The West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative: Strengthening National Capacities for All-Hazards Disaster Preparedness

Hamer, Melinda; Reed, Paul; Greulich, Jane D; Kelen, Gabor D.; Bradstreet, Nicole A; Beadling, Charles W.

doi:10.1017/dmp.2016.155

Cited by 7 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…During the Ebola outbreak in 2014, lack of collaboration within the countries and across the West African region has been an issue as well. The collective response to Ebola in West African nations was too little and too late [ 3 , 24 , 52 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hospital disaster preparedness in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of English literature

2023

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Background Disasters are increasing worldwide, with Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) being one of the most prone regions. Hospitals play a key role in disasters. This study provides a systematic review of the evidence on disaster preparedness by hospitals in SSA countries based on English literature. Methods A systematic literature review was conducted of articles published between January 2012 and July 2022. We searched PubMed, Elsevier, Science Direct, Google Scholar, the WHO depository library and CDC sites for English language publications. The key inclusion criteria were: publications should have been published in the above period, deal with hospital disaster preparedness in SSA, the full paper should have been available, and studies should have presented a comparison between hospitals and/or a single hospital. Results Results indicate improvements in disaster preparedness over time. However, health systems in SSA are generally considered vulnerable, and they find it difficult to adapt to changing health conditions. Inadequately skilled healthcare professionals, underfunding, poor knowledge, the absence of governance and leadership, lack of transparency and bureaucracy are the main preparedness barriers. Some countries are in an infancy stage of their health system development, while others are among the least developed health system in the world. Finally, a major barrier to disaster preparedness in SSA countries is the inability to collaborate in disaster response. Conclusions Hospital disaster preparedness is vulnerable in SSA countries. Thus, improvement of hospital disaster preparedness is highly needed.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Studies conducted by Hamer et al [ 24 ] and Chopra et al [ 61 ] indicated that during the Ebola outbreak and COVID-19 pandemics, hospital preparation is the cornerstone for the prevention of the pandemic's spread and reducing the damages. The pandemic preparedness differences depend on the health system and economic level of the country.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hospital disaster preparedness in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of English literature

2023

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“…However, many studies have found that households remain unprepared for disasters, even in disaster-prone areas ( 17 ). Research from Asia ( 18 , 19 ), North America ( 20 ), New Zealand ( 21 ), Australia ( 22 ), and Africa ( 23 ), as well as from the Middle East ( 24 , 25 ), has revealed low levels of household preparedness ( 26 ). In the United States, surveys at both national and local levels consistently demonstrate that the public remains under-prepared ( 27–30 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social support, educational, and behavioral modification interventions for improving household disaster preparedness in the general community-dwelling population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Amberson,

Heagele,

Wyte-Lake

et al. 2024

Front. Public Health

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BackgroundThe efficacy of household emergency preparedness interventions for community-dwelling, non-institutionalized people is largely unknown.ObjectiveTo ascertain the state of the science on social support, educational, and behavioral modification interventions to improve all-hazard household disaster preparedness.DesignSystematic review and meta-analysis.MethodsDatabases, trial registers, reports, and websites were searched, and citation trails followed utilizing replicable methods. Individual, cluster, and cross-over randomized controlled trials of non-institutionalized, community-dwelling populations and non-randomized controlled trials, controlled before-after, and program evaluation studies were included. At least two review authors independently screened each potentially relevant study for inclusion, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias. Risk of bias was assessed using Cochrane’s RoB2 tool for randomized studies and ROBINS-I tool for nonrandomized studies. Meta-analyses were applied using a random-effects model. Where meta-analysis was not indicated, results were synthesized using summary statistics of intervention effect estimates and vote counting based on effect direction. The evidence was rated using GRADE.Results17 studies were included with substantial methodological and clinical diversity. No intervention effect was observed for preparedness supplies (OR = 6.12, 95% 0.13 to 284.37) or knowledge (SMD = 0.96, 95% CI −0.15 to 2.08) outcomes. A small positive effect (SMD = 0.53, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.91) was observed for preparedness behaviors, with very low certainty of evidence. No studies reported adverse effects from the interventions.ConclusionResearch designs elucidating the efficacy of practical yet complex and multi- faceted social support, educational, and behavioral modification interventions present substantial methodological challenges where rigorous study design elements may not match the contextual public health priority needs and resources where interventions were delivered. While the overall strength of the evidence was evaluated as low to very low, we acknowledge the valuable and informative work of the included studies. The research represents the seminal work in this field and provides an important foundation for the state of the science of household emergency preparedness intervention effectiveness and efficacy. The findings are relevant to disaster preparedness practice and research, and we encourage researchers to continue this line of research, using these studies and this review to inform ongoing improvements in study designs.

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“…In July 2015, the Economic Community of West African States, Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre and the Republic of Ghana National Disaster Management Organization, supported by the U.S. Africa Command Operation United Assistance Transition Disaster Preparedness Project, successfully launched the West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative in Accra, Ghana. 6 …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Leader’s Guide to Crisis Communication: Lessons from Ebola for COVID-19

Tetteh

2020

Military Medicine

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The West Africa Disaster Preparedness Initiative: Strengthening National Capacities for All-Hazards Disaster Preparedness

Abstract: PNs have improved disaster management capabilities and awareness of their strengths and weaknesses. The Economic Community of West African States has increased its lead role in this and future planned initiatives. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2017;11:431-438).

Cited by 7 publications

References 10 publications

Hospital disaster preparedness in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of English literature

Hospital disaster preparedness in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of English literature

Social support, educational, and behavioral modification interventions for improving household disaster preparedness in the general community-dwelling population: a systematic review and meta-analysis

A Leader’s Guide to Crisis Communication: Lessons from Ebola for COVID-19

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