Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza Evaluation

The Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza (PEPPPI) is designed to engage the public in discussions regarding which subgroups in the population require the earliest vaccine protection against influenza in the event of a pandemic. The two stated purposes of this public process are 1) to test a new model of public engagement, and 2) include a societal perspective on prioritization of pandemic flu vaccine to reach consensus on prioritizing population groups for influenza vaccination that will be useful to decision makers.

The role of the Public Policy Center is to collaborate with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) to evaluate the public engagement process. The evaluation is intended to answer three major questions:

1. How and to what extent does the participatory process affect the knowledge and beliefs of participants? Does the participatory process result in a sufficient knowledge level for participants to render informed opinions?
   
   
2. What is the quality of the participatory process?

   a. What are participants’ perceptions regarding issues such as effectiveness of the process, ability to voice perspectives, satisfaction with the process, etc.?
   b. What is the quality of the process as measured against criteria related to what a successful public input process should accomplish?

3. How and to what extent does the participatory process affect outcomes?

   a. To what extent is consensus achieved?
   b. To what extent are the final recommendations seriously considered by decision makers?
   c. To what extent are final recommendations incorporated into public policy?

Final Report

Citizen Voices on Pandemic Flu Choices: A report of the Public Engagement Pilot Project on Pandemic Influenza. (2005 December)

Follow Up May 9 2007

The University of Nebraska Public Policy Center conducted an evaluation of the Public Engagement Project on Community Control Measures for Pandemic Influenza. The purpose of this project was to engage citizens and stakeholders in discussions about the social and economic trade-offs of implementing community control measures to reduce the impact of an influenza pandemic. Community control measures considered by participants included closing schools, canceling public events, and encouraging persons who are sick to stay home from work. The evaluation indicated that the project met all nine of its goals:

1. Attract citizens to participate in public meetings.
2. Recruit citizens with diverse perspectives and backgrounds.
3. Understand what motivated citizens to participate in the process.
4. Ensure participants have sufficient knowledge to engage in informed discussions about pandemic influenza.
5. Conduct a process resulting in a fair, balanced and reasoned discussion of the issues.
6. Participants engaged in the process deliberate and consider multiple points of view.
7. Stakeholders incorporate citizen input into their recommendations.
8. Citizens and stakeholders are satisfied with the process.
9. Decision makers seriously consider citizen and stakeholder input.
   The full report can be found at: http://www.keystone.org/spp/documents/FinalReport1_CommunityControl5_2007.pdf