Using the Intra-Action Review Methodology at European Level to Assess Effectiveness of Measures for Cruise Ship Operations in the COVID-19 Context

Anagnostopoulos, Lemonia; Kourentis, Leonidas; Dávila, Miguel; Lorente, Iratxe Moreno; Dionisio, Mauro; Marotta, Claudia; Hadjichristodoulou, Christos; Mouchtouri, Varvara A.

doi:10.3390/msf2022013014

Cited by 3 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 12 publications

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“…All the SimEx/AAR in this report are from 2018 or before, but it will be important that organisers of exercises use these manuals in the future. Recent COVID-19 IAR at EU level and in Ireland are examples that shows this guideline is in use [ 17 – 19 ]. An AAR registry is another measure proposed to facilitate organizational improvement [ 10 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing public health preparedness and response in the European Union- a review of regional simulation exercises and after action reviews

Utheim,

Gawad,

Nygård

et al. 2023

Global Health

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Background Improving response capacities in the EU requires a good overview of capacities at both country and Union level. The International Health Regulations (2005) Monitoring and Evaluation framework assesses capacities in countries. It includes semi-quantitative tools such as State Parties Annual Report (SPAR) and Joint External Evaluation (JEE). After Action Reviews (AAR) and Simulation Exercises (SimEx) were included to identify weaknesses in the functionality of capacities which are not addressed bySPAR and JEE. This study presents an analysis of the use of qualitative tools at regional level, in Europe. It aims to identify their added value by comparing them to standardised monitoring tools and lessons learned from COVID-19, and considers ways to improve their use in assessing capacities in the EU. Methods We included 17 SimEx and 2 AAR organised by the European Commission between 2005 and 2018. We categorised a total of 357 recommendations according to the IHR (2005) core capacities and to the target audience of the recommendation. We analysed the data using language analysis software. Recommendations to countries were compared to SPAR and JEE indicators. Recommendations to EU agencies were compared to the current mandates of the EU agencies, and to lessons learnt during COVID-19. Results Of all extracted recommendations from the exercises, 59% (211/357) targeted EU agencies, 18% (64/357) targeted countries, and 16% (57/357) targeted both. Recommendations mainly addressed areas of IHR coordination (C2), heath emergency management (C7) and risk communication (C10), and not low scoring areas. Recommendations complement SPAR indicators by identifying gaps in functionality. Eight out of ten early lessons learnt during the COVID-19 pandemic had been raised earlier as recommendations from exercises. Exercise reports did not include or result in action plans for implementation, but COVID-19 has accelerated implementation of some recommendations. Conclusion SimEx/AAR provide valuable insight into public health preparedness at EU level, as they assess functionality of preparedness and response mechanisms, point out gaps, and provide training and awareness on for participants, who often have key roles in public health emergencies. Better follow-up and implementation of recommendations is key to improve the regional preparedness for international public health incidents such as pandemics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing public health preparedness and response in the European Union- a review of regional simulation exercises and after action reviews

Utheim,

Gawad,

Nygård

et al. 2023

Global Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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Health Risk Assessment in Maritime Operations and Ship Design: a Framework for addressing Health-related Risks in the context of Maritime Safety Assessment

Ventikos,

Sotiralis,

Annetis

2023

2023 7th International Conference on Transportation Information and Safety (ICTIS)

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Re-Starting the Cruise Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece: Assessing Effectiveness of Port Contingency Planning

Anagnostopoulos

Kourentis²,

Papadakis³

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreaks on board cruise ships early in the pandemic highlighted gaps worldwide in public health emergency contingency plans (PHECPs) for responding to unknown threats. To restart cruise operations in 2021 and respond to potential COVID-19 outbreaks, a major tourist-based Greek island port (Port A) developed a COVID-19 PHECP. We assessed plan effectiveness by reviewing epidemiological data and monitoring outcomes, followed by an intra-action review (IAR) analyzing three event responses. From May to December 2021, 118 calls from 23 cruise ships with 119,930 passengers were recorded, with 29 COVID-19 cases in 11 cruises on board 7 ships. No outbreak was recorded during the study period. Strengths of the introduced PHECP included commitment of senior management; a core multi-disciplinary team of local authorities/ship agents involved in design and execution; interoperability agreements for port and ships’ PHECPs; cruise industry commitment to compliance; and pre-existing scenarios considering capacity needs. Central government coordination for preparedness planning at local ports is essential for successful responses. Monitoring local and country level response capacities is critical to inform planning, risk assessment, and decision-making. Immediately recording ports’ response actions provides the basis to capture lessons and improve contingency plans. To facilitate communication and common response protocols between European and non-European ports, IARs should be conducted between countries.

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Using the Intra-Action Review Methodology at European Level to Assess Effectiveness of Measures for Cruise Ship Operations in the COVID-19 Context

Abstract: This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

Cited by 3 publications

References 12 publications

Assessing public health preparedness and response in the European Union- a review of regional simulation exercises and after action reviews

Assessing public health preparedness and response in the European Union- a review of regional simulation exercises and after action reviews

Health Risk Assessment in Maritime Operations and Ship Design: a Framework for addressing Health-related Risks in the context of Maritime Safety Assessment

Re-Starting the Cruise Sector during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Greece: Assessing Effectiveness of Port Contingency Planning

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