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In the wake of several health tragedies in the last 24 years, the nation…
In the wake of several health tragedies in the last 24 years, the nation has substantially invested in our public health emergency preparedness (the capability to prepare for and respond to public health emergencies) or PHEP
Despite recent investments and preparedness interventions- especially those in the past 5 years- the PHEP has not significantly improved. The ambiguity of actionable goals in PHEP and the lack of a standard definition have created a system of uncertainty.
Measures implemented often have considerable variation across agencies and short spans of use. Leading to general inefficiency and unpreparedness. This has prompted health officials to define PHEP and its associated elements.
In 2007 RAND convened a panel of experts to establish a definition of Public health emergency preparedness: "The capability of the public health and health care systems, communities, and individuals, to prevent protect against, quickly respond to, and recover from health emergencies"
Precipitating events alone are not enough to constitute a public health emergency, rather, the consequences of a health event are just as determinant of severity as the etiology. The severity of a public health emergency does not end here however, the resilience and pre-existing characteristics of a community play a large role in the effect the PHE will have.
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The proposed definition of a public health emergency is focused on situations that threaten to overwhelm routine capabilities- due to factors such as timing, scale, or unpredictability
PHEP should be considered within the routine systems established. It ought to expand upon day-to-day health practices. The interventions should be scalable as to account for any scenario.
Public health emergency preparation is built around core capabilities of the health care system, which facilitates quick response time in a variety of situations. The values of "justice, accountability, transparency, and public engagement" are central to the actions of PHEP.
Defining PHEP is imperative for protecting the health of our nation. It is difficult to assess whether the nation has improved in its capacity to face potential health hazards without a clear and agreed upon definition of PHEP.
The purpose of the proposed definition is to mitigate distress and provide actionable steps. The elements provided are sorted into three categories:
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PHEP requires actions that go beyond responding (or preparing to respond) to health hazards. Proper preparedness necessitates "a full range of prevention, mitigation, and recovery activities."
A hasty response is necessary to mitigate health risks. In order to facilitate this hastened response time, frequent testing of plans must be done, with continuous improvements made as a reaction.
Involvement in public health emergency response is not limited to governmental organizations. Rather, a large portion of initial response (including first aid, search-and-rescue, and food security outreach) are performed by community members, prior to first responder arrival.
Responsibility for emergency preparedness lies in part beyond governmental entities, the work is performed by community residents, businesses, and nongovernmental organizations.
Improving the health and resiliency of communities is also central to public health emergency preparedness, as preventative care is crucial in decreasing rates of acute care.