Emergency management pandemic planning: An analysis of state emergency plans

Amanda Savitt, PhD; Logan Gerber-Chavez, MS; Samantha Montano, PhD; Tanya Corbin, PhD

doi:10.5055/jem.0667

Authors

Amanda Savitt, PhD https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1994-6774
Logan Gerber-Chavez, MS
Samantha Montano, PhD
Tanya Corbin, PhD

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.0667

Keywords:

emergency management, preparedness, public health, pandemic, planning, COVID-19, response

Abstract

Conventional wisdom holds that pre-event planning is a key factor in effective disaster response. In assessing the response to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is necessary to evaluate the extent to which emergency management agencies were prepared to respond to a pandemic, particularly given the unusual nature of this event, ie, scope, scale, and length of response. While emergency management agencies at every level of government have been involved in the COVID-19 response, state-level governments have taken on a prominent and atypical leadership role. This study assesses the extent and role that emergency management agencies planned for a pandemic scenario. Understanding the extent to which state-level emergency management agencies planned for an event like the COVID-19 pandemic and what they anticipated their roles to provide insight for future revisions in pandemic planning. This study addresses two related research questions: RQ 1: To what extent did state-level emergency management agencies account for a pandemic in emergency management response plans prior to COVID-19? RQ 2: What was the planned role of state-level emergency management agencies in the response to a pandemic? An analysis of state-level emergency management plans found that, although all states with available emergency management response plans included pandemics, there was significant variation in the extent of the inclusion, and the role prescribed for emergency management. Public health and emergency management response plans were congruent with respect to the planned role of emergency management.

Author Biographies

Amanda Savitt, PhD

Emergency Management, North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota

Logan Gerber-Chavez, MS

Disaster Research Center, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware

Samantha Montano, PhD

Cofounder, Center for Climate Adaptation Research, Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts

Tanya Corbin, PhD

Security and Emergency Services, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Worldwide, Daytona Beach, Florida

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