Pandemic Playbook Posts

The Pandemic Playbook is currently under construction. New content, format and organization will continue to be created and refined.

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Loud and Clear: Combatting Biases in Communicating Risk

Aug 17, 2020
6 min

Loud and Clear: Combatting Biases in Communicating Risk

As many parts of the world are in stages of reopening, there are varying attitudes concerning individual and societal risk. The issue of communicating risk to the population is difficult on several levels: many are growing accustomed to the new state of being, are doubtful of the risk to themselves or simply do not have the means to take the precautions. There are several psychological phenomena that are at the heart of many of the decisions being made concerning personal ris

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Behind the Curve: Understanding and Preparing for Exponential Growth

Aug 7, 2020
3 min

Behind the Curve: Understanding and Preparing for Exponential Growth

Following the growth of the pandemic is absolutely essential for those charged with the task of planning for the future of their communities. This role can include but is not exclusive to government officials, hospital administrative workers, health care providers, school administrators and individuals who want to track the daily growth of the pandemic. Difficulties in understanding timing particularly arise due to the logarithmic models behind epidemiology, especially expone

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Sustenance of Hand and Respiratory Hygiene Behaviors

Jul 24, 2020
5 min

Sustenance of Hand and Respiratory Hygiene Behaviors

It is not just COVID19, but respiratory infections like tuberculosis have long been the leading cause of illness, morbidity, and mortality across the world. The burden of respiratory tract infections has been estimated to contribute to more than four million deaths per year, with influenza infections accounting for an additional 250,000 to 500,000 deaths per year and a cost in the range of billions of dollars per year. Hygiene behaviors like cough etiquette and hand-washing h

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Designing Healthcare Spaces for the Next Pandemic

Jul 14, 2020
4 min

Designing Healthcare Spaces for the Next Pandemic

COVID-19 pandemic has put such demands on the modern healthcare system that it has never had to deal with. This experience is likely to profoundly transform the system and people's health attitudes and practices. While a large part of healthcare services may be delivered virtually or through community outreach in the future, healthcare facilities are also likely to undergo a massive transformation. The pandemic has exposed the inadequacies and fragilities in the design of hea

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Healthcare Provider Behavior: Key to sustainable health systems during crisis

Jul 14, 2020
5 min

Healthcare Provider Behavior: Key to sustainable health systems during crisis

The 21st century’s first pandemic has exposed gaps in the entire healthcare system, be it the upstream functions surrounding stocks and supplies or the downstream service delivery. Every stakeholder within the healthcare system is grappling to respond as fast and as best as they can. Healthcare service providers which include physicians, community workers, clinics, and hospitals have formed the frontline fighting the battle. But over years, be it Ebola, MDR-TB, Zika, though t

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Overall Well-Being of COVID Patients During Treatment

Jun 22, 2020
3 min

Overall Well-Being of COVID Patients During Treatment

While the treatment of COVID patients is being conducted on war-footing across the globe, and a majority of cases successfully recover, it is also important to consider the mental and emotional well-being of the patients while they are undergoing the treatment. The conditions surrounding COVID treatment at hospitals are atypical as family visitations or any social contact is not possible. Also, due to limits of our knowledge about the virus, there is not certainty about the m

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The Unresolved Grief of the Bereaved Families

Jun 5, 2020
3 min

The Unresolved Grief of the Bereaved Families

In the current public health crisis amidst Covid-19 pandemic, hundreds of thousands of people have died all over the world leaving behind their families with sudden and ambiguous loss. Further worsening the loss and pain is the unresolved grief due to the restrictions. Universally, funerals have been an integral part of biding adieu to the deceased loved ones. While funerals mean celebrating and commemorating the dead within the community, they also help the bereaved to cope

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The Unending Cycle of Stigma and its role in a Patient's Journey

Jun 5, 2020
5 min

The Unending Cycle of Stigma and its role in a Patient's Journey

Stigmatization hinders health-seeking behavior, foments fear in patients suffering from the condition, causes prejudices against certain social groups, and can also lead to violence against the stigmatized groups. Multiple historical instances serve as the testament of stigma around many infectious diseases. After the outbreak of SARS, Chinese communities in New York's Chinatown were labeled as dangerous, diseased, and inferior. In the 1892 cholera epidemic, President Harriso

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