This field manual is an updated edition of the publication 'Protocol for assessment of health facilities responding to emergencies' (1999). It provides a management tool for health professionals evaluating the preparedness of their health facilities for dealing with disasters, and it contains three main sections: a questionnaire presented in a checklist format for capacity assessment; aspects of preparedness relating to structural and non-structural vulnerability, functions and human resources; and preparedness for specific emergencies relating to industrial sectors and contamination, infectious disease outbreaks and biological, chemical and radiological emergencies.

This handbook is developed with the aim of supporting healthcare facilities to minimize disruption and ultimately increase the resilience of health services during public health emergencies. It supports the development of service continuity plans in PHE context by outlining the procedures and key elements to be considered for planning including a planning template. By nature, the utility of this handbook is not specific to a specific emergency response. It underpins a preparedness and proactive approach towards managing various public health emergency risks for which the health services should be prepared before they occur or disrupt health services. The intended audiences for this interim handbook are health facilities and services managers, health workers and health authorities with responsibilities to plan and coordinate emergency management and service continuity operations among health facilities. These users can apply this handbook in: - enhancing awareness on the necessity of service continuity planning and the associated requirements; - reviewing and updating their existing service continuity plans and other arrangements for health services continuity; - developing service continuity plans if there are none for their health facilities. This interim version will be updated as required based on lessons from its application in countries.

This book provides a collection of ten protocols for conducting rapid health assessments in the immediate aftermath of different types of emergencies. Noting the vital importance of rapid and accurate information in the earliest stage of an emergency, the protocols respond to the urgent need for common standardized technical tools for assessing damage, gauging health risks, and gathering the information immediately needed by decision-makers at the national and international level. The protocols were prepared by WHO in collaboration with a large number of international agencies and experts with broad experience in the field of emergency management. Although all protocols follow a common format, each is specific to the circumstances, potential hazards, and immediate information needs that characterize a distinct type of emergency. Emphasis is placed on the exact information needed, the best sources of data and methods for rapid collection, and the specific questions that need to be answered in order to draw initial conclusions and direct immediate actions. Although the advantages of using experienced assessments teams are stressed, the book also explains how the protocols can be used to train general health workers as part of emergency preparedness. The book opens with an introductory protocol covering the aims and methods, responsibilities, complexities, and inherent difficulties of rapid health assessments. Addressed to health authorities as well as assessment teams, the chapter also includes abundant advice on preparedness for emergencies. Details range from the comparative need for speed in different types of emergencies, through a suggested format for presenting the results of assessments, to a list of common logistic, organizational, and technical errors. Advice on the best working practices, including ways to avoid being an "emergency tourist", is also provided. Against this background, the additional nine protocols are presented according to a common format which covers the purpose of the assessment, preparedness, the steps to follow during the assessment, assessing the impact on health, assessing local response capacity and immediate needs, and presenting results. A general protocol on epidemics of infectious origin is followed by protocols specific to meningitis outbreaks, outbreaks of viral haemorrhagic fever, including yellow fever, and outbreaks of acute diarrhoeal disease, with information specific to dysentery and cholera. Sudden-impact natural disasters are covered in the next protocol, which includes a day-by-day list of information priorities for different stages of the disaster. A protocol dealing with sudden population displacements offers guidelines for conducting rapid health assessments in all emergencies caused by sudden displacement of refugees or population groups within a country. Included are a sample checklist for rapid assessments and a sample form for weekly reports on morbidity and mortality. Subsequent protocols deal with the special situations of nutritional emergencies and chemical emergencies, including those caused by food contaminated with chemicals or toxins. The final protocol addresses the difficult task of conducting assessments in complex emergencies in which the cause of the emergency, as well as the assistance to the afflicted, is complicated by intense levels of political considerations. The protocol includes a form which has recently been used for rapid health assessment at local level in Bosnia and Herzegovnia. The book concludes with a brief summary of survey techniques, followed by a tabular presentation of reference values for assessing needs, hazards, and logistic requirements in developing countries.

"Each year, disasters of varying severity occur in the Region of the Americas. In some cases, these events overwhelm the response capacity of the countries affected, and require the assistance of international disaster experts. To address these situations and at the request of Ministers of Health in the Region, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) established a Regional Disaster Response Team (RDRT) to assist countries with emergency and disaster response. The Team carries out rapid damage and needs assessments, cooperates in emergency response coordination, and advises PAHO/WHO authorities and their national counterparts about decisions to be taken in response to the emergency. In addition, the Team helps to activate the health sector, laying the groundwork for the health cluster, a mechanism established as part of the United Nations Humanitarian Reform process. This practical manual describes how the Response Team is mobilized, and objectives and responsibilities of the Team during different phases of an emergency. It also gives guidelines on mobilizing resources. The manual includes forms and checklists that can be used for health services, emergency shelters, water and sanitation, epidemiologic surveillance, damage and needs assessment, and mental health, among other areas. This material is useful for gathering and analyzing the information needed for making decisions about effective response. The Manual for the Regional Disaster Response Team is a tool that will assist PAHO/WHO Representatives and their national counterparts to make better assessments when facing emergency or disaster situations."--Page 1.

Disasters and public health emergencies can stress health care systems to the breaking point and disrupt delivery of vital medical services. During such crises, hospitals and long-term care facilities may be without power; trained staff, ambulances, medical supplies and beds could be in short supply; and alternate care facilities may need to be used. Planning for these situations is necessary to provide the best possible health care during a crisis and, if needed, equitably allocate scarce resources. Crisis Standards of Care: A Toolkit for Indicators and Triggers examines indicators and triggers that guide the implementation of crisis standards of care and provides a discussion toolkit to help stakeholders establish indicators and triggers for their own communities. Together, indicators and triggers help guide operational decision making about providing care during public health and medical emergencies and disasters. Indicators and triggers represent the information and actions taken at specific thresholds that guide incident recognition, response, and recovery. This report discusses indicators and triggers for both a slow onset scenario, such as pandemic influenza, and a no-notice scenario, such as an earthquake. Crisis Standards of Care features discussion toolkits customized to help various stakeholders develop indicators and triggers for their own organizations, agencies, and jurisdictions. The toolkit contains scenarios, key questions, and examples of indicators, triggers, and tactics to help promote discussion. In addition to common elements designed to facilitate integrated planning, the toolkit contains chapters specifically customized for emergency management, public health, emergency medical services, hospital and acute care, and out-of-hospital care.

Meant to aid State & local emergency managers in their efforts to develop & maintain a viable all-hazard emergency operations plan. This guide clarifies the preparedness, response, & short-term recovery planning elements that warrant inclusion in emergency operations plans. It offers the best judgment & recommendations on how to deal with the entire planning process -- from forming a planning team to writing the plan. Specific topics of discussion include: preliminary considerations, the planning process, emergency operations plan format, basic plan content, functional annex content, hazard-unique planning, & linking Federal & State operations.