The Effects of Funding Change and Reorganization on Patterns of Emergency Response in a Local Health Agency

Abstract

Indicators for Stress Adaptation Analytics (ISAAC) is a protocol to measure the emergency response behavior of organizations within local public health systems. We used ISAAC measurements to analyze how funding and structural changes may have affected the emergency response capacity of a local health agency. We developed ISAAC profiles for an agency's consecutive fiscal years 2013 and 2014, during which funding cuts and organizational restructuring had occurred. ISAAC uses descriptive and categorical response data to obtain a function stress score and a weighted contribution score to the agency's total response. In the absence of an emergency, we simulated one by assuming that each function was stressed at an equal rate for each of the two years and then we compared the differences between the two years. The simulations revealed that seemingly minor personnel or budget changes in health departments can mask considerable variation in change at the internal function level.

Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers: Early Returns on Investment in Evidence-Based Public Health Systems Research

“…In much the same way that the biomedical field has advanced its research with a "bench to bedside" model that explicitly links basic science with clinical practice, PHPR systems research has to move from "digital data to disasters" and develop clear feedback loops between research and practice. The research articles describing root cause analysis 15 and applying the adaptive response metrics 16 are examples of research that relies on principles underlying a continuous improvement perspective. To the extent that these and other novel strategies from this research portfolio inform emergency practice, it will go a long way toward addressing the "knowledge gap" first noted in the 2006 PAHPA legislation.…”

A scoping review of strategies to support public health recovery in the transition to a “new normal” in the age of COVID-19

“…However, examples across different countries have included immunization, chronic disease prevention, environmental health [ 8 , 9 ], substance use, and school health [ 10 ]. Complexity emerges when in disaster response, some essential services may be compromised and health departments must make critical internal adaptations to staffing (e.g., reallocation, surge capacity), function, and organizational structure to divert resources appropriately [ 1 , 3 , 11 ].…”