Public health emergencies such as infectious disease, bioterrorism, or natural disasters require a coordinated response at the local, national, and international levels. RAND research improves the capability of public health systems to anticipate and prepare for such emergencies, by providing a robust set of standardized response measures, tabletop exercises, and toolkits; using GIS technology for planning; and identifying best practices and lessons learned from multiagency exercises.
Commentary
Having dealt with outbreaks of H5N1 bird flu and other communicable diseases like Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in 2003 and H1N1 swine flu in 2009, health officials are now far better prepared to detect new diseases early and react quickly to monitor and contain their spread.
Report
Assesses to what extent the Council to Improve Foodborne Outbreak Response's Guidelines and associated Toolkit are reaching their intended users and achieving their intended goals.
Commentary
Although official after-action reports are still being compiled, it looks like Boston's first responders and hospitals delivered under difficult circumstances, writes Arthur Kellermann.
Commentary
In this fiscally uncertain climate, we should continue to leverage the dual-use benefit of bioterrorism investments by building and maintaining those routine (but essential) public health capabilities that can also be used in response to a variety of public health emergencies.
Journal Article
The aim of this commentary is to discuss both the challenges and the rewards of engaging a public that wants to weigh evidence prior to taking action in an emergency, rather than defer to expert judgment.
Journal Article
The authors design and test a model to predict surge capacity bottlenecks at a large academic medical center in response to a mass-casualty incident (MCI) involving multiple burn victims.
Journal Article
The globalization of trade and travel has led to the globalization of communicable diseases and, in turn, increased need for globalization of solutions to fight them.
Journal Article
The after action report/improvement plan (AAR/IP) can be useful for both accountability and quality improvement, but these objectives require different foci and methodological approaches.
Journal Article
We analyze published evidence on strategies to optimize the management and allocation of scarce resources across a wide range of mass casualty event contexts and study designs.
Journal Article
This commentary explores the reasons why Boston's emergency response to the Marathon bombings was so effective and draws implications for other cities' preparedness efforts.
Blog
For vaccination to become a public health priority in the U.S., stakeholders must strengthen guidance for providers, which would make it easier for physicians to both assess vaccination needs and aid communication with patients about the efficacy and safety of vaccines.
Commentary
Given the broad range of threats facing the United States, including those related to extreme weather, it is imperative that monies invested in enhancing health security be well spent, writes Shoshana Shelton.
News Release
Federal support for health security research is heavily weighted toward preparing for bioterrorism and other biological threats, providing significantly less funding for challenges such as monster storms or attacks with conventional bombs.
Journal Article
Federal support for health security research is heavily weighted toward preparing for bioterrorism and other biological threats, providing significantly less funding for challenges such as monster storms or attacks with conventional bombs.
Journal Article
A fundamental tenet of preparedness for public health emergencies is the reliance on systems that rest on a bedrock of day-to-day use.
Journal Article
The report describes the results of the first year of pilot data for medical countermeasure drills conducted by 72 metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs).
Report
RAND researchers developed an initial prototype tool to help determine capabilities and resources a locality will likely require during a disaster. The report also describes two social networking tools for local coordination of disaster preparedness.
Journal Article
Trust contributes to community resilience by the critical influence it has on the community's responses to public health recommendations before, during, and after disasters.
Commentary
Given the recent spate of highly publicized disasters, why don't more Americans pay attention to the advice of public health officials? The messages they are getting are largely based on unverified assumptions, not hard evidence. Equally concerning, these assumptions may inadvertently hinder preparedness.
Journal Article
This study suggests four timely US actions to address today's competing realities of globalization and economic austerity: raise awareness among clinicians and local health departments; capture and share exemplary disaster management practices across countries; ensure that US global health investments are effective, efficient, and sustainable; and think globally while acting locally to enhance US health security.
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