Public-Private-People Partnerships (4P) for Improving the Response to COVID-19 in Iran

Disaster med. public health prep.

Dollard

Salmani

2020

Self Cite

Background: Iran is among the top fifteen countries in the world in terms of COVID-19 infection rates. The numbers of infections and deaths are still increasing in September 2020. This study aims to investigate the impact of the policies on terminating the quarantine period on the perception of psychosocial safety by employees and workers in Iran. Methods: The study collected policy announcements and regulations, media reports and the results from two previously published population surveys which collected employees’ views of the government approach to quarantine. The information thus collected was then analyzed using the “what is Problem Represented (WPR)” approach for data analysis introduced by Carol Bacchi, and focusses on the question “what effects are produced by the representation of the problem?” Results: The Iranian Government decided to quarantine people and close most sectors during the New Year holidays in Iran in March 2020. The duration of quarantine was only two weeks, and the government then ordered government organizations and industrial companies to reopen. The advantage of a short quarantine period is assumed to be reinstatement of productivity while the disadvantage is the likely risk of further transmission of the virus. Conclusion: The government approach to and communication about the quarantine period has neglected to consider the psychosocial safety climate of employees, who have to go to their workplaces using buses, subways or other vehicles, and who are under pressure mentally because of fear of infection, dismissal for non-attendance, and the consequent economic problems. The government approach necessarily impacts on the perceived psychosocial safety climate of employees, and hence influences the causes of work stress. If the psychosocial safety climate is not considered and improved, it may reduce the quality of services and products, and increase accidents.

Section: Figure 1: Number Of Deaths Due To Covid-19 Disease In Iran Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Psychosocial Safety Climate of Employees During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Iran: A Policy Analysis

Disaster med. public health prep.

Dollard

Salmani

2020

Self Cite

“…Restoring moral expectations and emotional situations are also among the costs which have not been predicted in budgets but are necessary to maintain a healthy society [14,38]. Generally, increasing investment on pre-disaster activities such as Mitigation and Preparedness phases is more cost-effective than post-disaster programs [39,40]. Many governments, including most of OECD countries, focused on the protection and resilience of critical infrastructures.…”

Section: Policy Gapsmentioning

confidence: 99%

How much the Iranian government spent on disasters in the last 100 years? A critical policy analysis

2020

Cost Eff Resour Alloc

Self Cite

Background During the past 20 years, Iran has been experiencing a significant increase in the occurrence of disasters mainly due to the emergence of anthropogenic climate change. This paper aims at analyzing the trend of national budget allocation in Iran over the last 100 years to evaluate the focus of the Iranian state on the four phases of Preparedness, Mitigation, Response, and Recovery and propose modifications. Methods It is used a critical policy analysis with what’s the problem represented approach. In this approach is focused on problematization and policy gaps. The most important policy statement in any government is the budget. During the first screening, 1028 regulations and laws were found from 1910 to 2020. After full text screening, 494 regulations and laws related to budget allocation to disasters were analyzed. Results The Iranian government has spent around 29 billion USD on disasters during the last 100 years. Droughts, earthquake and flood have costs the government more than other disasters, accounting for more than 14, 6.9, and 6.1 billion USD, respectively, in the allocated budget. Most of the Iranian government expenditure during the last 100 years on various disasters such as drought, flood, earthquake, and COVID-19 has been spent on involuntary costs including Response and Recovery. Mitigation and Preparedness are the two critical disaster management phases with very small shares of national budgeting. Conclusions From policy audit and policy gaps it is concluded that Iranian governments during last 100 years, problematized the issue of “disasters strike” and not “disasters’ risks”. In time of disasters, governments tried to solve the issues or impacts of disasters with budgeting to response and recovery. Nevertheless, disasters’ prevention or mitigation or preparedness was not a problem for Iranian governments from 1920 to 2020.

“…On 19 February 2020, Iran reported its rst con rmed case of COVID-19 infection [1,2]. As a country among the top fteen countries in terms of people infected with COVID-19 in the world until 22 July, 2020 [3], Iran has con rmed 278,827 cases and 14,634 deaths from COVID-19 outbreak [4]. Due to unexpected nature of the emergency, innovative approaches to switch the activities to online mode were needed (educational monitoring as well as collecting information to specify where exactly the help is needed).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Challenges and Opportunities of Online Volunteering for COVID-19 Response in Iran: A Qualitative Study

Salmani

Ермолаева

et al. 2020

Preprint

Self Cite

Background: The aim of this brief report is to identify the challenges and opportunities of online volunteering to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of the managers of the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS).Methods: In this study we have used a qualitative method including semi-structured interviews for investigating the opportunities and challenges of using virtual volunteers. The eligible participants meeting the inclusion criteria for this study were eight IRCS managers who had used online volunteers for COVID-19 pandemic response.Results: Having considered the interviews with IRCS managers, we finally found seven items as opportunities including safety, availability, recruiting more volunteers, cost reduction, participation, geographical scope, and local considerations. Moreover, five items were found as challenges of online volunteering in IRCS including lack of commitment, cultural issues, infrastructure, reimbursement, and volunteer management.Conclusion: Online volunteering is a significant opportunity for humanitarian organizations especially during epidemics like the current COVID-19. Online volunteering for COVID-19 response by the Red Crescent involved a wide range of people including young people, the elderly, people with disabilities and minority groups, and people in rural areas.