2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

BOARD # 241: First Responder and Emergency Manager Willingness to Wear Non-Medical Masks: An NSF- Engineering Education and Centers-Funded Research Experience for Undergraduates

Presented at NSF Grantees Poster Session I

COVID-19 emerged in early 2020 killing an estimated 7 million people by April 2025. Wearing masks and maintaining social distance can help limit the spread of infection. However, uncertainty, changing scientific insights, politics, cultural norms and values, knowledge, education, and more influence adherence to government masking mandates. First responders and emergency managers are at the forefront of response operations. Despite their critical role, little research has addressed the willingness of such personnel to wear non-medical masks during a pandemic. Accordingly, this 10-week qualitative student-led Research Experience for Undergraduates study aims to critically evaluate the perceptions of non-medical mask usage amongst first responders and emergency managers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Authors

Hector Rogelio Prieto Valdosta State College
Lisa Wier Oklahoma State University
Dr. Tony McAleavy Oklahoma State University [biography]

Dr. Tony McAleavy is an assistant professor and program coordinator for the Fire and Emergency Management Program at Oklahoma State University. He holds a PhD in Disaster Management from the University of South Wales, and MSc Disaster Management and Sustainable Development, and BA (Hons) Business Administration degrees from Northumbria University in the United Kingdom. He has held substantive academic positions in the United States, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom, and visiting professorships in India and Turkey. His research addresses problems in disaster preparedness and response.

Dr. McAleavy is a permanent member of the National Academies Action Collaborative on Disaster Research. He serves as a technical specialist for the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response program (UN-Spider). He is also a former practitioner with over a decade of experience with H.M. Coastguard, the Northeast Ambulance Service, and in local government emergency management

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