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Systematically Identifying and Evaluating Strategies for Strengthening Community Resilience

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 July 2023

Benjamin Ryan
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Waco, USA
Mayumi Kako
Affiliation:
Hiroshima University, Hiroshima City, Indonesia
Bryan Brooks
Affiliation:
Baylor University, Waco, USA
Moshiur Rahman
Affiliation:
Hiroshima University, Hiroshima City, Indonesia
Sohel Rahman
Affiliation:
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Dhaka, Bangladesh
Mike Hardin
Affiliation:
Waco Family Medicine, Waco, USA
Raymond Swienton
Affiliation:
UT Southwestern, Dallas, USA
Jeremy Novak
Affiliation:
Global Development College, Brisbane, Australia
Rok Fink
Affiliation:
University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia
Perihan Simsek
Affiliation:
Hiroshima University, Hiroshima City, Indonesia
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Abstract

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Introduction:

Vulnerable populations were the most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This included those with underlying health conditions, self-employed, low-income, people with limited access to health care, and the elderly. To capture these lessons and identify resilience actions, the Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM) Framework was used to guide the application of the Public Health System Resilience Scorecard (Scorecard).

Method:

This study was conducted in Australia, Bangladesh, Japan, Slovenia, Turkey, and the United States. Participants included emergency professionals, doctors, nurses, environmental health specialists, researchers, and government officials. The Scorecard was used to rank the level of preparedness from 0-5 (5 the highest) for the public health system resilience indicators. Following the individual workshops, recommendations were collated and interpreted to develop consolidated priority actions.

Results:

The priority actions related to surge capacity, mental health, ecosystems, societal needs, and high-risk populations. To address surge capacity issues, determining whether existing disaster structures have the capacity to provide support for hospitals during patient surges. This could include services that enable telehealth and primary health care to support hospitals during a crisis. Mental health services at the local government level should be evaluated and awareness of ecosystem risks in urban and rural areas needs to increase. Strategies for achieving reciprocal trust are required to enable uptake of public health information, and the extent at which pre-existing chronic health issues are likely to exacerbate needs to be understood and addressed.

Conclusion:

This study revealed several areas for strengthening public health system resilience. Priority actions relate to addressing needs relating to surge capacity, mental health, ecosystems, societal needs, and high-risk populations. This serves as a framework for transforming public health systems to become more adaptive, flexible, and focused on enabling societies to function at the highest possible level when responding to a disaster or pandemics.

Type
Lightning and Oral Presentations
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine