The European experience with testing and surveillance during the first phase of the Covid-19 pandemic
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19535046 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael A Stoto (0000-0001-8293-471X, Harvard University, corresponding author), Chiara Reno (0000-0002-7933-2141, Scuola Superiore Sant'Anna), Svetla Tsolova (0000-0003-1359-2503, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control), Maria Pia Fantini (0000-0002-3257-6552, University of Bologna) |
| Year | 2023 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 51-51 |
| Publication date | 2023-07-21 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Globalization and Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1744-8603 • E-ISSN: 1744-8603 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1186/s12992-023-00950-9 |
| PMID | 37480125 |
| OpenAlex | W4385064845 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 15 |
BACKGROUND: COVID-19 pandemic provides a unique opportunity to learn the challenges encountered by public health emergency preparedness systems, both in terms of problems encountered and adaptations during and after the first wave, as well as successful responses to them. RESULTS: This work draws on published literature, interviews with countries and institutional documents as part of a European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control project that aims to identify the implications for preparedness measurement derived from COVID-19 pandemic experience in order to advance future preparedness efforts in European Union member states. The analysis focused on testing and surveillance themes and five countries were considered, namely Italy, Germany, Finland, Spain and Croatia. Our analysis shown that a country's ability to conduct testing at scale was critical, especially early in the pandemic, and the inability to scale up testing operations created critical issues for public health operations such as contact tracing. Countries were required to develop new strategies, approaches, and policies under pressure and to review and revise them as the pandemic evolved, also considering that public health systems operate at the national, regional, and local level with respect to testing, contact tracing, and surveillance, and involve both government agencies as well as private organizations. Therefore, communication among multiple public and private entities at all levels and coordination of the testing and surveillance activities was critical. CONCLUSION: With regard to testing and surveillance, three capabilities that were essential to the COVID-19 response in the first phase, and presumably in other public health emergencies: the ability to scale-up testing, contact tracing, surveillance efforts; flexibility to develop new strategies, approaches, and policies under pressure and to review and revise them as the pandemic evolved; and the ability to coordinate and communicate in complex public health systems that operate at the national, regional, and local level with respect and involve multiple government agencies as well as private organizations
2019-20 coronavirus outbreak · Health services research · Pandemic · Pathology · Political science · Public health · Social policy · COVID-19 Digital Contact Tracing · COVID-19 epidemiological studies · Data-Driven Disease Surveillance · Law · Medicine · Nursing · Virology
| Unique citing works | 2 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 2 |