Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 6;23(1):36.
doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-14706-4.

Evaluating intra-action reviews at points of entry: ongoing learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Doret de Rooij  1   2 , Miriam van de Watering  3 , Remco van Dijk  3   4 , Thijs Veenstra  3 , Rolf Appels  3 , Corien Swaan  3 , Aura Timen  5   6
Affiliations

Evaluating intra-action reviews at points of entry: ongoing learning opportunities during the COVID-19 pandemic

Doret de Rooij et al. BMC Public Health. .

Abstract

Background: Long-lasting crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, require proper interim evaluation in order to optimize response. The World Health Organization and the European Center for Disease Control have recently promoted the in(tra)-action review (IAR) method for this purpose. We systematically evaluated the added value of two IARs performed in the Dutch point of entry (PoE) setting.

Methods: Two online, 4-hour IAR meetings were organized in March 2021, for ports and airports respectively, to reflect on the ongoing COVID-19 response. Topics discussed were selected through a survey among participants. Participants were mainly self-selected by the (air)port public health service. Evaluation of the IAR method consisted of participant evaluation through a questionnaire, and hot and cold debriefs of the organizing team. Evaluation of the impact of the IAR was done through analysis of the meeting results, and a 3-month follow-up of the actions proposed during the meetings.

Results: Thirty-nine professionals joined the IAR meetings. In the participant evaluation (n = 18), 89% agreed or totally agreed the IAR made it possible to identify challenges and problems in the COVID-19 response at PoE. Participants especially appreciated the resulting insight in regional and national partners. Regarding the online setting of the meeting, participants suggested to choose accessible and familiar online tools. After 3 months, all national actions and actions for ports had been executed; some regional actions for airports required further attention. A major result was a new meeting structure for all ports and the participating national authorities in which remaining and newly occurring issues were discussed.

Conclusions: Based on the evaluations, we conclude that the IAR method can be of value during long-term crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic response. Although it is challenging to dedicate time and effort to the organization and attendance of IAR meetings during crisis, the IAR method is feasible in an online setting if appropriate organizing and technical capacity is available. A participatory set-up supports the IAR method as a starting point for continuous exchange and learning during ongoing crises.

Keywords: COVID-19; In-action review; Infectious diseases; Intra-action review.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Timeline example with COVID-19 public health measures and developments relevant for Dutch PoE
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
The evaluation steps of the IARs
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization. International health regulations (2005). Geneva: World Health Organization; 2008.
    1. Diermeier D, Hopp WJ, Iravani S. Innovating under pressure – towards a science of crisis management. Innovation Policy Econ. 2006;7:125–154. doi: 10.1086/ipe.7.25056192. - DOI
    1. Bdeir F, Hossain L, Crawford J. Emerging coordination and knowledge transfer process during disease outbreak. J Knowledge Manag Res. 2013;11(3):241–254.
    1. Merrill RD, Rogers K, Ward S, Ojo O, Kakaī CG, Agbeko TT, Garba H, et al. Responding to communicable diseases in internationally mobile populations at points of entry and along porous Borders, Nigeria, Benin, And Togo. Global Health security supplement. 2017;23(13):114-20. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vries de M, Kenis P, Kraaij-Dirkzwager M, Ruitenberg E, Raab J, Timen A. Collaborative emergency preparedness and response to cross-institutional outbreaks of multidrug-resistant organisms: a scenario-based approach in two regions of the Netherlands. BMC Public Health. 2019;19(1):52. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types