文章基本信息

标题：The Evolution of Public Health Emergency Management as a Field of Practice
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作者：Dale A. Rose , PhD, MSc ; Shivani Murthy , MPH ; Jennifer Brooks , MPH 等
期刊名称：American journal of public health
印刷版ISSN：0090-0036
出版年度：2017
卷号：107
期号：Suppl 2
页码：S126-S133
DOI：10.2105/AJPH.2017.303947
语种：English
出版社：American Public Health Association
摘要：The health impacts of recent global infectious disease outbreaks and other disasters have demonstrated the importance of strengthening public health systems to better protect communities from naturally occurring and human-caused threats. Public health emergency management (PHEM) is an emergent field of practice that draws on specific sets of knowledge, techniques, and organizing principles necessary for the effective management of complex health events. We highlight how the nascent field of PHEM has evolved in recent years. We explore this development by first examining multiple sites of intersection between the fields of public health and emergency management. We then analyze 2 of the principal pillars on which PHEM was built: organizational and programmatic (i.e., industry) standards and the incident management system. This is followed by a sketch of the key domains, or functional areas, of PHEM and their application to the emergency management cycle. We conclude with some observations about PHEM in a global context and discuss how the field might continue to evolve. In recent years, the health impacts of infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters, industrial and environmental catastrophes, and conflict have captured the world’s attention and reinforced the importance of strengthening public health systems to better protect communities and populations from naturally occurring and human-caused threats. Various approaches and programs have been developed to address these needs in domestic and global contexts, including initiatives to strengthen public health preparedness and global health security. Although much has been written about these approaches, 1,2 there are few reports on the interface between public health and emergency management—and even less about what we call “public health emergency management” (PHEM). PHEM is an emergent field of practice that draws on specific sets of knowledge, techniques, and organizing principles found in the fields of emergency management and public health that are necessary for the effective management of complex health events and emergencies with serious health impacts. Although concepts such as public health preparedness and global health security include significant components of PHEM, the various terms should not be conflated. We highlight some of the ways the nascent field of PHEM has evolved in recent years. We explore this development by first examining multiple sites of intersection between the fields of public health and emergency management. We then analyze 2 of the principal pillars on which PHEM has been built: organizational and programmatic (i.e., industry) standards and the incident management system (IMS). This is followed by a sketch of the key domains, or functional areas, of PHEM and their application to the emergency management cycle. We conclude with some observations about PHEM in a global context and discuss how the field might continue to evolve.