title: La Palabre: A New Schema for Global Health.
abstract: The Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa has led to a paradigm shift in the way the global community responds to outbreaks of disease. This new paradigm places even greater emphasis on collaboration in global health. The palabre, the traditional African practice of mediation and decision-making in the public sphere, offers a schema from which to view current and future global health engagement. This process of dialogue and exchange has many applications to global health exemplified recently by the West African Disaster Preparedness Initiative (WADPI), a follow-on activity to the Operation United Assistance (OUA) Ebola Response effort. WADPI, utilizing the structure of a palabre, seeks to catalyze and synergize constructive collaboration to set a foundation for disaster response in West Africa for years to come. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2016;10:541-543).
authors.affiliation: 1Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences,Bethesda,Maryland.
authors.forename: William Patrick
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4731-937X
authors.initials: WP
authors.lastname: Luan
authors.affiliation: 2Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine,Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences,Rockville,Maryland.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Reed
mesh_terms: D000354:Africa, Western; D003142:Communication; D004196:Disease Outbreaks / Q000517:prevention & control*; D014943:Global Health / Q000639:trends*; D019142:Hemorrhagic Fever, Ebola / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D007391:International Cooperation; D015980:Public Health Practice
keywords: disaster medicine; disaster planning; disease outbreaks; emergency preparedness