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. 2022 Jul:77:103074.
doi: 10.1016/j.ijdrr.2022.103074. Epub 2022 May 27.

Are preparedness indices reflective of pandemic preparedness? A COVID-19 reality check

Hlekiwe Kachali  1 , Ira Haavisto  2 , Riikka-Leena Leskelä  2 , Auri Väljä  2 , Mikko Nuutinen  2
Affiliations

Are preparedness indices reflective of pandemic preparedness? A COVID-19 reality check

Hlekiwe Kachali et al. Int J Disaster Risk Reduct. 2022 Jul.

Abstract

The paper contributes to the body of knowledge working towards enhancing the understanding of crisis and disaster preparedness and effective response, via the lens of the ongoing global pandemic and responding to the questions: do the current measures for pandemic preparedness reflect preparedness adequately, and what does pandemic preparedness mean? We analysed how the reported cumulative mortality rates, during the spring of 2020 and in the 60 days after the date of a country's first COVID-19 related death, compared to the expected preparedness rank according to the existing global preparedness indices (IHR and GHSI) on a country level. We found, at country level, that the health-related outcomes from the first wave of the pandemic were primarily negatively correlated with the expected preparedness. We contend that our results indicate a need to investigate further development and enhancement of the preparedness indices.

Keywords: COVID-19; Disaster; Emergency; Pandemic; Pandemic response; Preparedness.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Global Health Security Index (GHSI) country rank plotted against COVID-19 deaths per 1 M people.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
International Health Regulations (IHR) country rank plotted against COVID-19 deaths per 1 M people.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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