Outbreak Orange
Considering the Psychosocial in a Pandemic
Pearce, Laurie; Vaughan, Colleen; Hearty, Laurie, Larcombe, Beth; Moran, Ciara; Moreno, Paulina; Pinette, Jennifer, Thandi, Gary; Vaughan, Adam
Blackburn, Darren; Chau, Simon; Simon, Viktor, Walker, Robert
INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

DISCUSSION

SIMTEC is a multi-year project, based at the Justice Institute of British
Columbia (JIBC), which will assist Emergency Operations Centre (EOC)
personnel to consider psychosocial dimensions during an emergency. The
project involves designing and conducting simulation exercises with
complex disaster scenarios and specific inputs to elicit psychosocial
responses from senior decision-makers in the EOC.

Our findings highlight the fact that psychosocial concerns, when managing
a pandemic, are not always top priority for those working in Communitybased and Health EOCs. This is understandable, given the fact that
training for EOC and Health EOC members most often focuses on the
logistical and tactical aspects of an emergency and less on the
psychological and social wellbeing of individuals and groups. Clearly,
psychosocial training and education need to be integrated into EOC
training and protocols, particularly when the physical health of a community
is the priority during an emergency.

Outbreak Orange was the fourth in a series of tabletop simulation
exercises. This exercise focused on EOCs and health EOCs and the
development of protocols and procedures to manage a pandemic event.

APPLICATION

Our intent was to examine the EOC members’ ability to devise plans and
make decisions that address the psychosocial need of the community and
their colleagues.

METHODS
We developed and conducted a pandemic simulation tabletop exercise and
invited individuals representing two local EOCs and two health EOCs to
participate. The three-hour exercise was audio and video recorded.
Transcripts of the exercise and follow-up focus groups were thematically
analyzed using NVivo Data Analysis Software, in order to pull out the main
challenges, psychosocial responses and concerns that can emerge during
the initial confirmation of a pandemic.

RESULTS
During the data analysis process, we identified the following key themes:
• There is a need to address communications with health staff in a timely
manner. With widespread social media availability, information and
rumours will quickly spread and messaging needs to be positive and
quick.
• News will quickly reach the community and messaging needs to be
developed to handle growing concerns and fears.
• Protocols for police officers and public health staff need to be developed
to address best practices for persons who refuse to be quarantined and
how to manage their possessions.
• Health care organizations and first response organizations need to
provide psychosocial support to their personnel during a disease
outbreak.
• Ensuring that health care providers, first responders and receivers are
physically safe is of major importance. Information on Personal
Protective Equipment (PPE) should be available quickly.

“Psychosocial” refers to the
mental well-being of an individual
and the role of relationships and
community in impacting that
person’s mental health.

Information collected from the exercises, focus groups, and Subject Matter
Expert interviews throughout the research process assisted in the
development of training materials and guidelines for psychosocial
interventions by senior EOC personnel. Training EOC personnel to respond
to the psychosocial consequences of disasters will reduce stress levels
and enhance strategic and tactical decision-making. The exercises and
training protocols are publicly-available through our online collaboratory.
Further research in the area could include the following:
•

Exploring the effectiveness of a range of psychosocial training initiatives
with first responders in EOCs and health EOCs

•

Examining the inclusion of a Team Support Worker in the Communitybased or Health EOC

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The Simulation and Training Exercise Collaboratory (SIMTEC) Project
Team expresses its appreciation for the valuable feedback provided by the
SIMTEC Expert Working Group, Subject Matter Experts, Exercise Players,
researchers and other professionals in the creation and delivery of the
Outbreak Orange Exercise.
Funding support for this project is provided both through substantial direct
and in-kind financial contributions from project partners including the
Canadian Safety and Security Program (CSSP), Centre for Security
Science; Employee Assistance Services, Specialized Health Services
Directorate RAPB/BRP Health Canada (EAS-HC); the Justice Institute of
British Columbia; and Royal Roads University.

JUSTICE INSTITUTE OF BRITISH COLUMBIA