Center for Public Health Preparedness

Influenza A H1N1

 

The Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPH-CPHP) is closely monitoring the AH1N1 influenza outbreak, as well as working with state and local partners to support their response. HSPH-CPHP has initiated the following specific actions in an effort to share information and reinforce the capacity of the local public health system.

 

Training, Dissemination and Technical Assistance 

  • The Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPH-CPHP) sponsors a monthly speaker series on public health preparedness. This year’s lectures will focus almost exclusively on topics related to H1N1. As the inaugural lecturer for this year’s Speaker Series, Dean Julio Frenk of the Harvard School of Public Health spoke to a crowd of over 350 students and practitioners on September 16, 2009 about "The H1N1 Pandemic and Global Health Security". All speaker series events are regularly recorded and archived on the website. Ten of the most pertinent videos to the outbreak are posted on the webpage. http://webapps.sph.harvard.edu/accordentG3/DeansLecture/
  • In order to assist the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) assess and learn from its response to H1N1 influenza, the Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPH-CPHP) is monitoring the state public health system’s response to H1N1 and prepare a draft After Action Report/Improvement Plan (AAR/IP) for MDPH. HSPH-CPHP will then convene a series of “lookback” meetings with a variety of stakeholders to review the response and finalize the AAR/IP.
  • The Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPH-CPHP) is collaborating with the National Association of County and City Health Officials and the national Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) program to assess the effectiveness of MRC unit deployment during flu clinic activities. A toolkit has been developed and published on our website. In 2009-2010, HSPH-CPHP faculty and staff will again conduct site visits and collect data to support this activity.

 

Subject Matter Expertise

  • The Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPH-CPHP) will continue to leverage the expertise of its faculty and staff in support of the local public health system by attending local public health meetings and conference calls, providing content expertise, and assisting with the development of materials and resources.  HSPH-CPHP senior leadership includes professionals who have or currently hold positions in public health practice, and who are directly involved in public health and/or hospital-based activities related to the outbreak and providing expert consultancy where necessary and appropriate. 
  • Dr. Paul Biddinger, MD, FACEP, associate director of the Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPH-CPHP), is currently serving as a subject matter expert for Massachusetts General Hospital, and is a member of the Pandemic Influenza Advisory Committee to the President of Harvard University.
  • The faculty and staff of the Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPH-CPHP) participate in the regular statewide public health conference calls sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health on H1N1 planning and response efforts. 
  • Faculty members of the Harvard Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (PERRC) are working collaboratively with consortia partners to review guidance and develop recommendations on patient flow and surge capacity during H1N1.

 

Enhancing Workforce Capacity

  • To lessen the strain that the situation may have on local public health agencies, the Harvard School of Public Health Center for Public Health Preparedness (HSPH-CPHP) has activated its Student Reserve Corps (SRC) volunteers. HSPH-CPHP leads and coordinates SRC activities, including providing local public health agencies with additional personnel needed during public health events. To date, 75 students have been recruited in the SRC, and a number of them have participated in activities like H1N1 clinics held by local health departments and Community Health Centers throughout the Boston area. 


Public Health Systems Research

  • As part of the Harvard Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (PERRC) Systems Improvement project HSPH and Georgetown University are carrying out a series of studies designed to learn from the public health response to the 2009 A(H1N1) outbreak.  Two critical public health emergency response capabilities will be examined: surveillance and epidemiology and school closings as a public health policy.  Based on this work, a series of presentations at scientific and professional meetings have been scheduled, and publications are being prepared and have been submitted.
  • Faculty member, Dr. K. Vish Viswanath, of the Harvard Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center (PERRC), has recently published a report, “Communication under Uncertainty: Communication Behaviors of Diverse Audiences during A (H1N1) incidence of Spring and Summer 2009”, which examines communication behaviors of citizens during the first wave of H1N1 outbreak in the US. This report is available on the HSPH-CPHP website: http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/hcphp/lamps/lamps-publications/index.html
  • LAMPS faculty and staffed sponsored a symposium on July 24, 2009 focused on ways to identify common barriers in exercises, gather perspectives on challenges in using exercises for evaluation and identify how data from exercises can be used to improve overall strength of public health systems response. During the symposium, Dr. Paul Biddinger led a discussion on the lessons learned from H1N1 and the use of these lessons in exercises.