Public Health Emergency Preparedness
This resource was part of AHRQ's Public Health Emergency Preparedness program, which was discontinued on June 30, 2011, in a realignment of Federal efforts.
This information is for reference purposes only. It was current when produced and may now be outdated. Archive material is no longer maintained, and some links may not work. Persons with disabilities having difficulty accessing this information should contact us at: https://info.ahrq.gov. Let us know the nature of the problem, the Web address of what you want, and your contact information.
Please go to www.ahrq.gov for current information.
A Planning Guide for Public Health Preparedness
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) has released a planning guide designed to help State, county, and local officials meet Federal requirements to prepare for a public health emergency.
Select to Download Information.
AHRQ's Community-Based Mass Prophylaxis: A Planning Guide for Public Health
Preparedness, developed by researchers at Weill Medical College of Cornell
University, provides an overview of the five components of a mass prophylaxis
response to epidemic outbreaks:
- Surveillance.
- Stockpiling.
- Distribution.
- Dispensing.
- Followup.
Sections of the planning guide focus on planning and conducting dispensing
operations using specially-designated dispensing centers, and on describing
the implementation of a comprehensive operational structure for Dispensing/Vaccination
Centers (DVCs) based on the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
It is possible to calculate the number of staff needed to run a system that
is operating in a steady-state manner. The accompanying Bioterrorism
and Epidemic Outbreak Response Model (BERM) allows calculations of the number
of staff needed to carry out a prophylaxis campaign using two different pre-specified
designs for DVCs, one for antibiotic dispensing and another for vaccination.
Download Information
In addition to the Web version, the planning guide can also be downloaded as
a Word® or PDF file. Your browser may support downloading the planning guide
from this page by using the links below. Right click on the link and then select
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Word® files can be viewed in Microsoft® Word® or with a free Word® Viewer.
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Printed copies are available by contacting AHRQ's Publications Clearinghouse at 1-800-358-9295 or by sending an E-mail to ahrqpubs@ahrq.gov.
Bioterrorism Research Portfolio
This planning guide is one of more than 50 studies, workshops, conferences,
and other activities funded under the Agency's bioterrorism research portfolio.
AHRQ sponsors research that provides the evidence base for tools and resources
needed in bioterrorism planning and response. For more information, go to: https://www.ahrq.gov/prep/.
Current as of October 2004
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