Medical students played an essential role in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. At the same time, the pandemic disproportionately impacted the most vulnerable populations and exacerbated inequality. Medical students should be trained to respond to public health emergencies in ways that promote health equity, but what this training should entail has yet to be explored.

This abstract discusses a study that conducted key informant interviews with representatives of medical education, disaster preparedness, and public health to better understand what medical students need to be learning about equitable emergency preparedness and disaster response (EPDR) as well as what educational experiences would allow students to achieve this goal.