat
  similar to those from the Hotel, due to a similar
  nature of a varied population. However, it is
  acknowledged that travelers on an airplane would
  probably be more sympathetic to one another being
  in such close proximity also an emergency on a
  plane or in an airport is generally regarded as
  being very serious in modern times.
• Factory- A factory may be altruistically at risk
  due to economic focus of business, the cost of
  implementing Health Monitors may outweigh the
  benefits of the protection they provide.
  Conversely Civil Liberties would not be a factor
  because it would be easy to gain consent from
  employees who work in the factory every day.
• A Quaker commune- A pillar of altruistic
  behavior, in fact this group may be at risk
  because of their altruistic nature. In their
  haste to ensure the safety of all inhabitants,
  this population may ignore the economic impact of
  implementing the Health Monitors.

During a quarantine it would be impossible not to
disrupt the rights of at least some individuals.
T/F

• Future Plans
• To assess the application of the Health Monitor
  for community emergencies, a quantitative survey
  will target a non-random sample of populations,
  such as selected businesses, reservations and
  emergency response services.
• The assessment survey will be available on the
  Working Together website for a random sample and
  for the target populations to access.
• The assessment will survey decisions based on
  altruism, civil liberties and resistance as they
  relate to cost-benefits of the health monitor.
• Based on the quantification of the results in
  relation to the risk matrix, strategies to
  improve cost benefits during community
  emergencies will be proposed.
• Strategies can include marketing and education to
  engage the community as the beneficiaries.
• Get the survey approved by IRB

During a dire emergency, it is selfish to assert
one's individual rights.  T/F

• Materials and methods
• A matrix of risk factors will be developed to
  assess decisions about health monitors being used
  during community emergencies. It is proposed that
  altruism, resistance and civil liberties are risk
  factors that can influence decisions about health
  monitors being used during community emergencies.
  
• A quantitative survey can assess if these risk
  factors are relevant. Through a quantitative
  survey of target populations, the risk matrix
  about decision making can be verified.
• After the risk matrix is verified, it can assist
  in protocols and strategies for implementing the
  health monitors for community protection in
  shelters or quarantine situations.

It is (less/equally/more) of a violation of the
rights of those who would be potentially exposed
to disease than the rights of those being
quarantined.
Acknowledgements This project was funded through
the CREATE Center of Excellence by a grant from
the Department of Homeland Security, Science and
Technology Directorate, Office of University
Programs. I would also like to thank you very
much, Dr. Anne Garland, ARIES Student
Coordinator, for direction and general
motivation. Thank you to Applied Research in
Environmental Sciences NonProfit, Inc. For
further information Please contact Nicholas
Paulson, NPaulso_at_gmail.com Spencer Garland,
SpenceGarland_at_gmail.com Visit www.asafertomorrow.
com.
A rigid emergency procedure is more or less in
violation of individual rights if it contains a
Band assisted quarantining. T/F
I would put my faith in authority during a crises
which affects a whole community. T/F
If I was sure I was not infected, I would attempt
to avoid being quarantined if it was only "just
to be on the safe side.
For the sake of my family (or community or life),
I would be quarantined voluntarily. T/F
I consider any device which automatically
transmits data about my body to be intrusive. T/F