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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Peter M. Ginter, PhD, W. Jack Duncan, PhD, Lisa C. McCormick, MPH, Andrew C. Rucks, PhD, Martha S. Wingate, DrPH, and Maziar Abdolrasulnia, MPH, MBA. Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, RPHB 330, 1530 3rd Avenue South, Birmingham, AL 35294-0022, (205) 975-8970, pginter@uab.edu

Organizations that operate successfully in settings where the potential for disasters is ever present and experience fewer disasters than expected are termed high-reliability organizations (HROs). Examples of HROs include aircraft carrier operations, air traffic control systems, nuclear power generation, wildfire management, and emergency medical treatment.

It is clear that the ability to respond effectively to all hazards (i.e., terrorism, infectious disease, natural disaster) is beyond the range of a single organization or locality. Therefore a continuing public health preparedness challenge concerns leading and managing multi-agency complex disaster prevention and response efforts. The challenge has become even more daunting because of the increased number and consequences of disasters and the large number of agencies and organizations that must be coordinated. Effective disaster prevention and response requires a network of preparedness agencies and organizations that function as single high-reliability organization. High-reliability organizations have been studied extensively, however, the lessons learned in managing HROs have not been systematically applied to the management and operations of multi-agency and organization networks required to respond to public health emergencies.

This paper reviews the leadership, crisis management, and high-reliability organization literature and develops and recommends a leadership and management model for creating and leading high-reliability preparedness networks (HRPNs). In addition, the paper demonstrates that the development of HRPNs is key to strengthening public health infrastructure that would allow for effective preparation for and response to complex human disasters such as hurricanes, tsunamis, infectious disease outbreaks and mass casualty terrorist events.

Learning Objectives:

• 1.Understand that high-reliability preparedness networks are the key to building public health infrastructure that would effectively prevent, contain, and respond to natural and human initiated disasters.
• 2.Apply the lessons learned in high-reliability organizations to the organization and management of high-reliability preparedness networks.
• 3.Describe and implement a model for creating and leading high-reliability preparedness networks.
• 4.Articulate the utility of incorporating high-reliability preparedness networks into public health emergency response.

Keywords: Disasters, Management and Sustainability

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation