Methodology for assessment of public health emergency preparedness and response synergies between institutional authorities and communities

• Published in: BMC Health Services Research
• Main Authors: de Vries, Daniel H., Kinsman, John, Takacs, Judit, Tsolova, Svetla, Ciotti, Massimo
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för epidemiologi och global hälsa 2020
• Subjects: Public health emergency preparedness; Community engagement; Synergies; Methodology; Protocol; European Union; Public Health; Global Health; Social Medicine and Epidemiology; Folkhälsovetenskap; global hälsa; socialmedicin och epidemiologi; Iceland
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-173835; https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-020-05298-z

Background: This paper describes a participatory methodology that supports investigation of the synergistic collaboration between communities affected by infectious disease outbreak events and relevant official institutions. The core principle underlying the methodology is the recognition that synergistic relationships, characterised by mutual trust and respect, between affected communities and official institutions provide the most effective means of addressing outbreak situations. Methods: The methodological approach and lessons learned were derived from four qualitative case studies including (i) two tick-borne disease events (Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever in Spain, 2016, and tick-borne encephalitis in the Netherlands, 2016); and (ii) two outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis (norovirus in Iceland, 2017, and verocytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli [VTEC] in Ireland, 2018). An after-event qualitative case study approach was taken using mixed methods. The studies were conducted in collaboration with the respective national public health authorities in the affected countries by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The analysis focused on the specific actions undertaken by the participating countries' public health and other authorities in relation to community engagement, as well as the view from the perspective of affected communities. Results: Lessons highlight the critical importance of collaborating with ECDC National Focal Points during preparation and planning and with anthropological experts. Field work for each case study was conducted over one working week, which although limiting the number of individuals and institutions involved, still allowed for rich data collection due to the close collaboration with local authorities. The methodology enabled efficient extraction of synergies between authorities and communities. Implementing the methodology required a reflexivity among fieldworkers that ackowledges that different versions of reality can co-exist in the social domain. The ...