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Video: RAND Congressional Briefing Series

The H1N1 Pandemic: Lessons Learned from the Cities Readiness Initiative

Presenter

The World Health Organization declared H1N1 a pandemic earlier this summer and the experimental H1N1 vaccine may be distributed too late to prevent many of the anticipated illnesses and deaths. Although the federal government has invested billions of dollars in improving the public health system's readiness for large-scale events, there has been little systematic evidence to assess whether these investments are actually making the nation safer.

RAND's recently published evaluation of the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) provides one of the first rigorous assessments of whether federal investments can improve readiness in the nation's communities. CRI helps the nation's largest metropolitan areas develop the ability to rapidly deliver life-saving medications and other medical supplies to their populations.

The study found that

• CRI has improved communities' readiness to dispense medication and other supplies on a large scale and under rapid timelines
• programs structured around specific scenarios and with clear goals, performance measures, and technical assistance, are more likely to be successful.

The study also has broader implications for pandemic influenza and other federal public health preparedness programs.

This briefing focuses on work conducted by the RAND Center for Domestic and International Health Security.

RAND Office of Congressional Relations

For more than 60 years, RAND has provided policymakers with independent, objective research and analysis on key national security, domestic, and international issues. RAND work helps members of Congress and their staffs make better-informed decisions on the nation's pressing challenges. The Office of Congressional Relations offers a number of products and services to educate, inform, and facilitate congressional policymakers' access to RAND work, including coordinating congressional testimony by RAND experts, organizing briefings and meetings, synthesizing RAND work into topical e-newsletters and providing reports and publications to congressional offices. For more information, visit the Office of Congressional Relations Web page, contact ocr@rand.org, or call (703) 413-1100 x5395.