Leading patient-centric crisis preparedness in healthcare: Lessons from Ukraine

Abstract

Challenges in the delivery of high-quality patient centric care in Canada is plagued by staff and medical supplies shortages and spiking burnout rates leading to closures of more than a thousand emergency rooms in 2023. A literature review was conducted to examine the crisis preparedness and responsiveness of healthcare establishments in Ukraine in a warfare context, with the intent of exacting recommendations to respond to shortages in Canadian hospitals. Utilizing queries on distinct databases, more than 17,500 entries were found, narrowed, and selected for review. Managerial implications for Canadian establishments include: (1) adapting a change management approach, (2) capitalizing on existing assets, resources, and networks, (3) recognizing cyclical patterns to prevent negative outcomes, (4) planning for and attending to the vulnerabilities of specific sub-population groups, (5) utilizing geolocated analytics, and (6) exploiting external expertise and volunteer network through tailored working conditions.

“Will you need this health at all? Will you be alive?”: using the bioecological model of mass trauma to understand HIV care experiences during the war in Ukraine

“…Such efforts must be grounded in best practices of a trauma‐informed approach, which prioritize physical and emotional safety, trustworthiness, peer support, individual autonomy, flexibility and a focus on strengths [37]. Healthcare facilities and healthcare leaders can draw on the insights gained over the 2 years of the full‐scale invasion, during which they adapted by redefining their service offerings, providing additional training to first responders, deploying mobile modular services to reach patients despite the obstacles presented by damaged roads and enlisting the assistance of the national community of disease specialists to bolster care delivery for vulnerable populations [38].…”