Rapid Response Team Functional Manual Development with the Guatemalan Ministry of Health and Social Assistance Pubblico

Abstract

With the implementation of the 2005 International Health Regulations (IHR), development of public health rapid response teams has come to the forefront of political priorities. In Latin America, as an area of the world subject to nearly every type of natural disaster and several infectious agents, these teams become even more important. At the time the project began, the Guatemalan Ministry of Health and Social Assistance had identified and trained response team personnel for pandemic influenza, but wanted to expand team functions and formalize team member roles for all types of emergencies.

The overarching purpose of the project was to create regional- and district-level public health rapid response team functional manuals to define the response activities of each team member, regardless of the public health emergency, and develop the Standard Operating Procedure for each activity.

A modified version of the U.S. Federal Plan Development Process was used to define the response activities of each team member throughout various phases on an emergency. Once finalized, existing departmental protocols and interviews with subject matter experts were used to develop the Standard Operating Procedure for each response activity.

Two functional manuals were developed - one at the district level, the other at the regional level - complete with background and situational information, exhaustive activity lists for each response team, and Standard Operating Procedures for the majority of activities. Security features were built into each document to ensure the confidentiality of operationally sensitive procedures.

This project employed the use of the modified Federal Plan Development Process for the first time in Latin America. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, through the International Emergency Preparedness Team, has used the process successfully in other countries around the world. With the success of its implementation in Guatemala, this process is potentially a viable option for emergency plan and manual development in other countries throughout the Central America region. However, one of the largest challenges will be to maintain the momentum created during the process in order to foster a culture of emergency preparedness, both within Guatemala and the region as a whole.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

1.0 Introduction............................................................................................................. 1

1.1 Ministry of Health in Guatemala.................................................................................... 2

1.2 Rapid Response Team/Equipo de Respuesta Inmediata...................................................... 2

1.3 US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention - Central America Regional Office (CDC-CAR)... 4

1.4 CDC - International Emergency Preparedness Team (IEPT)................................................ 4

1.5 Problem Statement.................................................................................................... 5

1.6 Project Purpose......................................................................................................... 5

2.0 Background............................................................................................................ 5

2.1 Guatemala................................................................................................................ 5

2.2 International Health Regulations................................................................................... 7

2.3 United States Federal Plan Development Process............................................................ 10

2.4 IEPT Plan Development Process................................................................................... 12

3.0 Methods ............................................................................................................... 13

3.1 Step 1: Mapping the project...................................................................................... 14

3.2 Step 2: Determining activity categories....................................................................... 15

3.3 Step 3: Developing and finalizing the activity list........................................................... 15

3.4 Step 4: Creating SOPs.............................................................................................. 16

3.5 Step 5: Review and Disseminate................................................................................. 19

3.6 IRB Approval........................................................................................................... 20

4.0 Results ................................................................................................................. 20

4.1 RRT Objectives........................................................................................................ 21

4.2 Activity Lists........................................................................................................... 21

4.3 Standard Operating Procedures................................................................................... 22

4.4 Annexes................................................................................................................. 23

5.0 Discussion, Recommendations and Conclusion ......................................................... 24

5.1 Recommendations and Next Steps............................................................................... 24

5.2 Limitations.............................................................................................................. 25

5.3 The Future of Emergency Preparedness in Central America............................................... 26

References................................................................................................................. 27

Appendix A: Acronyms.................................................................................................... 29

Appendix B: Final Activity List - ERI-Distrital....................................................................... 30

Appendix C: Final Activity List - ERI-DAS............................................................................ 36

Appendix D: Example SOP................................................................................................ 42

Appendix E: Sample Contact Information Form..................................................................... 43

Appendix F: Sample Resource Tracking Form........................................................................ 44

List of Tables

Table 1: Public health emergency response mechanism indicator progress scale...........................9

Table 2: Projected Project Schedule...................................................................................14

Table 3: Standard Operating Procedure Template..................................................................17

Table 4: Sample of Final Activity List .................................................................................22

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Hubert Department of Global Health
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Health Sciences, Public Health
Parola chiave	Rapid Response Teams Latin America Emergency Preparedness
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Martel, Lise , Emory University
Committee Members	Andes, Karen, Emory University
Partnering Agencies	Emory University schools, faculty or affiliated programs Non-US governmental agency (e.g., Minister of Health in Haiti) CDC

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