Public health emergency response coordination: putting the plan into practice

Abstract

Insufficient specifications about public health emergency coordination involving government entities have been criticized as a contributing factor in managerial and institutional shortcomings. In response, this study analyzed the coordination plan and actions taken during the 2015 Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV) outbreak in South Korea. Using network data, we found a low congruence between the planned response coordination networks and those carried out. This result was observed for two reasons. First, unrealized or newly emerging relationships among planned actors contributed to the low congruence. Second, the response plan overlooked the role and relationships of several intermediary actors between the local and national actors in the government system. The broad implication is that public health emergency preparedness and response agencies may be cognizant of the neglected areas in drawing the boundaries between-and the relationships of-core and emergent actors in emergency planning.