Response to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza in Australia - lessons from a State health department perspective.
This article reviews the lessons that can be learned by the health sector, in particular, and the public sector, more generally, from the governmental response to pandemic (H1N1) 2009 influenza A (pH1N1) in Australia during 2009. It covers the period from the emergence of the epidemic to the release of the vaccine, and describes a range of impacts on the Western Australian health system, the government sector and the community. There are three main themes considered from a State government agency perspective: how decisions were influenced by prior planning; how the decision making and communication processes were intimately linked; and the interdependent roles of States and the Commonwealth Government in national programs. We conclude that: (a) communications were generally effective, but need to be improved and better coordinated between the Australian Government, States and general practice; (b) decision making was appropriately flexible, but there needs to be better alignment with expert advice, and consideration of the need for a national disease control agency in Australia; and (c) national funding arrangements need to fit with the model of state-based service delivery and to support critical workforce needs for surge capacity, as well as stockpile and infrastructure requirements.
Public Health Division, Department of Health, Government of Western Australia, 189 Royal Street, East Perth, WA 6004, Australia. tarun.weeramanthri@health.wa.gov.au
Tarun S
TS
Weeramanthri
Andrew G
AG
Robertson
Gary K
GK
Dowse
Paul V
PV
Effler
Muriel G
MG
Leclercq
Jeremy D
JD
Burtenshaw
Susan J
SJ
Oldham
David W
DW
Smith
Kathryn J
KJ
Gatti
Helen M
HM
Gladstones
D001315:Australia / Q000453:epidemiology; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000191:economics / Q000517:prevention & control*; D035082:Federal Government; D006285:Health Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D053118:Influenza A Virus, H1N1 Subtype; D007252:Influenza Vaccines / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000600:supply & distribution; D007251:Influenza, Human / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000821:virology; D007373:Interinstitutional Relations; D013219:State Government; D055872:Surge Capacity / Q000458:organization & administration; D014904:Western Australia / Q000453:epidemiology
D007252:Influenza Vaccines