[COVID-19 pandemic response teams: organization, competencies, and challenges-understanding and using structural...

Germany has a federal state system. Pandemic response teams are key instruments of pandemic management. The aim of this article is to describe the structures and powers of pandemic response teams that were explored during a study on the care of the critically ill and dying in times of a pandemic (PallPan). The focus is on health-related pandemic response teams on the national state level (macrolevel) and federal and community level (mesolevel) as well as pandemic response teams in healthcare facilities (microlevel).

Members of pandemic response teams took part in qualitative semi-structured interviews (October 2020-February 2021). The evaluation was carried out by means of qualitative structuring content analysis.

Forty-two persons reported on 43 crisis teams from 14 federal states. Response teams in healthcare facilities and public administration differ primarily with regard to their competencies. Officially predetermined regulations regarding the initiation, personal composition, tasks, responsibilities, and competencies of pandemic response teams are not predefined in Germany. The macrolevel defined the legal and financial conditions for pandemic management. Meso- and microlevel pandemic response teams bear responsibility for maintaining the provision of healthcare. The defaults of local public health authorities are decisive for the pandemic response team's work. Main tasks and measures were the provision of information and the procurement and distribution of resources.

In terms of preparing for future pandemic situations, the knowledge gained will help to address concerns about maintaining healthcare for specific population groups, such as seriously ill and dying people, to the locally differing responsible bodies, even under pandemic conditions.