Emergency Management as a Public Health Policy Research Paper

Introduction

Public health is concerned with issues that affect the human population. Public health policy refers to making decisions, planning and taking actions to achieve healthcare objectives (Teltelbaum & Wilensky, 2013). According to Teltelbaum and Wilensky (2013), a good health policy can accomplish various objectives. This paper concentrates on discussing emergency preparedness and response as a public health issue.

Emergency preparedness and response

This is a major issue in public health and it entails being quick to act whenever there is a crisis. Organs of a state are expected to work with each other to prepare for the uncertainties, but each playing different roles (Goodchild & Glennon, 2010). There should be enough money set aside in the budget to cater for emergencies and enough medical practitioners and drugs to meet the needs of those affected.

My choice was driven by the fact that the timeline could be short. Since I am familiar with the issue, I could research on it within the shortest time possible. I decided to choose the issue to be my personal investment because if the matter would be addressed, then it would assist to reduce mortality rates. The issue has affected many people. For example, between 1980 and 2010 about 17,557,645 American people were affected by natural disasters (Goodchild & Glennon, 2010). In fact, it can be stated that the global human population is at risk of suffering from impacts of emergencies and disasters. Thus, there is an urgent need to address the issue in order to curb many emergency cases.

Outline of policy analysis

Policy analysis has the following components:

1. Background information about the problem
2. Statement of the problem
3. Landscapes
4. Options to solve the problem
5. Recommendations

Analysis of emergency preparedness and response

Statement of the problem

Good health condition is essential to a country’s population. Emergency preparedness and response is key to quality healthcare. Quality health is not only a right of every citizen, but also a necessity (Teltelbaum & Wilensky, 2013). Since most countries offer free healthcare services, the quality of health services has declined. Many countries are not ready for emergencies and lose many people (Rubin, 2012). In view of this wanting situation, there is need to come up with methods of preparing and responding to every emergency (Rubin, 2012).

Background information about the problem

According to Goodchild and Glennon (2010), good healthcare is a major factor in development of every state. However, many countries have poor healthcare systems. This is so particularly in emergency preparedness and response. Every state needs to prepare well because this will reduce mortality rates.

Landscape

The following stakeholders are important in relation to the public health issue: government agencies, non-governmental agencies, private hospitals, public healthcare facilities, and the public. Based on the interests of stakeholders, it is vital to point out that they play various roles in public health in dealing with emergency cases.

Options to solve the problem

The following options could be used to address the problem:

1. The government should allocate more funds to cater for emergencies in public health
2. People should be educated about how to prevent and respond to emergencies
3. More laws should be adopted to govern emergencies in the healthcare sector.

Recommendations

Government allocation of sufficient funds would greatly prevent the negative impacts of emergencies and disasters. Part of the monies could ensure that medical practitioners are well trained for them to respond quickly to emergencies. Adequate funding will be key to educate every citizen to offer first aid services. Healthcare practitioners should be remunerated for them to be motivated to respond to emergencies. It is crucial to underscore that social change implications in the future would result from continued education, which would focus on behavioral change with regard to preparedness and responses.

Conclusion

Having looked at the emergency preparedness and response, it is evident that they are key to quality healthcare in any country. Every person in a country has a role to play in responding to emergency cases. Therefore, the issue needs to be addressed urgently.

References

Goodchild, M. F., & Glennon, J. A. (2010). Crowdsourcing geographic information for disaster response: a research frontier. International Journal of Digital Earth, 3(3), 231-241.

Rubin, C. B. (Ed.). (2012). Emergency Management: The American Experience 1900-2010. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.

Teltelbaum, J., B., Wilensky, S. E. (2013). Essentials of health policy &law (2^nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlestts learning.