Preparedness and response against diseases with epidemic potential in the European Union: a qualitative case study of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) and poliomyelitis in five member states

Abstract

BackgroundEU Decision 1082/2013/EU on serious cross-border health threats provides a legal basis for collaboration between EU Member States, and between international and European level institutions on preparedness, prevention, and mitigation in the event of a public health emergency. The Decision provides a context for the present study, which aims to identify good practices and lessons learned in preparedness and response to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) (in UK, Greece, and Spain) and poliomyelitis (in Poland and Cyprus).MethodsBased on a documentary review, followed by five week-long country visits involving a total of 61 interviews and group discussions with experts from both the health and non-health sectors, this qualitative case study has investigated six issues related to preparedness and response to MERS and poliomyelitis: national plans and overall preparedness capacity; training and exercises; risk communication; linking policy and implementation; interoperability between the health and non-health sectors; and cross-border collaboration.ResultsPreparedness and response plans for MERS and poliomyelitis were in place in the participating countries, with a high level of technical expertise available to implement them. Nevertheless, formal evaluation of the responses to previous public health emergencies have sometimes been limited, so lessons learned may not be reflected in updated plans, thereby risking mistakes being repeated in future. The nature and extent of inter-sectoral collaboration varied according to the sectors involved, with those sectors that have traditionally had good collaboration (e.g. animal health and food safety), as well as those that have a financial incentive for controlling infectious diseases (e.g. agriculture, tourism, and air travel) seen as most likely to have integrated public health preparedness and response plans. Although the formal protocols for inter-sectoral collaboration were not always up to date, good personal relations were reported within the relevant professional networks, which could be brought into play in the event of a public health emergency. Cross-border collaboration was greatly facilitated if the neighbouring country was a fellow EU Member State.ConclusionsInfectious disease outbreaks remain as an ongoing threat. Efforts are required to ensure that core public health capacities for the full range of preparedness and response activities are sustained.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s12913-018-3326-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Learning and Collaboration during Crisis: A Novel University-Community Partnership to Manufacture Medical Personal Protective Equipment

“…Indeed, our findings are important since past research on disaster response plans has pointed out that response plans may not include lessons learned from similar past events, introducing a risk that the same mistakes could be repeated in future epidemic responses [ 19 ], and reducing readiness and proactive preparation [ 18 ]. In addition, organizations may come together across sectors to support response efforts by lending the necessary expertise, such as in the case of academics advising the Puerto Rican government on how to plan the public health response to COVID-19 [ 20 ].…”

A Holistic-Comprehensive Approach: Best Practices to Improve Health Policy for COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Kinsman, et al, 23 (2018) Case study Preparedness and response plans during an epidemic 8 Afayo, et al, 24 (2019) Cross-sectional study The gap between preparedness and response to the outbreak 9 Craig, et al, 20 (2018) Surveillance…”

“…Public health surveillance for emerging threats is needed to inform disease transmission and prepare for prevention and promotion interventions related to the COVID-19. 23,24 Pandemic readiness enables the community to respond effectively to the disease and prepare for future disease outbreak. Well-trained health professionals play a critical role in improving health management and optimizing coordination during the outbreak.…”

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“…This paper contributes to the development of an approach that helps to identifying actual and potential synergies, thereby facilitating trust and effective collaboration between institutional authorities and affected communities before, during and after public health events. The approach described has been inspired on previous experience conducting after event assessments of disease outbreaks [19,20] and experience with ethnographic research on community health resources [21,22].…”

“…These studies were conducted in collaboration with the national public health authorities in the four countries and with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). The methodological approach of these case studies was influenced by previous experience with after event assessment by ECDC on Middle East respiratory syndrome and polio [19,20,28].…”