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Emergency Preparedness

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Because natural and manmade disasters can occur at any time, individuals, communities, and governments must be prepared. RAND has developed guidelines for individual preparedness in response to terrorist attacks; evaluated, modeled, and enhanced preparedness policy options for government officials at all levels; and recommended actions that communities should take to prepare for bioterrorist attacks, pandemic flu outbreaks, and other large-scale emergencies.

Commentary
Will the New 988 Hotline Be a Game Changer for Mental Health or a Missed Opportunity?
Someone dies from suicide in the United States every 11 minutes, a rate that has increased almost 30 percent since 2000. The 988 mental health hotline will launch on July 16, but states need to clear significant hurdles: funding the expanded crisis response system and making sure people know it's available.
Jun 20, 2022
Essay
How to Prevent, Prepare for, and Respond to Mass Attacks
A new step-by-step guide can help communities prevent shootings and other mass attacks before they happen, and save lives when they do. It's written for a variety of public- and private-sector audiences—everyone from emergency responders and school officials to security personnel and community leaders.
Aug 30, 2022

Explore Emergency Preparedness

Commentary
What Hurricane Katrina Taught Us About Community Resilience
Hurricane Katrina left a path of destruction, death, and suffering in its wake. Its recovery, halting and incomplete as it has been, has taught us valuable lessons about resiliency.
Sep 8, 2015
Commentary
Ebola and Syria's Chemical Weapons Show U.S. Can Leave Nothing to Chance
There are key takeaways from the Ebola outbreak, Syria's chemical weapons, and the Fukushima nuclear disaster. The U.S. and its international partners should view these events as learning opportunities that could help improve preparedness and response capabilities before the next crisis strikes.
Jul 9, 2015
Commentary
What the Ebola Crisis Taught Us About Emergency Preparedness
The 2014 Ebola outbreak was the most severe of its kind. At the height of the crisis, 800 to 1,000 new cases were reported per week in Africa across the three most heavily affected countries. As of last week, there were only 12 confirmed cases. What must be done to prevent and mitigate future crises of this nature?
Jun 4, 2015
Journal Article
Emergency Physicians' Perceptions and Decision-Making Processes Regarding Patients Presenting with Palpitations
Palpitations are a common emergency department (ED) complaint, yet relatively little research exists on this topic from an emergency care perspective.
May 18, 2015
Commentary
Another Nepal Earthquake Makes Disaster Relief Planning Even More Important
Leadership, coordination, communication, and involvement of local stakeholders are critical to an informed response to natural disasters. Improved disaster management in Nepal could help limit the suffering of impacted communities and help secure a more successful recovery in the long run.
May 13, 2015
Commentary
Nepal Earthquake Response Shows Need for Better International Planning
The U.S. provided supplies after the earthquake in Nepal, but they piled up at points of delivery because Nepalese customs authorities insisted that standard inspections be followed, even in an emergency situation. These kinds of bureaucratic challenges can be more easily overcome if they are identified and addressed before crises arise.
May 7, 2015
Tool
Community Resilience: LEARN and TELL Toolkit
The LEARN and TELL Community Resilience Toolkit teaches people about community resilience so that they can teach others and—ultimately—help their communities remain strong in the face of economic downturns, violence, weather-related disasters, and other community stressors.
Apr 22, 2015
Tool
Disaster Resilience Skills for Youth
This guide introduces high school youth to key principles of community resilience through youth-friendly talking points and a scavenger hunt game.
Apr 22, 2015
Commentary
To Know the Future of Biological Weapons, Look to the Past
A panel chaired by former Sen. Joe Lieberman and former Gov. Tom Ridge will review U.S. policy on biodefense. Looking back to the end of the U.S. offensive biological warfare program would provide valuable lessons.
Apr 10, 2015
Journal Article
Wearing Many Hats: Lessons About Emergency Preparedness and Routine Public Health from the H1N1 Response
Describes some of the challenges the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH) faced during the pH1N1 response associated with simultaneous operation of emergency and routine operations.
Apr 7, 2015
Journal Article
Medically Unnecessary Diagnostic Imaging: Emergency Physicians Weigh In
A substantial proportion of advanced imaging studies ordered by emergency physicians may be medically unnecessary. According to a broad survey of emergency medicine professionals, fear of missing a low-probability diagnosis and fear of litigation are perceived as two key contributing factors.
Apr 7, 2015
Journal Article
Emergency Physician Perceptions of Shared Decision-Making
A substantial proportion of advanced imaging studies ordered by emergency physicians may be medically unnecessary.
Apr 7, 2015
Journal Article
A Spatiotemporal Quantile Regression Model for Emergency Department Expenditures
The authors develop a spatiotemporal quantile regression model for the analysis of emergency department-related medical expenditures.
Mar 24, 2015
Journal Article
Gynecologists in the VA: Do They Enhance Availability of Sex-Specific Services and Policies in the Emergency Department?
On-site gynecologist FTE is associated with improved availability of sex-specific care in EDs.
Mar 24, 2015
News Release
New Tool Can Help Identify Nations That May Be Vulnerable to Ebola or Other Public Health Emergencies
Public health experts can identify nations that are vulnerable to the occurrence and impact of future outbreaks of Ebola or other emergencies by using a screening tool that evaluates a nation's strengths across a wide range of measures such as political strength and health care capabilities.
Mar 3, 2015
Journal Article
Geographic Targeting, Message Content and Character Limitation Subgroup Report
This Communications Security, Reliability and Interoperability Council (CSRIC) report analyzes geo-targeting, message content, and character limitations of the Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA).
Feb 27, 2015
Testimony
Watchdog Recommendations to Improve Homeland Security
The challenges facing the Department of Homeland Security are evolving and create the need for new preparedness and response capabilities. The case for change includes reform recommendations for five critical areas.
Feb 26, 2015
Commentary
Future of Coastal Flooding
President Obama's executive order that directs federal agencies to plan and build for higher flood levels as they construct new projects in flood-prone regions will affect hundreds of billions of dollars of future public works projects. In an ideal world, planners would estimate the benefits and costs for each project, taking into account everything from the details of the local landscape to the potential for adaptive responses over time.
Feb 25, 2015
Report
Mitigating the Impact of Ebola in Potential Hot Zones
The experiences of African countries that successfully contained Ebola early can be informative for government officials, international organizations, and aid agencies seeking to capture the underlying factors that affect countries' resilience to such outbreaks and can help them prepare for high-risk scenarios.
Feb 23, 2015
Report
Learning While Doing: Applying Lessons Learned During Public Health Emergencies
Response efforts to the 2014 Ebola outbreak highlighted both strengths and weaknesses. Researchers have created a tool that may help inform and guide ongoing efforts in the midst of similar public health emergencies, rather than after the fact.
Feb 12, 2015

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RAND Topic:
Emergency Preparedness

Research conducted by

Researcher Spotlight

Ryan Bauer

Defense Analyst

Ryan Bauer is a senior defense analyst at RAND. His research interests include information operations and messaging, homeland security, and Russian security issues. Previously, Bauer worked as an analyst at CNA, where he conducted research for a number of projects relating to homeland security…
Lynsay Ayer

Senior Behavioral and Social Scientist

Lynsay Ayer (she/her) is a senior behavioral and social scientist at the RAND Corporation. The overarching goals of her research are (a) to prevent violence and trauma (e.g., child maltreatment, suicide, disasters) and (b) prevent and treat behavioral health problems caused by…

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