Issue link: https://resources.esri.ca/i/1294438
The health community is in a state of reflection. As it steps back to examine the worldwide response to the COVID-19 pandemic, now is also the time to revisit health preparedness strategies and plans. Now is the time to review what lessons have emerged and what changes should be implemented. The global response to COVID-19 has highlighted the need to engage with a wider range of collaborators. It has elevated the value of situational dashboards for communicating health issues and supporting decision-making. The pandemic has also magnified the importance of having the right data sets and applications to support business continuity and recovery of our communities. When it comes to public health emergency preparedness and response, organizations should use every incident as a learning experience to prepare for future events. Although each event presents its own challenges that require specific response and recovery activities, they shouldn't be viewed in isolation. These events begin to follow repeatable patterns that organizations can use to build more resilient and healthier communities. In a public health response, real-time information fuels situational awareness and data-driven decision-making. For example, the ability to improve data collection through sensors and crowdsourced information empowers leaders to deploy resources and inform stakeholders with greater precision. Globally, there is a renewed appreciation for the critical role that public health preparedness professionals play in keeping our communities safe. The COVID-19 pandemic brought the awareness of public health emergency response into our living rooms. Now, people better understand how the health of a community impacts the economy, transportation networks, education, community design and infrastructure. The crisis' scope and complexity demonstrated that public health preparedness is a vital function. It requires careful planning and coordination, with health agencies playing a leading role. The health community can build on lessons learned in response to previous public health emergencies, such as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak of 2002 to 2004, the Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 to 2016 and the Zika virus epidemic in 2015 to 2016. Public health professionals are also responding to new developments around the opioid epidemic and homelessness. This work has produced foundational data sets, tools and models for organizations to share. They don't have to rebuild from scratch, but rather adapt their existing plans when a new crisis occurs. Geographic information system (GIS) is often the foundation of these efforts, transforming data into location intelligence that provides agencies and civic leaders with valuable insights. What makes GIS so critical is that it supports evidence-based decision-making. For this report, GovLoop partnered with Esri to highlight best practices and key GIS capabilities that support public health preparedness. We also explore how the lessons learned during the COVID-19 reponse can help communities prepare for the next crisis. Introduction 3 Strengthening Public Health Preparedness with GIS