Community Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Lessons From the VA Health Care System

Lurie, Nicole; Dausey, David J.; Knighton, Troy; Moore, Melinda; Zakowski, Sarah; Deyton, Lawrence

doi:10.1097/dmp.0b013e31817dd143

Cited by 21 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 3 publications

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“…As with cross-border communications, the development of good inter-sectoral coordination and collaboration should also be prioritised in public health preparedness activities [41]. We saw efforts towards this in all the five countries we visited, though it occurred to different degrees in each of the five countries and between the different sectors therein: formal procedures or protocols aimed at ensuring good inter-sectoral collaboration [47] are not always in place. Where such protocols do not exist, they should be drafted collectively by the relevant authorities and circulated to those who will implement them; and where they do exist, they should be regularly reviewed and updated as appropriate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparedness and response against diseases with epidemic potential in the European Union: a qualitative case study of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and poliomyelitis in five member states

Kinsman

Angrén

Elgh

et al. 2018

BMC Health Serv Res

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BackgroundEU Decision 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border health threats provides a legal basis for collaboration between EU Member States, and between international and European level institutions on preparedness, prevention, and mitigation in the event of a public health emergency. The Decision provides a context for the present study, which aims to identify good practices and lessons learned in preparedness and response to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) (in UK, Greece, and Spain) and poliomyelitis (in Poland and Cyprus).MethodsBased on a documentary review, followed by five week-long country visits involving a total of 61 interviews and group discussions with experts from both the health and non-health sectors, this qualitative case study has investigated six issues related to preparedness and response to MERS and poliomyelitis: national plans and overall preparedness capacity; training and exercises; risk communication; linking policy and implementation; interoperability between the health and non-health sectors; and cross-border collaboration.ResultsPreparedness and response plans for MERS and poliomyelitis were in place in the participating countries, with a high level of technical expertise available to implement them. Nevertheless, formal evaluation of the responses to previous public health emergencies have sometimes been limited, so lessons learned may not be reflected in updated plans, thereby risking mistakes being repeated in future. The nature and extent of inter-sectoral collaboration varied according to the sectors involved, with those sectors that have traditionally had good collaboration (e.g. animal health and food safety), as well as those that have a financial incentive for controlling infectious diseases (e.g. agriculture, tourism, and air travel) seen as most likely to have integrated public health preparedness and response plans. Although the formal protocols for inter-sectoral collaboration were not always up to date, good personal relations were reported within the relevant professional networks, which could be brought into play in the event of a public health emergency. Cross-border collaboration was greatly facilitated if the neighbouring country was a fellow EU Member State.ConclusionsInfectious disease outbreaks remain as an ongoing threat. Efforts are required to ensure that core public health capacities for the full range of preparedness and response activities are sustained.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-018-3326-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Preparedness and response against diseases with epidemic potential in the European Union: a qualitative case study of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and poliomyelitis in five member states

Kinsman

Angrén

Elgh

et al. 2018

BMC Health Serv Res

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“…Exercises have been designed to assess and improve a variety of capabilities such as regional disaster preparedness among rural hospitals [8], knowledge and confidence of legal authorities [9], resource allocation [10] and risk communications [11]. A large number of these exercises have been focused on the spread of infectious diseases especially the threat of pandemic influenza because the common challenges pandemic influenza shares with other types of public health emergencies [12][13][14][15][16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Using exercises to improve public health preparedness in Asia, the Middle East and Africa

Dausey

Moore

2014

BMC Res Notes

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BackgroundExercises are increasingly common tools used by the health sector and other sectors to evaluate their preparedness to respond to public health threats. Exercises provide an opportunity for multiple sectors to practice, test and evaluate their response to all types of public health emergencies. The information from these exercises can be used to refine and improve preparedness plans. There is a growing body of literature about the use of exercises among local, state and federal public health agencies in the United States. There is much less information about the use of exercises among public health agencies in other countries and the use of exercises that involve multiple countries.ResultsWe developed and conducted 12 exercises (four sub-national, five national, three sub-regional) from August 2006 through December 2008. These 12 exercises included 558 participants (average 47) and 137 observers (average 11) from 14 countries. Participants consistently rated the overall quality of the exercises as very good or excellent. They rated the exercises lowest on their ability to identifying key gaps in performance. The vast majority of participants noted that they would use the information they gained at the exercise to improve their organization’s preparedness to respond to an influenza pandemic. Participants felt the exercises were particularly good at raising awareness and understanding about public health threats, assisting in evaluating plans and identifying priorities for improvement, and building relationships that strengthen preparedness and response across sectors and across countries. Participants left the exercises with specific ideas about the most important actions that they should engage in after the exercise such as improved planning coordination across sectors and countries and better training of health workers and response personnel.ConclusionsThese experiences suggest that exercises can be a valuable, low-burden tool to improve emergency preparedness and response in countries around the world. They also demonstrate that countries can work together to develop and conduct successful exercises designed to improve regional preparedness to public health threats. The development of standardized evaluation methods for exercises may be an additional tool to help focus the actions to be taken as a result of the exercise and to improve future exercises. Exercises show great promise as tools to improve public health preparedness across sectors and countries.

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“…Infectious disease epidemics, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome in 2003, H1N1 influenza in 2009, and the outbreak of Middle East respiratory syndrome starting in 2012, are public health threats that are best mitigated by deliberate planning at the health system level. [1][2][3] A robust response to a large-scale infectious disease outbreak is predicated, in part, on coordination between public health and health care delivery systems. 1,4,5 Hospital pandemic preparedness plans typically include protocols for handling a surge of infectious patients.…”

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confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3] A robust response to a large-scale infectious disease outbreak is predicated, in part, on coordination between public health and health care delivery systems. 1,4,5 Hospital pandemic preparedness plans typically include protocols for handling a surge of infectious patients. 6 Hospitals need to respond rapidly if they are among the first impacted by a highly contagious outbreak.…”

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Implementing a negative-pressure isolation ward for a surge in airborne infectious patients

Miller

Clements

Elliott

et al. 2017

American Journal of Infection Control

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Community Planning for Pandemic Influenza: Lessons From the VA Health Care System

Cited by 21 publications

References 3 publications

Preparedness and response against diseases with epidemic potential in the European Union: a qualitative case study of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and poliomyelitis in five member states

Preparedness and response against diseases with epidemic potential in the European Union: a qualitative case study of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and poliomyelitis in five member states

Using exercises to improve public health preparedness in Asia, the Middle East and Africa

Implementing a negative-pressure isolation ward for a surge in airborne infectious patients

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