Department of Health and Human Services

Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER)

Following any type of natural disaster, emergency event or public health crisis, officials must be prepared to respond and meet the needs of the affected community.

CASPER can rapidly measure the health status and basic needs of the affected community and provide objective information to public health practitioners and emergency management officials to direct response assets.

CASPER refers to a set of tools designed to provide quick, low cost, accurate and reliable population-based public health information about communities impacted by public health emergencies.

Demonstrated expertise:

North Carolina Firsts:

• First CASPER conducted by state health program without Federal support: Hurricane Charley, 2004
• First CASPER using GIS sampling and automated data collection: Hurricane Charley, 2004
• First use of community assessments as a component of post disaster after action review: Hurricane Katrina, 2006 (in support of the MS Department of Health)
• First time flood plain maps for risk assessment and analyzing CASPER data
• First time three CASPER s have been conducted and reported on in three consecutive days: Iowa floods, 2008 (in support of the IA Department of Health)

There are many uses:

• CASPER is designed to assist local, state, regional, and federal agencies in conducting needs assessments in communities affected by disasters
• CASPER can also be used in non-emergencies to assess the health status and health needs of a community
• CASPER can be used to measure and quantify the needs of at-risk and vulnerable populations to assist with disaster planning
• CASPER can be used to measure how household apply preparedness guidance or public health recommendations or interventions

The methods:

• The CASPER method advances the design developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and uses GIS (geographic information system) technology to randomly sample households by census block.
• This method allows data from a sample of households to be reliably generalized to the entire community, county or region.
• Questionnaires are administered by public health staff using handheld computers that are capable of electronically and securely transmitting information.
• NC Division of Public Health has created a questionnaire library for specific scenarios; and new questionnaires can be easily created and implemented.
• Questionnaires can be rapidly created to collect information on any public health issue.

For more Information on CASPER contact:
Dr. Aaron Fleischauer
North Carolina Division of Public Health
Epidemiology Section

Tel: 919-715-6431
Email: Aaron.Fleischauer@dhhs.nc.gov

For requesting a CASPER contact the N.C. Public Health Preparedness and Response:
Tel: 888-820-0520
Email: phpr.nc@dhhs.nc.gov

Dr. Julie Casani
Director, Public Health Preparedness and Response
North Carolina Division of Public Health

Tel: 919-715-6734
Email: Julie.Casani@dhhs.nc.gov

The NC CASPER SOG describes in detail the CASPER process including making a request for CASPER, team development, deployment, data collection and reporting. Furthermore, the SOG includes job action sheets for team members, communication plans and other necessary documents for field operations, as well as a comprehensive epidemiolgy section. The Epidemiology Section outlines a step by step process for conducting sampling, building questionnaires, and data analysis using handheld technology. The NC CASPER SOG is an operational manual and companion to the CDC CASPER toolkit. Download the SOG: (PDF).