The Health and Medicine Division (HMD) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (the National Academies)* is searching for experts in the scientific, technical, and medical professions to be considered for a study committee titled “Evidence Based Practices for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response: Assessment and Recommendations for the Field.” The committee will conduct a comprehensive review and grading of public health emergency preparedness and response practices, based on literature and evidence generated since September 11, 2001. Specifically, the committee will:
- Develop the methodology for conducting a comprehensive review of the literature and evidence base for public health preparedness and response practices, including the criteria by which to assess the strength of evidence for specific practices and a tiered grading scheme to be applied in the development of recommendations for evidence-based practices;
- Develop and apply criteria to determine which Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) capabilities and sub-functions defined in the CDC’s Public Health Preparedness Capabilities: National Standards for State and Local Planning should be prioritized for inclusion in the comprehensive review, along with other topics that have emerged as important across multiple capabilities but which are not adequately represented within the current set;
- Identify research regarding preparedness and response practices within the prioritized PHEP capabilities and functions and apply the committee’s evidence review methodology to assess the quality of and summarize the body of evidence regarding effectiveness of these practices;
- Provide conclusions for preparedness and response practices within the prioritized areas that communities and federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local agencies could adopt, based on evidence demonstrating the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of those practices; and
- Provide recommendations for future research needed to address critical gaps in evidence-based preparedness and response practices, including, as appropriate, additional research on promising but not yet proven practices within the prioritized PHEP capabilities and functions, as well as processes needed to improve the overall quality of evidence within the field.
The committees’ report will be sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and addressed to the agency and the broader stakeholder community. Experts in the fields of local, state, and national public health emergency preparedness and response research, public policy, and practice; disaster research; literature review design (e.g. Cochrane review); evaluation and grading of evidence-based practices; public health ethics; and disaster information management are needed for the committee. Suggestions are sought for qualified individuals in all sectors of the scientific and technical community.
Please submit potential candidates for this committee by Friday, October 6. Nominees can be submitted via our online form, or alternatively, submitted directly to preparedness@nas.edu. Please include as much information as you have available about the individuals you are suggesting, including full name, affiliation, and current contact information, as well as your reason(s) for nominating them.
