Public Health and Emergency Preparedness

• What is the role of public health in emergency preparedness and response?
• Discuss the mistakes that were made during the World Trade Center emergency response on 9/11.
• What should have been done differently, and how many lives do you think might have been saved if your suggestions had been used?
• What did Public Health Professional learn from this experience that may help us during another emergency?

·        Role of public health in emergency preparedness and response

      I.           Harm reduction and benefit promotion

   II.           Equal liberty and human treatments

 III.           Public accountability

·        Mistakes that were made during the world trade center emergency response on 9/11.

Relief agencies had not trained their staff on how to deal with people with disability

They had not trained the general public on how to respond when such big disasters occurred

·        What should have been done differently

They should have acted quickly

·        What public health professionals learnt

The importance of having set diverse strategies and staff.

Step-by-step explanation

·        Role of public health in emergency preparedness and response

Harm reduction and benefit promotion

It should ensure it is ready to deal with the people's liberty, security, and wellbeing by minimizing the extent o deaths or disability in case of an injury.

Equal liberty and human treatments

The preparedness of an emergency should be done about the respect for human rights and dignity.

Public accountability

Its preparedness should be based on inclusive, sustainable, and transparent decision making (LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE WORLD TRADE CENTER DISASTER: , 2004).

·        Mistakes that were made during the world trade center emergency response on 9/11

One of the biggest mistakes is that the relief agencies had not trained their staff on dealing with people with disabilities. Actually, the most ironic thing they started training their team in the middle of the disaster. Additionally, they had not trained the general public on how to respond when such big disasters occurred. The citizens were, therefore, helpless.

·        What should have been done differently

If they had used better information collecting methods, they have gotten the correct numbers who were in the plane and could have acted swiftly. Also, if they performed quicker when they received the information than they did, they would have at least saved hundreds of lives.

·        What did public health professionals learned from this experience that may help us during another emergency?

They learned the importance of having set diverse strategies and plans so as equitable success is achieved. This includes being conversant o disabled equipment for the best possible equitable response.

They learned the importance of training their personnel on diverse issues to respond appropriately to such disasters.