Preparing for the unknown, responding to the known: Communities and public health preparedness

Health Affairs

Volumn 25, Issue 4, 2006, Pages 946-957

  Katz, Aaron ^a,b   Staiti, Andrea B ^c   McKenzie, Kelly L ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON   (United States)

^b CENTER FOR STUDYING HEALTH SYSTEM CHANGE   (United States)

^c HSC   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ARTICLE; BIOLOGICAL WARFARE; COOPERATION; DISASTER PLANNING; ECONOMICS; FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT; HEALTH CARE PLANNING; HUMAN; MANPOWER; ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT; PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE; PUBLIC RELATIONS; UNITED STATES;

BIOTERRORISM; COMMUNITY HEALTH PLANNING; COOPERATIVE BEHAVIOR; DISASTER PLANNING; FINANCING, GOVERNMENT; HUMANS; INTERINSTITUTIONAL RELATIONS; PUBLIC HEALTH ADMINISTRATION; UNITED STATES;

EID: 33746863688     PISSN: 02782715     EISSN: 02782715     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.25.4.946     Document Type: Article

References (16)

1. M. McHugh, A.B. Staiti, and L.E. Felland, "How Prepared Are Americans for Public Health Emergencies? Twelve Communities Weigh In," Health Affairs 23, no. 3 (2004): 201-209;
2. and U.S. Government Accountability Office, Infectious Disease Outbreaks: Bioterrorism Preparedness Efforts Have Improved Public Health Response Capacity, but Gaps Remain, Pub. no. GAO-03-654T (Washington: GAO, 2003).
3. A.B. Staiti, A. Katz, and J.F. Hoadley, "Has Bioterrorism Preparedness Improved Public Health?" Issue Brief no. 65 (Washington: Center for Studying Health System Change, 2003).
4. GAO, Public Health Preparedness: Response Capacity Improving, but Much Remains to Be Accomplished, Pub. no. GAO-04-458T (Washington: GAO, 2004).
5. Staiti et al., "Has Bioterrorism Preparedness Improved Public Health?"
6. The twelve communitieswere Boston; Cleveland;Greenville, South Carolina; Indianapolis; Lansing; Little Rock; Miami; northern New Jersey; Orange County, California; Phoenix; Seattle; and Syracuse. They were randomly selected from among large metropolitan areas with populations of more than 200,000.
7. The terms "bioterrorism preparedness" and "public health preparedness" are often used interchangeably in public health discussions, reflecting inherent ambiguity in the CDC and HRSA programs. Although the names of both programs include the term "bioterrorism," guidance provided to state and local health officials discusses an "all hazards" approach; that is, funding is to be used for planning and capacity building that addresses a broad array of public health threats in addition to bioterrorism. In this paper we use "bioterrorism preparedness" to refer to preparedness efforts targeted specifically to terrorist threats and "public health preparedness" for efforts that target both natural and human-created public health threats. "Emergency preparedness" refers to the capacity to respond to emergencies of all types, including public health emergencies.
8. CDC, "Steps to a HealthierUS: Cooperative Agreement Program, Funding Communities to Prevent Obesity, Diabetes, and Asthma, FY 2004," http://www.healthierus.gov/steps/grantees/2004/StepsCoopAgrmn.pdf (accessed 18 April 2006).
9. Staiti et al., "Has Bioterrorism Improved Public Health?"
10. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, "HHS Announces $1.3 Billion in Funding to States for Bioterrorism Preparedness," 13 May 2005, http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2005pres/20050513.html (accessed 18 April 2006);
11. and DHHS, "HHS Announces Bioterrorism Aid for States, Including Special Opportunity for Advance Funding," 20 March 2003, http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2003pres/20030320.html (accessed 18 April 2006).
12. Begun in FY 2004, the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) is a pilot program through which the CDC redirects some public health preparedness funds from states and local health departments to twenty cities (including Boston, Cleveland, Miami, Phoenix, and Seattle among CTS sites) and the District of Columbia. The CRI aims to improve these cities' ability to dispense medicine andmedical supplies from the Strategic National Stockpile in case of a large-scale bioterrorism attack or nuclear accident.
13. Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, "State Public Health Employee Worker Shortage Report," 2004, http://www.astho.org/pubs/ Workforce-Survey-Report-2.pdf (accessed 17May 2006).
14. ASTHO, Preparedness Planning for State Health Officials: Nature's Terrorist Attack - Pandemic Influenza, November 2002, http://www.astho.org/pubs/ Pandemic%20Influenza.pdf (accessed 17May 2006).
15. GAO, Public Health Preparedness.
16. Staiti et al., "Has Bioterrorism Preparedness Improved Public Health?"