A valuable large-scale, public engagement initiative focused on community control measures for pandemic influenza is represented in these reports. The initiative featured a host of collaborating partners, making it a good example of public-private partnerships. Likewise, it also is focused heavily on creating meaningful interactions with citizens and stakeholder representatives to help shape health policy. This project contains two sub-parts, and the reviewers' comments will be separated for each to assist you in determining which components apply to your needs/interests: 1.
Mitigation
Background
Michigan's Upper Peninsula (UP) can be fairly isolated and inaccessible during the winter due to heavy snowfall and inclement weather conditions. The main transportation route between the UP and the lower peninsula is the Mackinac Bridge, which is often closed for safety reasons during the winter. Another way used to access the UP during an emergency or for search and rescue purposes is via Michigan's Civil Air Patrol (CAP), an auxiliary of the Air Force comprised of civilian volunteers.
Toolkit helps agencies assess flu vaccine beliefs and behaviors, educate public, and tailor services
Background
Yearly bouts of seasonal influenza and even pandemic influenza strains can be fairly different in how quickly and pervasively they spread, the severity of illness they cause, and the groups of people most at risk of infection. Consequently, the general public may experience confusion about who is at risk for influenza from year to year, making demand for vaccine unpredictable.
Background
Continuity of operations during an emergency is a particularly important aspect of planning for agencies that protect the safety and well-being of children. Prior to and during the H1N1 pandemic, much attention was focused on social distancing and continuity of operations measures to ensure that organizations could carry out their functions while minimizing risk of illness spread. In many instances, this involved identifying essential functions to preserve or redesign so that services would not be interrupted during an emergency.
Background
Closing schools during an influenza outbreak can be a controversial decision with many unintended consequences for parents, teachers, and children. During the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, several Arizona schools decided to close for a short period of time in response to increasing absenteeism and to prevent more children from becoming ill. These decisions were based on close evaluation of local flu cases and extensive communication between the state public health agency and local school districts.
Specific issues
Background
As experienced during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, health agencies and schools must work closely together when infectious disease outbreaks occur in their communities. Pre-school and school-aged children may often be important vectors for disease transmission and spread, and decisions regarding school closures can significantly affect the surrounding community.
Tarrant County Public Health and the Southwest Center for Advanced Public Health Practice have developed a Web-based communications portal that attempts to strengthen the relationship between public health and area public schools, especially during an infectious disease outbreak.
The guide for homeless shelters and housing service providers presents a basic, pragmatic, and concise approach to addressing the needs of a vulnerable and often forgotten segment of the population. It contains appropriate assumptions and planning elements to assist homeless and housing service providers in preparing and continuing to care for the homeless during a pandemic. The guide also articulates the need for managing large numbers of sick or deceased individuals and the ways in which standards of care may depend on the situation.
The Family Assistance White Paper was written by a largely military working group to address how social distancing during a pandemic may affect traditional mass fatality management. The report includes discussion about how to set up a virtual family assistance center that would allow family members to identify and mourn a body and receive emotional support without being physically present on-site during a pandemic.
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