Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-25T14:23:38.366Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Enhancing Crisis Leadership in Public Health Emergencies

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 September 2013

Scott Deitchman
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Reviews of public health emergency responses have identified a need for crisis leadership skills in health leaders, but these skills are not routinely taught in public health curricula. To develop criteria for crisis leadership in public health, published sources were reviewed to identify attributes of successful crisis leadership in aviation, public safety, military operations, and mining. These sources were abstracted to identify crisis leadership attributes associated with those disciplines and compare those attributes with crisis leadership challenges in public health. Based on this review, the following attributes are proposed for crisis leadership in public health: competence in public health science; decisiveness with flexibility; ability to maintain situational awareness and provide situational assessment; ability to coordinate diverse participants across very different disciplines; communication skills; and the ability to inspire trust. Of these attributes, only competence in public health science is currently a goal of public health education. Strategies to teach the other proposed attributes of crisis leadership will better prepare public health leaders to meet the challenges of public health crises. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2013;0:1–7)

Keywords

crisis leadershipdisaster planningemergency managementleadershippublic health
Type
Commentary
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 7 , Issue 5 , October 2013 , pp. 534 - 540
Copyright
Copyright © Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc. This is a work of the U.S. Government and is not subject to copyright protection in the United States. 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Noji, EK. The nature of disaster: general characteristics and public health effects. In: Noji EK, ed. The Public Health Consequences of Disasters. New York: Oxford University Press; 1997:3-20.Google Scholar
2.Khan, AS, Morse, S, Lillibridge, S. Public-health preparedness for biological terrorism in the USA. Lancet. 2000;356:1179-1182.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3.Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biological and chemical terrorism: strategic plan for preparedness and response. Recommendations of the CDC Strategic Planning Workgroup. MMWR. 2000;49(No. RR-4):1-14.Google Scholar
4.Lurie, N, Wasserman, J, Nelson, CD. Public health preparedness: evolution or revolution? Health Aff (Millwoood). 2006;25:935-945.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Inglesby, TV, Grossman, R, O'Toole, T. A plague on your city: observations from TOPOFF. Clin Infect Dis. 2001;32:436-445.Google ScholarPubMed
6.Gursky, E, Inglesby, TV, O'Toole, T. Anthrax 2001: observations on the medical and public health response. Biosecur Bioterror. 2003;1(2):97-110.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
7.General Accounting Office. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Agency Leadership Taking Steps to Improve Management and Planning, but Challenges Remain. Washington, DC: General Accounting Office; 2004: 18. GAO-04-219.Google Scholar
8.Abramson, D, Redlener, I. Hurricane Sandy: lessons learned, again. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2012;6:328-329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Thirion, X, Debensason, D, Delarozière, JC, San Marco, JL. August 2003: reflections on a French summer disaster. J Contingencies Crisis Manag. 2005;13(4):153-158.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
10.White House. Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office; 2003.Google Scholar
11.National Incident Management System. Washington, DC: Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, December 2008: 3. FEMA Publication P-501 (Cat # 08336-1).Google Scholar
12.Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response; March 2011:30. http://www.cdc.gov/phpr/capabilities/index.htm. Accessed October 24, 2011.Google Scholar
13.The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. Washington, DC: The White House; 2006:73.Google Scholar
14.General Accounting Office. Influenza Pandemic: Lessons from the H1N1 Pandemic Should Be Incorporated into Future Planning. Washington, DC: General Accounting Office; June 2011. GAO-11-632.Google Scholar
15. Rosenthal, Charles, and t'Hart, cited in Boin A. Lessons from crisis research. Int Studies Rev. 2004;6:165-194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Calhoun, JG, Ramiah, K, Weist, EM, Shortell, SM. Development of a core competency model for the master of public health degree. Am J Public Health. 2008;98:1598-1607.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Bioterrorism & Emergency Readiness: Competencies for All Public Health Workers. New York, New York: Columbia University School of Nursing Center for Health Policy; 2002:6-8.Google Scholar
18.Gebbie, K, Merrill, J. Public health worker competencies for emergency response. J Public Health Manag Pract. 2002;8:73-81.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
19.Savoia, E, Testa, MA, Biddinger, PD, etal. Assessing public health capabilities during emergency preparedness tabletop exercises: reliability and validity of a measurement tool. Public Health Rep. 2009;124:138-148.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.Markenson, D, DiMaggio, C, Redlener, I. Preparing health professions students for terrorism, disaster, and public health emergencies: core competencies. Acad Med. 2005;80:517-526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Subbarao, I, Lyznicki, JM, Hsu, EB, etal. A consensus-based educational framework and competency set for the discipline of disaster medicine and public health preparedness. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2008;2:57-68.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
22.James, JJ, Benjamin, GC, Burkle, FM, etal. Disaster medicine and public health preparedness: a discipline for all health professionals. Disaster Med Public Health Prep. 2010;4(2):102-107.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Kohn, S, Barnett, DH, Galastri, C, etal. Public health-specific National Incident Management System trainings: building a system for preparedness. Public Health Rep. 2010;125(suppl 5):43-50.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
24.Lagadec, P. Preventing Chaos in a Crisis: Strategies for Prevention, Control and Damage Limitation. New York, New York: McGraw Hill; 1993:3.Google Scholar
25.Chidchester, TR, Kanki, BG, Foushee, HC, etal. Personality Factors in Flight Operations: Leader Characteristics and Crew Performance in a Full-Mission Air Transport Simulation. Houston, Texas: NASA Technical Memorandum 102259, April 1990; vol 1.Google Scholar
26.Bowles, S, Ursin, H, Picano, J. Aircrew perceived stress: examining crew performance, crew position, and captains personality. Aviat Space Environ Med. 2000;71(11):1093-1097.Google ScholarPubMed
27.Helmreich, RL, Merritt, AC, Wilhelm, JA. The evolution of crew resource management training in commercial aviation. Int J Aviat Psychol. 1999;9(1):19-32.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
28.Kolditz, TA. The in extremis leader. In: LeBoeuf J, Kolditz TA, Crandall D, et al, eds. Leader to Leader, Leadership Breakthroughs from West Point: A Special Supplement. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; 2005:6-18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
29.Crichton, M, Flin, R. Command decision making. In: Flin R, Arbuthnot K, eds. Incident Command: Tales from the Hot Seat. Aldershot, United Kingdom: Ashgate Publishing Ltd; 2002:201-238.Google Scholar
30.Crichton, MT, Flin, R. Identifying and training non-technical skills of nuclear emergency response teams. Ann Nuclear Energy. 2004:1317-1330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
31.Vaught, C, Brnich, MJ, Mallett, LG, etal. Behavioral and Organizational Dimensions of Underground Mine Fires. Pittsburg, Pennsylvania: US Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health; May 2000:166-193.Google Scholar
32.Safety Regulation Group. Flight Crew Training: Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) and Line Oriented Flight Training (LOFT) (CAP 720). Middlesex, England: Civil Aviation Authority; 2002.Google Scholar
33.Marcus, LJ, Dorn, BC, Henderson, JM. Meta-leadership and national emergency preparedness: a model to build government connectivity. Biosecur Bioterror. 2006;4(2):128-134.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
34.Drechsler, D, Allen, CD. Why senior military leaders fail. Armed Forces J. 2009(July):34-37,44-45.Google Scholar
35.Heifetz, RA, Linsky, M. Leadership on the Line. Boston: Harvard Business School Press; 2002:227.Google Scholar
36.Leonard, HB, Howitt, AM. ‘Routine’ or ‘crisis’ – the search for excellence. Crisis Response. 2008;4(3):32-35.Google Scholar
37.Kizer, KW. Lessons learned in public health emergency management: personal reflections. Prehosp Disaster Med. 2000;15(4):209-214.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
38.Driskell, JE, Adams, RJ. Crew Resource Management: An Introductory Handbook. Washington, DC: Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration; 1992. DOT/FAA/RD-92/26.Google Scholar
39.Haynes, A. The Crash of United Flight 232. Edwards, California: NASA Ames Research Center, Dryden Flight Research Facility; May 24, 1991. http://clear-prop.org/aviation/haynes.html. Accessed November 28, 2011.Google Scholar
40.Labadie, J. Problems in local emergency management. Environ Manage. 1984;8:489-494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
41.Somer, S, Svara, J. Assessing and managing environmental risk: connecting local government management with emergency management. Public Adm Rev. 2009;69:181-193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
42.Public Health Preparedness and Response Core Competency Model, version 1.0. Washington DC: Association of Schools of Public Health, December 2010. http://www.asph.org/document.cfm?page=1081. Accessed March 28, 2011.Google Scholar
43.Salas, E, Cannon-Bowers, JA, Weaver, J. Command and control teams: principles for training and assessment. In: Flin R, Arbuthnot K, eds. Incident Command: Tales from the Hot Seat. Aldershot, England: Ashgate Publishing Ltd; 2002:239-257.Google Scholar
44.Franke, V. Decision-making under uncertainty: using case studies for teaching strategy in complex environments. J Milit Strategic Studies. 2011;13:1-21.Google Scholar
45.Stern, E, Sundelius, B. Crisis management Europe: an integrated regional research and training program. Int Studies Perspect. 2002;3:71-88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
46.IS-139 Exercise Design, unit 11. Washington, DC: Federal Emergency Management Agency, Emergency Management Institute; January 29, 2013. http://www.training.fema.gov/EMIWEB/downloads/is139Unit11.doc. Accessed December 7, 2011.Google Scholar
47.Dausey, DJ, Buehler, JW, Lurie, N. Designing and conducting tabletop exercises to assess public health preparedness for manmade and naturally occurring biological threats. BMC Public Health. 2007;7:1-9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
48.Gaba, DM, Howard, SK, Fish, KJ, Smith, BE, Sowb, YA. Simulation-based training in anesthesia crisis resource management (ACRM): a decade of experience. Simulation Gaming. 2001;32(2):175-193.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
49.Heinrichs, WL, Youngblood, P, Harter, PM, Dev, P. Simulation for team training and assessment: case studies of online training with virtual worlds. World J Surg. 2008;32:161-170.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
50.McAlinden, R, Gordon, AS, Lane, HC, Pynadath, D. UrbanSim: a game-based simulation for counterinsurgency and stability-focused operations. In: Craig S, Dicheva D, eds. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence in Education, AIED 2009, July 6-10, 2009. Brighton, United Kingdom: IOS Press; 2009;3:41-50.Google Scholar
51.Harvey, J. Role-playing simulation environment. Collins Center Update. 2008;11:2-3.Google Scholar
52.The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina: Lessons Learned. Washington, DC: The White House; 2006:72.Google Scholar