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Emergency Preparedness and Factors Influencing Decision-Making in a Sample of Public K–12 Schools During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Mixed Methods Study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2025

Laima Licitis Open the ORCID record for Laima Licitis [Opens in a new window] ,
India Rose ,
Zachary Oberholtzer ,
Colleen Murray ,
Catherine N. Rasberry ,
Lisa C. Barrios  and
Sanjana Pampati
Laima Licitis
Affiliation:
https://ror.org/040vxhp34 Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education , Oak Ridge, TN, USA
India Rose
Affiliation:
ICF, Atlanta, GA, USA
Zachary Oberholtzer
Affiliation:
Division of Readiness and Response Science, Office of Readiness and Response, https://ror.org/042twtr12 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA, USA 4ES Corporation, San Antonio, TX, USA
Colleen Murray
Affiliation:
ICF, Atlanta, GA, USA
Catherine N. Rasberry
Affiliation:
Division of Adolescent and School Health, https://ror.org/042twtr12 National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA, USA
Lisa C. Barrios
Affiliation:
Division of Readiness and Response Science, Office of Readiness and Response, https://ror.org/042twtr12 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA, USA
Sanjana Pampati*
Affiliation:
Division of Adolescent and School Health, https://ror.org/042twtr12 National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , Atlanta, GA, USA
*
Corresponding author: Sanjana Pampati; Email: mix2@cdc.gov
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Abstract

Objectives

Evaluate factors influencing the decision-making processes of school administrators and investigate the existence and use of emergency operations plans (EOPs) during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Using survey data representative of US K-12 public schools in 2022, the prevalence of 16 factors that influenced reporting school administrators’ COVID-19 prevention strategy implementation decision-making (Wave 4; N = 399) and the presence and use of school EOPs (Wave 5; N = 400) are presented overall and by urban-rural classification, poverty level, and school level. Qualitative interviews were conducted with a subset of school administrators and used thematic analysis to understand factors influencing implementation of prevention strategies and emergency preparedness.

Results

School district requirements or recommendations (81.6%) was the top reported factor influencing decisions on the use of COVID-19 prevention strategies. Although most schools created or updated their EOP during the 2021/2022 school year (78.1%), only 26.7% implemented or exercised an EOP during the COVID-19 pandemic. Themes from qualitative analysis focused on factors influencing the implementation of prevention strategies, limitations of current EOPs, and importance of continuous investment in school preparedness.

Conclusions

Investing in actions to improve schools’ capacity to respond to emergencies such as developing comprehensive EOPs, building partnerships, and defining roles and responsibilities is important.

Keywords

schoolsemergency preparednessCOVID-19childreninfectious disease

Information

Type
Original Research
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 19 , 2025 , e194
Creative Commons
This is a work of the US Government and is not subject to copyright protection within the United States. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.
Copyright
© Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2025

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