Which recommendations are considered essential for outbreak preparedness by first responders?

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Healthcare Management
• Infectious Disease Preparedness

Background:

• Effective response to outbreaks hinges on robust healthcare preparedness.
• First responders' perspectives are crucial for identifying essential preparedness measures.
• Understanding urgent needs enhances crisis response capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify key recommendations for high-quality healthcare preparedness from first responders' viewpoints.
• To determine the most urgent preparedness recommendations according to first responders.
• To inform the development of effective outbreak response strategies.

Main Methods:

• A systematic Delphi procedure was employed, involving national and international expert panels.
• Recommendations were extracted from scientific literature and scored for relevance.
• Experts selected the ten most urgent recommendations for crisis preparedness.

Main Results:

• Eighty initial recommendations were narrowed down to 49 key preparedness recommendations by expert panels.
• Discrepancies emerged between panels regarding triage protocols.
• Significant differences were observed in the selection of the ten most urgent recommendations.

Conclusions:

• Infectious disease experts defined critical recommendations for high-quality preparedness.
• Specific recommendations were prioritized for urgent implementation in future crisis preparedness.
• These findings provide a framework for shaping healthcare preparedness activities.