Emergency preparedness: What is the future?

Abstract

Emergency preparedness programs have evolved over the last several decades as communities have responded to natural, intentional, and accidental disasters. This evolution has resulted in a comprehensive all-hazards approach centered around 4 fundamental phases spanning the entire disaster life cycle: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Increasing frequency of outbreaks and epidemics of emerging and reemerging infectious diseases in the last decade has emphasized the significance of healthcare emergency preparedness programs, but the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has tested healthcare facilities’ emergency plans and exposed vulnerabilities in healthcare emergency preparedness on a scale unexperienced in recent history. We review the 4 phases of emergency management and explore the lessons to be learned from recent events in enhancing health systems capabilities and capacities to mitigate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from biological threats or events, whether it be a pandemic or a single case of an unknown infectious disease. A recurring cycle of assessing, planning, training, exercising, and revising is vital to maintaining healthcare system preparedness, even in absence of an immediate, high probability threat. Healthcare epidemiologists and infection preventionists must play a pivotal role in incorporating lessons learned from the pandemic into emergency preparedness programs and building more robust preparedness plans.

Identifying a competency improvement strategy for infection prevention and control professionals: A rapid systematic review and cluster analysis

“…Of the 46 studies included in the analysis, 14 were carried out in the United States [12–25], 11 in China [26–36], four in each of the United Kingdom [27, 37–39] and Switzerland [6, 7, 40, 41], three in Italy [42–44], two in South Africa [45, 46] and one in each of Germany [8], Saudi Arabia [47], Finland [48], the Netherlands [49], Australia [50], Ghana [51], Pakistan [52], and Singapore [53]. There were 20 cross‐sectional studies [8, 15–17, 24, 25, 31, 32, 34–37, 39–41, 49–52, 54], 15 qualitative studies [6, 7, 13, 14, 19, 21, 23, 26, 28, 29, 38, 42, 45, 46, 48], eight before–after studies [12, 20, 22, 27, 30, 33, 47, 53], two retrospective studies [18, 44] and one prospective observational study [43] (Table 2).…”

How Personality and Communication Patterns Affect Online ad-hoc Teams Under Pressure

“…Emergency preparedness programs have evolved along with societal changes and technological advancements. Notable historical events such as the first world war brought national societies to unify and strengthen their approaches to natural, intentional, and accidental disasters (Herstein et al, 2021). The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is one of the most prominent products of global pursuits unifying volunteer networks, communitybased expertise, and independent advisers into standardized practices (London, 1998).…”

A Qualitative Study on the Use of the Hospital Safety Index and the Formulation of Recommendations for Future Adaptations

“…Over the last few decades, health systems have witnessed the effects of different types of disasters. As a result, disaster preparedness programs have evolved, adopting a more comprehensive, all-hazard approach [ 1 ]. Healthcare facilities (HFs) have a central role during disasters, as the number of deaths in a disaster does not depend only on the severity of the event, but also on the ability to effectively respond to it [ 2 ].…”