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Measures of effectiveness in large-scale bioterrorism events
1Biosecurity and Health Preparedness Expansion Grant, University of Texas at Houston, USA. Fburkle@jhsph.edu
Prehospital and Disaster Medicine
|May 15, 2004
Summary
Effective bioterrorism response management lacks clear measures of effectiveness (MOEs). This study proposes essential MOEs for evaluating public health surveillance, health information systems, and mortality and morbidity rates.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Emergency Management
- Biosecurity
Background:
- Measures of effectiveness (MOEs) are crucial for evaluating management performance.
- Current MOEs are insufficient for assessing bioterrorism response success.
- Bioterrorism response management is inherently multi-agency and multi-disciplinary.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify essential measures of effectiveness (MOEs) for bioterrorism response.
- To propose a framework for evaluating the success of bioterrorism management strategies.
Main Methods:
- Literature review and expert consensus on defining critical MOEs.
- Analysis of key performance indicators for public health and emergency response.
Main Results:
- Six minimum MOEs are proposed: real-time surveillance, comprehensive health information, timeline variance measurement, reduced mortality/morbidity, controlled transmission, and equitable resource distribution.
- These MOEs provide an operational framework for measuring bioterrorism response outcomes.
Conclusions:
- Establishing clear MOEs is vital for effective bioterrorism response.
- The proposed MOEs enable objective evaluation of response capacity and outcomes.
- Implementing these measures will enhance preparedness and management of public health emergencies.
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