Emergency preparedness and health system resilience assessment tool: development and initial validation

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Health Systems Strengthening
• Emergency Preparedness

Background:

• The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region faces significant health challenges, exacerbated by pandemics like COVID-19 and climate change.
• There is a critical need for robust health systems capable of withstanding and responding to diverse global health threats.
• Existing assessment tools may not adequately address the unique context of the MENA region.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel tool for assessing health system resilience and emergency preparedness and response capabilities.
• To articulate the specific value and applicability of this tool within the MENA region.
• To provide a comprehensive and engaging approach to self-evaluating health system strengths and weaknesses.

Main Methods:

• The tool was developed through a three-step process: defining purpose and scope, generating and refining items, and validating content and face validity within the MENA context.
• The Health System Resiliency Analysis Framework served as the guiding structure for tool development.
• A mixed-methods approach using quantitative and qualitative indicators was employed for assessment.

Main Results:

• The tool offers an adaptable self-assessment of health system resilience via a multisectoral platform promoting continuous improvement.
• It is designed to generate practical, actionable priorities for all levels of health system management.
• The tool comprises five core components (financing, governance, resources, data, and context) with 22 subcomponents and 99 indicators, yielding a maturity score for each.

Conclusions:

• The developed tool addresses limitations of current assessment instruments for health system resilience.
• It provides a framework for identifying areas needing improvement in emergency preparedness and response.
• Further real-world implementation and contributions are encouraged to refine and validate the tool globally.