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How can we strengthen partnership and coordination for health system emergency preparedness and response? Findings from a synthesis of experience across countries facing shocks

Coordination
Governance
International
Peer-reviewed papers
2022

Download this BMC Health Services Research paper here. [opens new tab]

Discussions of health system resilience and emergency management often highlight the importance of coordination and partnership across government and with other stakeholders. However, both coordination and partnership have been identified as areas requiring further research. This paper identifies characteristics and enablers of effective coordination for emergency preparedness and response, drawing on experience from different countries with a range of shocks, including floods, drought, and COVID-19.

Methodology

The paper synthesises evidence from a set of reports related to research, evaluation and technical assistance projects, bringing together evidence from 11 countries in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Methods for the original reports included primary data collection through interviews, focus groups and workshop discussions, analysis of secondary data, and document review. Reports were synthesised using a coding framework, and quality of evidence was considered for reliability of the findings

Findings

The reports highlighted the role played by coordination and partnership in preparedness and response, and identified four key areas that characterise and enable effective coordination.

  • Coordination needs to be inclusive
  • Structural aspects of coordination bodies are important, including availability of coordination structures and regular meeting fora
  • Organisations responsible for coordination require sufficient capacity, including staff, funding, communication infrastructure and other resources
  • Effective coordination is supported by high-level political leadership and incentives for collaboration.

Further information

There’s more on the background to this study and associated outputs in our projects section.

Authors

Kate Gooding 1, Maria Paola Bertone 2, Giulia Loffreda 2 and Sophie Witter 2

1  ReBUILD for Resilience and Oxford Policy Management
2 ReBUILD for Resilience & Institute for Global Health and Development, Queen Margaret University

Cite this article

Gooding, K., Bertone, M.P., Loffreda, G. et al. How can we strengthen partnership and coordination for health system emergency preparedness and response? Findings from a synthesis of experience across countries facing shocks. BMC Health Serv Res 22, 1441 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08859-6

 

Download this BMC Health Services Research paper here. [opens new tab]

 

Image: Fight Against COVID-19 @ Jangamakote Village, India – Trinity Care Foundation via Flickr [opens new tab]

Coordination (1)
Partnership (1)
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