Preparedness Process Research Articles

Yoksulluk ve Afetlerin İnsan Güvenliği ve Refahı Üzerindeki Etkileri: Türkiye Örneği

Poverty and disasters are complex issues that directly impact the quality of life and security of people worldwide. Poverty makes communities more vulnerable to disasters, thereby increasing the risks of catastrophes. Factors such as inadequate infrastructure, unplanned urbanization, and resource limitations exacerbate the effects of poverty, potentially escalating the frequency and severity of disasters. Moreover, low educational attainment and insufficient pre-disaster risk management can adversely affect post-disaster crisis management, hindering swift recovery efforts for communities. Impoverished communities often struggle to access essential services such as emergency medical assistance in the aftermath of disasters. This difficulty significantly impairs post-disaster response and recovery efforts, deepening the impact of disasters on impoverished societies and prolonging the return to normalcy. Economic losses, asset depletion, and decreased labor productivity further push already impoverished populations into long-term cycles of poverty. Restrictions in accessing basic necessities also pose significant barriers during post-disaster recovery processes; challenges in transportation, housing, and nutrition can contribute to worsening poverty conditions. In this context, the role of poverty in disaster preparedness is crucial. It is vital for countries like Turkey to strengthen the capacities of all local communities and develop effective disaster strategies. Integrating poverty alleviation strategies with disaster management systems is essential to mitigate disaster risks, minimize post-disaster impacts, and facilitate faster community recovery. This study aims to underscore the importance of poverty in disaster preparedness processes and develop strategic recommendations by focusing on the relationship between poverty and disasters in Turkey. Keywords: Disaster, Disaster Management, Poverty, Security, Turkey

Social media and inclusive humanitarian intervention: the case of Cyclone Idai in Chimanimani district, Zimbabwe

Purpose The world-over, it is evident that, numbers and frequency of natural disasters have increased tremendously. The effects have given birth to a worldwide, all-inclusive humanitarian response and preparedness. In Zimbabwe, Cyclone Idai has ushered in the exploitation of various social media platforms by humanitarian organisations as a way of reaching out to the wider population on critical issues pertaining to the devastating effects of the cyclone. This study herein, aims to interrogate the efficacy of various social media platforms that were exploited by various humanitarian organisation involved in the Cyclone Idai humanitarian response. The various social media platforms are interrogated to establish their contribution to inclusivity or lack of it in relaying humanitarian interventions. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method approach was used to conduct the research. Quantitative and qualitative methods were applied to gather the data. Quantitative data was collected using questionnaires with Likert scales and other closed questions provided. These were administered to representatives from the government, United Nations, donors, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and members of the community. On the contrary, qualitative data was gathered from members of the community and humanitarian organisations through open-ended responses provided from interviews. Quantitative data was collected from a total of 384 stakeholder representatives who were randomly selected from Chimanimani district of Manicaland province. In addition, 12 interview participants were purposively selected to complement the research tools listed above. Findings The study findings show that social media platforms to a greater extent are effective tools for creating inclusive humanitarian response. The study findings reveal that social media has a significant positive influence on inclusive humanitarian response, with a 5% level of significance. These quantitative results agree with results obtained from interviewed participants. Managers of NGOs, community-based groups, government agencies and churches engaged in managing rescue, relief and humanitarian aid are supposed to access the study's findings in the future, and may find the results resourceful. Research limitations/implications This study's generalisability to other districts and countries is constrained because it was conducted in the setting of the Chimanimani district. Future research can therefore be expanded to other Zimbabwean areas as well as to other countries in the Southern African region and beyond. Practical implications Humanitarian supply chain managers engaged in managing rescue, relief and humanitarian aid are proposed as having access to the study's findings in the future as they may find them useful. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by providing insights that can improve information flow. This can be achieved by including different stakeholders in decision-making through the use of social media during disaster preparedness and response processes and helping them to better prepare for and respond to future disasters.

Operational Efficiency Through Optimization of Education and Training Processes in NATO Missions

Abstract This article investigates the ways in which education and military training can contribute to enhancing the operational capabilities of armed forces involved in international missions under the auspices of NATO. Through an analytical approach, which combined literature review, analysis of official documents, and mission analysis, the main challenges and opportunities regarding the optimization of education and training processes within NATO have been identified. Additionally, recommendations have been proposed for strengthening partnerships and exchanging best practices among member states and international organizations to improve military personnel readiness and promote a culture of continuous learning within the armed forces. This research provides a critical perspective on the role of military education and training within NATO and proposes solutions for optimizing armed forces preparedness processes in the current context of global security.

Flood vulnerability assessment in rural and urban informal settlements: case study of Karonga District and Lilongwe City in Malawi

Flood vulnerability assessment (FVA) informs the disaster risk reduction and preparedness process in both rural and urban areas. However, many flood-vulnerable regions like Malawi still lack FVA supporting frameworks in all phases (pre-trans-post disaster). Partly, this is attributed to lack of the evidence-based studies to inform the processes. This study was therefore aimed at assessing households’ flood vulnerability (HFV) in rural and urban informal areas of Malawi, using case studies of Traditional Authority (T/A) Kilupula of Karonga District (KD) and Mtandire Ward in Lilongwe City (LC). A household survey was used to collect data from a sample of 545 household participants. Vulnerability was explored through a combination of underlying vulnerability factors (UVFs)-physical-social-economic-environmental and cultural with vulnerability components (VCs)-exposure-susceptibility and resilience. The UVFs and VCs were agglomerated using binomial multiple logit regression model. Variance inflation factor (VIF) was used to check the multicollinearity of variables in the regression model. HFV was determined based on the flood vulnerability index (FVI). The data were analysed using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), artificial neural network (ANN) and STATA. The results reveal a total average score of high vulnerability (0.62) and moderate vulnerability (0.52) on MCA in T/A Kilupula of Karonga District and Mtandire Ward of Lilongwe City respectively. The FVI revealed very high vulnerability on enviroexposure factors (EEFs) (0.9\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$0.9$$\\end{document}) in LC and(0.8\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(0.8$$\\end{document}) in KD, followed by ecoresilience factors (ERFs) (0.8) in KD and(0.6\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$(0.6$$\\end{document}) in LC and physioexposure factors (PEFs) (0.5)\\documentclass[12pt]{minimal} \\usepackage{amsmath} \\usepackage{wasysym} \\usepackage{amsfonts} \\usepackage{amssymb} \\usepackage{amsbsy} \\usepackage{mathrsfs} \\usepackage{upgreek} \\setlength{\\oddsidemargin}{-69pt} \\begin{document}$$0.5)$$\\end{document} in LC besides 0.6 in KD for the combined UVFs and VCs. The study concludes that the determinants of households’ flood vulnerability are place settlement, low-risk knowledge, communication accessibility, lack of early warning systems, and limited access to income of household heads. The study recommends that an FVA framework should be applied to strengthen the political, legal, social, and economic responsibilities of government for building the resilience of communities and supporting planning and decision-making processes in flood risk management.

Uncertainties beyond preparedness: COVID-19 vaccination in Senegal.

Vaccination is one of the most recognised strategies in public health for preventing the spread of epidemics, and the availability of a vaccine is often expected by health actors to be a 'game-changer'. However, the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) vaccine in Senegal was not the magic bullet that the international community expected. A very low vaccination coverage rate (less than 10% by April 2023) was observed in this country, once considered a model in West Africa for its epidemic response. Beyond the population's alleged hesitancy to be vaccinated, was a lack of preparedness to blame? Previous analyses show that outbreak preparation limited to standard interventions is not sufficient in the face of the social, cultural, and political configurations of each epidemic context and that uncertainty limits response capacity. This paper examines the social life of the COVID-19 vaccine to identify the forms and contextual dimensions of uncertainty related to immunisation in Senegal. The authors explore how vaccination was implemented and compare experiences with the preparedness process, to offer insight on uncertainties. Using Stirling's theoretical model that defines various expressions of incertitude, the authors identify four nexuses at various stages of the social life of COVID-19 vaccine in Senegal: (1) material uncertainty related to vaccine availability, (2) ambiguity of the population about the purpose of vaccination and the risks of the disease, (3) uncertainty related to side effects, and (4) uncertainty about vaccination strategies shared by scientific and health authorities. These uncertainties were only partly considered in the preparedness process, for they are related to systemic structural dimensions and reflect the impact of global/regional powers on the local level. The findings of this research are relevant not only to support better communication around vaccines in Senegal but also more generally to the prevention of emerging epidemics shaped by human behaviours.

Взаимосвязь психических процессов с технической подготовленностью у баскетболисток 14–15 лет

For effective competitive activity in youth basketball, it is necessary to take into account both external and internal factors, since they influence the quality of technical actions in situations of confrontation with an opponent. Features of feeling and perception, as well as the speed of processing information coming from the outside, are closely related to the issues of players finding optimal solutions, which means that the coach needs to properly influence them. The athlete’s readiness for professional activity at the level of mental processes (switching attention, error correction, perception of information, etc.) becomes increasingly important and determines the relevance of this study. The research aims to reveal correlations between the technical preparedness and mental processes of basketball players aged 14–15 in the pre-competition period of training. The research objective is to determine the level of interrelations between technical preparedness and the nature of the course of mental processes of basketball players aged 14–15 based on a correlation analysis of data using the nonparametric Spearman criterion. The level of technical readiness was determined by the indicator of the shuttle run completion time, dribbling for 20 meters, figure-eight dribbling for 20 meters, dribbling and shooting, execution time and accuracy of hitting shots from medium and long distances, and free throws. Mental processes were assessed according to the data of the type of information perception (visual, kinesthetic, audial), motor response rates, estimates of time intervals, memory capacity, switching, and attention selectivity. The work was carried out in October 2020 and involved 16 female basketball players aged 14–15. The results of the correlation analysis allowed us to establish the presence of triple, double, and single connections between mental processes and indicators of technical preparedness. The largest number of connections was revealed in the following indicators: attention switching, individual minute, number of throws in motion, and long throw. The established direct and feedback links are described at high and medium levels of significance. The presence of numerous links between the indicators of technical preparedness and mental processes associated with the perception and processing of information at high and medium levels indicates the need for targeted training of basketball players aged 14–15 to teach the ability to manage sensory-perceptual processes, distinctive sensitivity, modality of information perception, operational thinking, and attention.

Eastern Australian Farmers Managing and Thinking Differently: Innovative Adaptation Cycles.

The uncertainty of climate change is a significant challenge prompting Australian farmers to create different thinking and different management systems that ensure sustained farm business viability and continuity, particularly in extreme environments. The purpose of this study was to explore the conditions and adaptive processes for managing farm resilience and cyclic adaptation pathways, in response to climate change. A positive deviance sample of farmers was interviewed, and data was collected from a cohort of twenty-two climate change innovators across Eastern Australia. Grounded theory analysis of data identified three processes and two transactional maps of climate change adaptation, in this under studied farmer cohort. The development of the transactional maps found the resilience and preparedness processes as adaptive learning responses to the stressors of climate change. The processes of managing the business and resources were identified as markers of preparedness and resilience that ensured business viability and continuity. Farmers prepared for climate change through transforming make-over processes as an adaptive learning response to climate challenges. Mapping the cycle of adaptation identified the processes of socio-cognitive agency, learning from feedback and consequences, and contextual variables as critical elements of adaptation. The intervening socio-ecological processes of intelligence gathering and influencing, and socio-cognitive precursors, were found to regulate the adaptation cycle. The cycle was found to have both incremental and transformative transmission processes, and intervening processes of climate and contextual variables. The changing patterns and extremes of climate change were found to impact the growing season, and its potential, as unique variables that demand farm adaptation. Ultimately, this study identified potential points of influence for leveraging preparedness behaviours.

Perception of readiness to manage COVID-19 among hospital workers: An individual, collective, and institutional process.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had adverse effects worldwide and has overwhelmed the health systems of many countries. Yet, to manage sanitary crises as COVID-19 pandemic, skills, commitment, and motivation of hospital workers are essential. However, most research on the preparedness of hospital workers for sani-tary crises shows a mismatch between their level of preparedness, their perceived preparedness, and the estimated needs to manage these situations. After a definition of the concepts mobilized in this study, actual preparedness, de-clared preparedness, perceived preparedness, and perceived readiness, this study aims to explore hospital workers readiness perception to manage a sanitary crisis upcoming (COVID-19 pandemic) and determinants of this perception. Four hundred and eight French hospital workers respond to an online survey containing 11 items about COVID-19. Var-iables studied concern perception of personal preparedness, colleagues' preparedness, and institutional preparedness. Results show that hospital workers have a relatively low readiness perception to manage COVID-19 before it came out. This study proposed a model explaining personal readiness perception to manage COVID-19, and the most important variables are as follows: colleague from the same hospital department (β = .37***), personal preparedness perception (β = .29***), perception of hospital human resources sufficient (β = .22**), perceived capacity for professional action (β = .097***), and perception of personal skills as sufficient (β = .11**). These results show that hospital workers did not feel ready, either individually or collectively, to manage the COVID-19 pandemic before it destabilized their hospital. The preparedness process is not an individual process, and it is necessary to emphasize its collective and institutional side. The results also show that preparedness would benefit from concentrating on exercises such as lessons learned (feedback sessions about the management of anterior sanitary crisis) and simulation exercises ***p < 0.001, ** p < 0.01.

The experiences of people with disabilities in the 2020 Izmir earthquake: A phenomenological research

To lead an ordinary life in daily activities, persons with disabilities (PWDs) may face many barriers, and when faced with disruptive events, such as disasters, they are likely to encounter even more significant problems. Identifying these challenges they face or may encounter is crucial during the preparedness process. However, research examining the experiences of PWDs in disasters is quite limited. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the experiences of PWDs who experienced the Izmir earthquake on October 30, 2020, using a phenomenological model to uncover their experiences during the earthquake. Within the scope of this study, interviews were conducted with 27 participants who had various disabilities and experienced the Izmir earthquake on October 30, 2020. The interviews resulted in a 982-min audio recording and a 50,321-word transcription, which were analysed using Moustakas' phenomenological analysis technique and the Maxqda qualitative analysis program. As a result of the analysis, the phenomenological essence was created, and the components that affected the disaster experience of PWDs were identified. The findings showed that PWDs had a low level of preparedness for disasters, encounter significant challenges during the evacuation process, were negatively affected by poverty in their disaster experiences, heavily relied on family and community support, face significant accessibility challenges in the areas where they were accommodated after the disaster, their levels of psychological resilience affected their experiences, they were not involved in disaster management processes, and they struggled to express their problems due to various reasons.

The earthquakes in Turkey and their effects on nursing and community health.

Severe damage was experienced in 10 provinces in Turkey, and the north of Syria, with the earthquakes that hit Kahramanmaraş at midnight and afternoon on February 6, 2023. The authors aimed to give brief information to the international nursing community about the situation related to earthquakes in the aspects of nurses. These earthquakes caused traumatic processes in the affected regions. Many people, including nurses and other healthcare professionals, died or were injured. The results demonstrated that the required preparedness had not been applied. Nurses went to these areas voluntarily or on assignment and cared for individuals with injured. The universities in the country passed to distance education because of the shortage of safe places for victims. This situation also negatively influenced nursing education and clinical practice by interrupting in-person education one more time after the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the outcomes show a need for well-organized health and nursing care, policymakers may consider getting nurses' contributions to the disaster preparedness and management policy-making processes.

Saying it out loud: explicit equity prompts for public health organization resilience.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic there were numerous stories of health equity work being put "on hold" as public health staff were deployed to the many urgent tasks of responding to the emergency. Losing track of health equity work is not new and relates in part to the need to transfer tacit knowledge to explicit articulation of an organization's commitment to health equity, by encoding the commitment and making it visible and sustainable in policy documents, protocols and processes. We adopted a Theory of Change framework to develop training for public health personnel to articulate where and how health equity is or can be embedded in their emergency preparedness processes and documents. Over four sessions, participants reviewed how well their understanding of disadvantaged populations were represented in emergency preparedness, response and mitigation protocols. Using equity prompts, participants developed a heat map depicting where more work was needed to explicitly involve community partners in a sustained manner. Participants were challenged at times by questions of scope and authority, but it became clear that the explicit health equity prompts facilitated conversations that moved beyond the idea of health equity to something that could be codified and later measured. Over four sessions, participants reviewed how well their understanding of disadvantaged populations were represented in emergency preparedness, response and mitigation protocols. Using equity prompts, participants developed a heat map depicting where more work was needed to explicitly involve community partners in a sustained manner. Participants were challenged at times by questions of scope and authority, but it became clear that the explicit health equity prompts facilitated conversations that moved beyond the idea of health equity to something that could be codified and later measured. Using the indicators and prompts enabled the leadership and staff to articulate what they do and do not know about their community partners, including how to sustain their involvement, and where there was need for action. Saying out loud where there is - and is not - sustained commitment to achieving health equity can help public health organizations move from theory to true preparedness and resilience.

Impact of Climate Change on Nigeria's Business Industry: Mitigation and Adaptation

This article focuses on the impact of climate change on Nigeria's business industry: mitigation and adaptation. The papers discussed concepts in climate change and related fields, including causes and effects of climate change, and issues of prevention, preparedness, and adaptation processes. The role that industry can play in preparing to prevent, adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change has been widely debated. Mandatory issues such as technical support. We conduct research aimed at improving the quality of future climate change projections, from national to regional to global environments. Given these issues, the authors saw the impact of climate change on the business industry as a clear call for strong and effective ways to address the impacts of climate change. Companies are encouraged to come together and use individual climate change research to form a powerful force to address the impacts of climate change on their businesses. Nigeria's Department of Metrology should seek to inform the business community in advance of anticipated natural and man-made disasters that may affect business, and to improve forecasts of future climate change, the private sector should continue research should be done in both the sector and the public sector.

The Passivity-Responsiveness Continuum in the disaster preparedness and mitigation process: A synthesized theory

The public's tendency to demonstrate passive and complacent attitudes towards imminent disaster hazards only portends individual- and community-level vulnerabilities. This paper explores disaster mitigation and response efforts through the Passivity-Responsiveness Continuum (PRC) model which was developed using the Walker and Avant's threefold steps in theory synthesis: specifying focal concepts, identifying related factors and relationships, and constructing an integrated model. An integrative review was conducted to explore concepts and nature and types of relationships relevant to the phenomena of disaster passivity and responsiveness. As a model, PRC proposes that passivity (and its habituality) corresponds to a negative, non-favorable state and outcome while responsiveness corresponds to a positive, ideal condition. The state in the continuum (i.e., passivity and responsiveness) is changeable (may progress or retrogress) depending on the individual's exposure to circumstantial factors (CF) which include ease of access to resources, self-efficacy, and socio-cultural/political climate, among others. Hence, to promote progressive change, guided disaster-responsive prompts (GDRP) must be facilitated and reinforced by expert actors and responders (i.e., nurses working in community disaster management) in a manner that is intensive, structured, trans-dimensional, and disaster-specific. To achieve the ideal state (i.e., disaster-resilient living), assertive actions must be supported, reinforced, and sustained otherwise the responsive state wanes, dwindles, and reverts to a previous state of passivity.

Empowering women for disaster risk reduction: a case study of geologically based disaster at Yan, Kedah, Malaysia

The effects of disaster impact all levels of society equally. However, both men and women response to disaster differently. It is critical to acknowledge that both genders have different roles, responsibilities, access, and control over resources as well as how they are affected by crisis and disaster. This paper seeks to build an initial understanding on the importance of gender perspective through review of literature and single case study of Community Based Disaster Risk Management (CBDRM) program conducted at Yan, Kedah. Data was collected through survey questionnaires and focus group discussion with women that had experienced the geological disaster that occurred on the 18th of August 2021. The findings revealed that even though women and girls are more vulnerable to disasters and climate change, they also contribute vital information, skills, resources, and experiences to disaster risk reduction. These abilities are underutilised and are mostly missing from the creation of resilience strategies and decision-making processes for prevention, mitigation, preparedness, and recovery process of the disaster cycle. It is the responsibility of the national governments not only to identify these vulnerabilities but also to build the resilience of women and children to lessen disaster impact in the future.

Organizational preparedness domains and indicators of educational organizations for students with disabilities in pandemic times: A scoping review

BackgroundThe impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on educational systems has caused a profound shift in the organization and delivery of education worldwide. The effects of the pandemic crisis on educational systems proved to be detrimental for students with disabilities, highlighting not only the looming social and educational inequalities but also the huge gap in organizational preparedness for education, including identifying the main areas (domains) of preparedness that guide the process of organizational preparedness and the sub-themes (indicators) per domain that help educational organizations to evaluate their level of preparedness and to identify potential gaps and set priorities for preparedness planning.MethodsScoping review with thematic analysis was performed on literature published from 2010 to 2022. Six scientific databases (PsycInfo, Web of Science, Eric, Scopus, Proquest, JSTOR) and one academic search engine (Google Scholar) were examined in order to identify publications (peer-reviewed and preprint) in English. The search strategy and robust eligibility criteria were defined by the authors, who also performed screening of the papers, eligibility decisions, and key data extractions. A thematic analysis was applied to define the organizational preparedness domains and indicators per domain, informed by a system thinking approach for educational organizations. Conflicts were collaboratively resolved after each step. All members of the research team were involved in the data synthesis.ResultsFrom 1,564 publications identified, 216 were included in the final analysis. Six domains and 14 indicators were identified.ConclusionThe organizational preparedness in educational organizations in pandemic crisis times needs to be prioritized in the educational policy agenda, drawing special attention on students with disabilities. The identified preparedness domains and indicators may guide the policy dialogue and inform accordingly a system thinking change approach in education and disability.

How Leadership Impacts FEMA’s Whole Community Approach during Emergency Management’s Preparedness

Disasters stipulate unfortunate remembrances of susceptibilities within society. Disasters often suddenly affect communities and result in the untimely loss of functions and social systems. Therefore, formulating preparedness policies and awareness of uncertainty is essential when addressing emergency management. The success of the emergency management approach within the community often relies on the leadership structure imposed. Leadership also helps to promote emergency management practices and provide new reserves to support emergency preparedness and funds for sustainability and resilience. This study concentrates on the whole community principle in handling disasters and emergencies. The whole community management strategy further maps preparedness-related capacities and community engagement in disaster control. Partnership with participants across the entire society program and efficient community management can result in significant disaster preparedness and response. The research will constitute a quantitative methodology, specifically, a survey on members of the Safeguard Iowa Partnership (SIP), an emergency management firm, on the organization’s whole community emergency leadership strategy. The Whole Community leadership model in emergency management proved its effectiveness through the survey conducted in SIP. Data will also be collected using the Organizational Leadership Evaluation Survey (OLA) from all the SIP members from various economic sectors. The OLA has six features that help gauge the organization’s leadership strength. The quantitative methodology suggested an association between the perceived essence of Whole Community management and the perceived efficiency of FEMA’s role in the emergency management preparedness process.

Women College Students Situation During Pandemic Time: How’s Their Access to the Future?

The COVID-19 pandemic is a unique and rare occurrence in the whole world. It compelled colleges to close their doors and transition entirely to distance learning. It posed many challenges in the academe with the abrupt change in the educational landscape. Hence, the study was conceived on determining answers in a 15-question closed-question from a Plan International survey in which women college students were asked about their understanding of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on their life and access to education, welfare, economic security, livelihoods, and access to technology. It was found out that the respondents knew little about COVID- 19, it made a major change in their lives which led to huge effect to their access to their future plans. However, based from their responses on the qualitative side of the study they still have hopes and aspiration despite the pandemic situation. As a result, its impact on female college students, who confront special vulnerabilities, must be recognized, and their experiences and perspectives must be incorporated in the institution's COVID-19 pandemic preparedness processes.

Human preparedness: Relational infrastructures and medical countermeasures in Sierra Leone

ABSTRACT This paper examines health worker experiences in two areas of post-epidemic preparedness in Sierra Leone – vaccine trials and laboratory strengthening – to reflect on the place of people in current models of epidemic response. Drawing on ethnographic research and interviews with health workers in the aftermath of Ebola, it explores the hopes and expectations that interventions foster for frontline workers in under-resourced health systems, and describes the unseen work involved in sustaining robust response infrastructures. Our analysis focuses on what it means for the people who sustain health systems in an emergency to be ‘prepared’ for an epidemic. Human preparedness entails more than the presence of a labour force; it involves building and maintaining ‘relational infrastructures’, often fragile social and moral relationships between health workers, publics, governments, and international organisations. The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the value of rethinking human resources from an anthropological perspective, and investing in the safety and support of people at the forefront of response. In describing the labour, personal losses, and social risks undertaken by frontline workers for protocols and practicality to meet in an emergency context, we describe the social process of preparedness; that is, the contextual engineering and investment that make response systems work.

The Geography of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Namibia

Spatial analysis of COVID-19 spread is an important tool for public health management, as a Geographic Information System (GIS) platform can support the entire process of infectious disease surveillance, preparedness and response. Consequently, this study applied regression analysis using r software and QGIS mapping to evaluate how COVID-19 infections are impacted by population dynamics, urbanisation, area temperature and tourism activities in Namibia. Study results revealed that, COVID-19 transmission is positively associated with urbanisation and negatively associated with temperature. Area population size is not associated with COVID-19 transmission. To reduce COVID-19 infections in Namibia, efforts need to be directed at minimising social and economic contact activities, particularly in urban areas. The Namibia society is also encouraged to adhere to the recommended COVID-19 public health measures such as social distancing of 1.5 meters apart and wearing of face masks in public spaces.

Preparing a Teaching Hospital and University Campus for the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives: To outline the preparation conducted by King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz University hospital, And princess Nourah Bint Abdulrahman university to deal with COVID-19 pandemic. This experience may assist other healthcare facilities (especially academic hospitals) in pandemic-related disaster planning and management. Methods: A descriptive study outlining the process of disaster preparedness and functional implication of this preparedness for a university campus and its related academic hospital to cope with the merging COVID-19 pandemic for the period from February 2020-October 2020. Results: The implemented measures in both the university and hospital helped in decreasing the rate of COVID-19 cross-infections between healthcare workers, admitted patients and university personnel. Resources were evenly distributed, and clear line of management, reporting and communication was established between the hospital and university. Conclusion : Integration between all stake holders in academic hospital and university leadership is the corner stone in pandemic and disaster management.