research

This international health crisis requires appropriate strategy in place to ensure effective and timely response. It is impossible to determine when an H1N1 pandemic will occur but the ability of a nation to effectively manage it (when it occurs) largely depends on how prepared they are. The World Health Organization (WHO) advises that since there is no way of knowing when the next pandemic will occur, it is necessary for governments authorities to prepare with strategic plans that will enable them manage the situation (2005). This involves an awareness of the potential for a pandemic and the availability of a contingency plan to manage it when it occurs.

A preparedness plan must be developed prior to a pandemic outbreak. The Government Office of Accountability (GOA) reported that "prior to the H1N1 pandemic, federal, state and local governments were involved in national pandemic planning and preparedness activities" (2011). Such activities allow for the acquisition and allocation of resources as well as personnel development which equips staff with knowledge and skills needed during a pandemic. A preparedness plan must be continuously evaluated, revised and updated as needed. According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), preparedness is a "continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action that facilitates efficient and effective emergency management and incidence response activities" (2013). This definition can be supplemented by the business definition of disaster preparedness which states that “provision of rescue, relief, rehabilitation, and other services in the aftermath of the disaster with the capability and resources to continue to susta...

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... vaccine production, or poor yield of the vaccine virus. Not only is availability a challenge, but it requires appropriate timing as it takes two weeks after injection for the body to develop immunity. (HHS, 2012) (Broadbent & Subbarao, 2011)

Data generated from a surveillance program is very important and useful for decision making during a pandemic but when there is not reliable system in place for communication of data to authorities, response activities can be jeopardized. The accessibility of surveillance data generated by hospitals, health department, and physician’s offices, can be greatly enhanced by the use of electronic medical records. Health and Human Services elucidated that "increased investment in health information technology (HIT) may offer opportunity for better and timelier surveillance and would address robustness to local level data” (2012).