Lessons on Public Health Preparedness
Dont Look Up is a story about two astronomers who attempt to caution the world of a comet that is likely to crash on and destroy the planet. While people can know the truth by looking up, they did not believe the two astronomers and seemingly denied science (McKay, 2021). This resulted in inaction due to partisan blindness and extremist politics. The movie, which has received criticism on various grounds, provides significant insights regarding public health and emergency preparedness/response. As evident in the movie, public health and emergency preparedness/response could help people deal with realities facing them and avert a crisis. According to Katz & Banaski (2019), public health and emergency preparedness/response entail thinking about, preparing for, and mobilizing resources to tackle public health emergencies. This process incorporates various activities including comprehensive planning, training, communication,...
As evident in the movie, the failure by relevant stakeholders to engage in public health and emergency preparedness/response is akin to averting their eyes from realities facing them and the entire public. This implies that public health and emergency preparedness/response is a means through...
…plans require the involvement of all stakeholders given their distinctive roles in public health and emergency preparedness and response. As noted by Katz & Banaski (2019), some of the stakeholders include the
private sector, state and local governments, the
federal government,
academia, and international organizations. As various stakeholders are involved in creating emergency preparedness and response plans, they leverage the expertise and strengths of each other. This contributes to effective collaboration and coordination of activities in the prevention and mitigation of public health risks and other emergencies. When the various stakeholders are not involved, it is difficult to create and implement…
