Papers by Frederick John B Abo
In recent years, the Asia Pacific region has experienced a spate of crises that have brought unto... more In recent years, the Asia Pacific region has experienced a spate of crises that have brought untold misery to large sections of the populace. Two types of crises have received the most attention in the region in the past few years because of their adverse impact-natural disasters (the Asian Tsunami and earthquake in Kashmir) and public health emergencies (SARS and Avian Flu). 2 Although natural disasters cannot be prevented, their adverse impact can be mitigated through effective risk communication. Likewise, effective risk communication can help avert or mitigate the adverse impact of public health crises. This chapter focuses on the use of ICTs in risk communication to help avert or mitigate the adverse impact of natural disasters and public health emergencies in the Asia Pacific region. Risk communication Lerbinger (1997) referred to risk as the 'probability that death, injury, illness, property damage… will stem from a hazard' (p. 267). In this chapter, the term crisis is used as a synonym for hazard. Seymour and Moore (2000) defined risk as 'the sensitive task of dealing with a latent or slowly advancing crisis before it breaks in full force' (p. 17). Fearn-Banks (1996) saw risk communication as 'an ongoing program of informing and educating various publics about issues that can affect… [them]' (p. 13). Simply put, risks often are precursors to crises. A lack of, or inadequate, risk management may lead to a crisis with grave consequences. It is wiser to avoid a crisis, which requires that we pay attention to risk management. Effective risk communication underpins robust risk management. In essence, effective risk communication is often the best way to avert a crisis. The importance of risk communication has received international recognition at the highest levels. Coordinating risk communication was one of three 'key policy areas for immediate attention' identified by the international meeting of health ministers held in
Frontiers in Public Health
BackgroundCOVID-19 underscored the importance of building resilient health systems and hospitals.... more BackgroundCOVID-19 underscored the importance of building resilient health systems and hospitals. Nevertheless, evidence on hospital resilience is limited without consensus on the concept, its application, or measurement, with practical guidance needed for action at the facility-level.AimThis study establishes a baseline for understanding hospital resilience, exploring its 1) conceptualization, 2) operationalization, and 3) evaluation in the empirical literature.MethodsFollowing Arksey and O'Malley's model, a scoping review was conducted, and a total of 38 articles were included for final extraction.Findings and discussionIn this review, hospital resilience is conceptualized by its components, capacities, and outcomes. The interdependence of six components (1) space, 2) stuff, 3) staff, 4) systems, 5) strategies, and 6) services) influences hospital resilience. Resilient hospitals must absorb, adapt, transform, and learn, utilizing all these capacities, sometimes simultaneou...
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Papers by Frederick John B Abo