The Concept and Scope of Resilience Against Infectious Disease Outbreaks

Resilience is widely discussed and applied across multiple disciplines, with its concept having evolved in the field of hazards and disasters over recent decades. However, there remains a lack of a resilience concept specifically applicable to infectious disease outbreaks, which can lead to misidentification of key issues in outbreak prevention and control, hindering the effective application of this concept. This study aims to provide a clear definition of resilience against infectious disease outbreaks. Building on the fundamental meaning of resilience and its application to hazards and disasters, the research has identified and developed several essential elements for resilience against infectious disease outbreaks by comparing infectious diseases with other types of natural hazards. This study then proposes that resilience against infectious disease outbreaks is the capacity to effectively prevent, detect, respond to, and control outbreaks without seriously affecting essential functions of health and social systems, which could be measured by the intensity of infectious diseases that an area can effectively manage. The concept and scope of resilience proposed in this study provide a valuable framework for improving regional capacity to better prepare for potential epidemic and pandemic threats in the future.